Unleashing the Fun Factor

It’s inevitable that your children will goof off. At some point, you’ll be wishing they were doing something productive, like homework or chores, but instead they are just having fun, messing around, shooting the breeze.

But wait! Isn’t that what homeschooling is all about? One of the big benefits of homeschooling is having fun while learning at the same time! Having FUN during school hours can be a meaningful and significant way to learn important (although sometimes elective) subjects.

When kids are homeschooling and having fun, that’s awesome! Now let’s learn how to translate that fun factor and maximize their transcript and career planning!

Identify the Fun

When writing a homeschool transcript, start with the easy subjects. Begin with subjects that use curriculum, or require your attention: English, math, social studies, science, foreign language, PE, and fine art. Once you get to the end of that list, many parents feel stumped. Now what? That is when you ask yourself the first big question:
What do they do for fun?

When I’m helping parents with a transcript, that one question can open the floodgates! How does your child spend unstructured time? When they are supposed to be working on school, or emptying the dishwasher, what are they doing instead? That can be a great indication of their Fun Factor. 

If they enjoy their fun for more than one hour a day, you may be able to translate that into high school credits. Anything involving music, band, handcrafts, or theater can be a fine art credit. Children who love starting or working with a small business, from yard work to online marketing, may earn a credit of occupational education. Children who love creating or fixing computer hardware or software can get credit for computer technology. If children love something that makes them sweat, give them PE credits – whether it’s dance, gym membership, team sports, or individual athletics. Kids who love speech and debate may get credit for that each year. Some children will love a specific THING, like mushrooms, birds, or horses. Others will love a specific IDEA, like economics or politics. For these specific interests, try taking them to the library frequently, finding a summer camp, or enrolling in a specialty class.

Public schools offer fun classes too. The only problem is their fun classes are fun for the teacher. In high school I took a class called “Polynesian History” because my teacher liked to travel to Hawaii every year. Sure, it was fun, but it wasn’t my “thing.” It was my teacher’s interest. It’s a lucky student who loves the same elective as their teacher.

In a homeschool, the equation is different. The fun classes are based on what the student decides is fun, not the teacher. That’s great news! It means you don’t have to like it yourself, and you don’t have to teach it yourself. Your job is to scoop up those high school credits, so they don’t get lost. Your mission is to find value and a future in the areas your child loves.  

How It’s Done: Credits and Class Titles

Estimate how many hours they spend on their Fun Factor. Is it one hour or more each day, most of the school year? That is enough for a 1 credit class. Half an hour per day? That’s half of a credit! I think it’s helpful to keep their love to just one credit per school year. If their Fun Factor has two distinct skills, and they spend many hours per day, then it can make sense to have two classes.

If you are stuck on a class title, do a little research. Do they take a class or lessons from an expert? What is that class called? If you need more help, try to find a college that offers a class in the subject. What is that class title? For example, when you search for “horse community college” you can find classes called horsemanship, equine fitting and grooming, equine facilities maintenance and mechanics, equine anatomy and physiology, etc. Look at the descriptions for each class to find the one most like what your child does. It can provide both the name of your class and the beginnings of a course description. 

Huge Success!

For some students, their favorite pastime may make them famous. A singer may envision becoming the next American Idol. A golfer may be determined to make the Masters. A computer geek may imagine himself the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates (depending on if he is a Mac or PC, of course!) These pastimes turned famous have one thing in common: money. Huge amounts of money. Sure, it may not be likely, but you can still use the possibility of a lucrative career in guiding your child. Instead of denigrating their potential, take it out for a test drive. Talk to your child about what they will do if they strike it rich with their Fun Factor.

Your Child is Crazy-Unique

It seems like I spend lots of time helping parents find the Fun Factor in my Gold Care Club conversations and transcript consultations. I begin with a simple question. “What does your child do for fun?” That question alone can usually generate the electives category. No curriculum is required, we just work together to scoop up learning for fun. When that question doesn’t bring a huge response, then often a second simple question is required. “What does your child do that drives you crazy? And what annoying thing do they do instead of schoolwork?” If the “fun” question doesn’t work, the “annoying” question is usually fail-safe.

I was helping one mother with her transcript, and she hesitated when we got to the “fun” question. I could tell she felt embarrassed about something. Finally, she blurted it out. “MMA – he loves Mixed Martial Arts. He is training and taking lessons and has already completed a class in boxing.”

Her response of embarrassment was so common among parents. First, we just don’t understand how our kids can love something that we don’t love. After all, God has called us to do something, and it’s easy to assume that means that our children have the same calling – but they don’t. Secondly, it’s easy to feel that our child has fun in a bizarre, crazy, or abnormal way. While that may sometimes be true, it’s usually not. And third, many parents worry that I’ll be judgmental. I’m not. I’ve had boys. I’ve had homeschooled teenagers. I understand there are some things you can control and other things…. Not so much!

That’s when I had to confess my understanding of MMA. You see, my husband is a fan. While I’m reading “The Help” or a Jane Austen book, my husband watches mixed martial arts. Sure, I’m not happy about it. As a nurse, I can’t believe that people are intentionally trying to cause brain damage. But as a wife, and as a mother of boys, I can understand how that happens. I know that GSP has a Fleur de Lis tattooed on his right calf, that Brock Lesner used to wrestle in the WWE and that Chuck Liddell is not famous because of Dancing with the Stars. I may not enjoy it myself, but I can understand it. That’s so true for many other things as well. Don’t be embarrassed. It’s ok. Your child is just “crazy-unique!”

My mission is to help all parents homeschool high school. I don’t judge your homeschool or evaluate children. I come along as a friend, willing to help in the context of your situation. 

Suggested Reading

Learn more about the Fun Factor! Delight Directed Learning: Guide Your Homeschooler Toward Passionate Learning

It is true that mastering science, math, and literature is part of the joy of homeschooling high school (and vitally important if college lies ahead), but equally important are subjects the self directed teen is passionate about, subjects they will study for hours on end, just for the fun of learning. Delight directed learning is the true “secret sauce” of a great homeschool education.

But do you know…

• What are these delight directed topics?
• How can you recognize them?
• How can you help your student discover them?
• How you, as the homeschool high school record keeper, can capture and reflect your student’s experiences?

Suggested Resource: The High School Solution

If you need a detailed, step-by step plan for high school and tips on incorporating delight directed learning, look no further! My High School Solution has everything you need to teach every age and grade of high school. This solution will lay out an easy, attainable plan for high school, freshman to senior year, so you can be prepared for anything coming your way and add fun for each age and stage!