The Best Gifts For Homeschooling An Only Child
Homeschooling an only child comes with its own unique challenges and advantages. I love sharing our homeschooling journey and my very best tips for homeschooling an only child with all of you.
I know shopping for an only child through the holidays can be different too. Today, I’m excited to share with you my very best gift ideas for homeschooling an only child.
Keep reading to discover the best gifts for homeschooling an only child this year. Plus, get the scoop on the reality behind homeschooling an only child. You’ll definitely want to read this list before you finish your holiday shopping this year.
The Reality Of Homeschooling An Only Child
Homeschooling an only child is different! It’s not more difficult or easier, it’s just that there are a few key differences.
For example, homeschooling an only child means you’re up to bat all the time. There’s no one else to ask for help, no one else to play with, and no one else to vent frustrations to when your child is feeling overwhelmed. It’s a beautiful thing to share that connection, but it’s also overwhelming at times.
We think about socialization a lot more when homeschooling an only child. We worry about what it means and need to get creative about finding opportunities for our kids to socialize with their peers sometimes. Online classes and local homeschool groups can be really helpful in these instances.
When you’re homeschooling an only child, you might quickly discover that some activities and games that work for groups of children don’t work as well for your family. Getting both parents involved in playing games and participating in activities can help. However, sometimes, it just means you’ll need to look for activities that your homeschooler can do independently.
Homeschooling An Only Child Through The Holidays
During the holidays, we keep right on homeschooling. In the Waldock homeschool, we like to learn together year-round. However, our homeschool looks a lot different during this time of year.
I really like to slow down and enjoy the holiday season together as a family without putting as much pressure on school assignments. Over the years, we’ve adopted some holiday traditions and practices that make it easier for us to slow down and prioritize connection as we enjoy the holiday season together. One of my favorite traditions involves reading a holiday book aloud, watching the corresponding movie, and playing a related game together.
Another fun thing we like to do during the holiday season is to break away from our regular curriculum and focus on doing fun activities and holiday-themed unit studies. Some of our favorites include Santa’s Tasty Trip Around the World with cookies from countries all over the world and Holidays Around the World focusing on how different cultures celebrate their holidays all year long.
The Best Gifts For Homeschooling An Only Child
Homeschooling is a lifestyle. We are always with our children, teaching them and learning through real-life experiences. Over the years, we have learned that the best lessons happen outside the classroom, and embracing a lifetime of learning opportunities is totally worth it!
The very best gifts will be those that fit into our homeschool life. Activities, games, books, and supplies we can use as we explore, get creative, and let our curiosity run wild are the perfect gifts for homeschool families. If there are homeschoolers on your holiday gift exchange list this year, I’d encourage you to choose gifts that will keep giving as they learn throughout the year.
The holidays are a great time to stock up on school supplies, fun resources, games, and more! There are a few favorites we love to include on our holiday gift list each year. Keep reading to discover some of the very best gifts for homeschooling an only child and add them to your Christmas shopping list today.
Games
Gameschooling is one of our favorite ways to practice concepts, learn new material and check for mastery. We love all the hands-on practice, opportunities for application, and soft skills that games teach. Plus, we just love spending time together playing games.
As much as we love family game nights, there are times when we need a game Emily can play all by herself or a game that works with just two players. Here are some of our favorite single-player and two-player games for homeschooling an only child.
Single Player Games
I love ThinkFun games for teaching critical thinking skills while homeschooling an only child. They offer hands-on practice with logic skills for kids of all ages. Plus, most ThinkFun games are one-player. Having games your child can play independently is very important when you’re homeschooling an only child.
Some of our favorites from ThinkFun include Rush Hour, Gravity Maze, and Balance Beans. Each of these games helps kids learn to think critically and get creative about solving problems step by step. Although the games are just one player, we like to get the whole family involved sometimes by challenging each other to complete tricky levels and seeing who can finish the fastest.
Two-Player Games
While it’s possible to challenge each other with single-player games, there are some great two-player games we like to use in our homeschool too. Many card games make excellent two-player games like Sleeping Queens. Mancala, a classic two-player strategy game, is another favorite that’s easy to learn and filled with learning opportunities.
Art Kits
Art kits and tools are a great way to encourage creativity and critical thinking skills. Plus, Emily and Kevin love creating art together so it’s a fun way for them to learn and bond together. Check out some of our favorite art options below.
STEM Toys
STEM projects aren’t just a lot of fun, they help kids master important scientific concepts, learn math skills, teach them about utilizing technology, and introduce engineering principles. If you’re homeschooling an only child, having lots of different building materials is an excellent way to encourage STEM skills. Plus, they give you lots of options for those times when you need your homeschoolers to be engaged in an activity while you manage something else for a bit.
Gross Motor Toys
Sometimes when you’re homeschooling an only child, you have to get a little bit creative about physical education. Sometimes you just need a good way to burn off some extra energy and get the wiggles out. We all want to encourage healthy physical activity with our children and it can be tricky with just one child, especially if your children don’t play sports.
Over the years, there are some great toys and tools we have found that make it easier to encourage time outside and healthy physical activity no matter where we are that day. Check out a few of our favorites below.
Bike or Scooter
Bikes and scooters are classic gifts for a reason. They’re fantastic for encouraging healthy physical activity with kids. Grab a bike for yourself too and make it a family adventure at a nearby trail or around your neighborhood.
Not into bikes and scooters? Try a skateboard or rollerblades. They’re all excellent tools for helping kids master important fine motor skills and build coordination too.
Tech Gifts
Tech gets a bad name in lots of homeschooling groups. However, whether you’re homeschooling one or many, I’m a firm believer that technology is an amazing tool we can harness to take our homeschooling journey to the next level. As we navigate homeschooling an only child, I’ve discovered that sometimes tech gifts are perfect for giving my voice a break from read-alouds, giving Emily a break from me, and incorporating something fun and new to our regular homeschool day.
Audible
If you’re homeschooling an only child, an Audible subscription is a must! When your voice needs a break from reading aloud, having another person read to your child via the audiobooks on Audible is a godsend. Plus, there are tons of titles new and old available for your child and affordable prices.
Online Classes
We love incorporating online classes into our homeschool days. We have been using them for years to enrich and extend our learning. When you’re homeschooling an only child, using online classes gives your child the opportunity to learn from someone else.
There are some amazing online classes taught by experts in their field. It’s the perfect way to learn about topics your child might have an interest in that you don’t know much about. Check out some of our favorite ways to engage in online learning below.
Subscription Boxes
Another great Christmas gift for families who are homeschooling an only child this year is a subscription box. There are a few great subscription boxes we have come to love over the years.
Subscription boxes give us the opportunity to learn new things together as a family and step away from our regular lessons for a fun learning adventure that everyone can participate in. Some of our favorite subscription boxes include Kiwi Crate, Universal Yums, and Hands-On History to name a few.
Experiences
Gifting experiences to the homeschooler in your life is always a gerat way to go. Experience gifts don’t take up any space, but they do offer amazing learning opportunities for the whole family. If you’re looking for ways to incorporate more field trips or spend time learning with the whole family this year, an experience gift might be just the ticket.
Consider gifting tickets or a membership to a nearby zoo, museum, or science center. Did you know there are more than six thousand state parks in the US and more than 400 national parks? If you’re homeschooling an only child this year, gifting a park pass is an excellent way to explore science, nature, history, and more with your homeschooler.
More Gift Ideas For Homeschoolers
Do you want more gift ideas for your homeschooler? Of course, you do! I’ve got all kinds of awesome ideas for stuffing the stockings and stacking gifts under your Christmas tree this year. Check out some of my other great gift ideas for homeschoolers below.
- The Ultimate Gift Gude for Homeschool Family Gifts
- Gifts for the Homeschool Mom
- Gift Ideas for the Whole Family
- Educational Stocking Stuffers
So what’s on your homeschool holiday shopping list this year? Share your best gift ideas for homeschoolers in the comments. I can’t wait to read about all your favorite gifts for homeschooling an only child in the comments!