1. Variety.

Variety is the spice of life—and sometimes, lessons. Doing the same thing in the same place every day can start to feel too repetitive, even if it’s something you love. Shake things up a little by going somewhere different. Even doing lessons in your back yard injects a little more fun into homeschooling.

But adding variety doesn’t mean taking away consistency. You can still follow your schedule and reach learning goals for the day to make sure you stay on track.

2. Motivation.

Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” When you take your kids somewhere they want to explore, they’ll be motivated to finish lessons quickly. You won’t have to remind them of what they’ll get to do once they’re done with school because reminders will already be all around them.

To make it easier to focus, try setting time limits. For example, study history for 20 minutes. Then play for 20 minutes! That way, the reward seems easier to reach.

3. New people.

The idea that homeschooled students can’t get enough socialization is a myth—a frustrating one. Of course your children can socialize with others at church, in sports teams, music groups, co-ops, etc. If you do lessons outside of your home, you’re just giving your family one more way to meet people. You might form friendships with another homeschool family you meet at the library or with a World War II vet who comes to the park every day to feed the ducks.

4. More learning.

You can incorporate visual and tactile learning, finding objects around you to help teach. For example, you can use leaves to teach counting, addition, subtraction, etc.

A museum, art gallery, or historical site can inspire creativity and make lessons seem more real. Your children can also see something they want to learn more about—like a little-known historical figure or a famous artist they haven’t learned about yet. With learning, the possibilities are endless.