I was discussing this with a relaxed homeschooler at the zoo on Tuesday and thought it might be fun to share ideas.
Here are some of the things we do to have a Learning rich environment -- I am sure I am skipping many of the obvious ones
*read lots of books and types of books (poetry, living books, encyclopedias, whatever they are interested in). Toss books on the couches or end tables regularly to catch their eye
*count everything in sight (from shoes to how long it takes water glasses to fill). COunt by 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s 10s, etc.
*Point out things to "catch their interest" in in an excited voice not your teacher voice
"wow the buds are forming on the trees, next will be flowers. Spring is here!"
*study things yourself and share what you are learning with the entire family
*talk as you cook explaining measurements. Get kids involved in cooking
*leave school supply catalogues with bright pictures and fun "kits" lying around the house to spark interest.
*board games
*instruments
*play dress up
*use felt boards
*color, paint, modeling clay
*play the sound game regularly
*have toys pared down and organized into "centers"
*Play verbal games like I spy, how many people have blue on in the room, how many pairs of shoes do you see in the room (leading to how many shoes is that?)
*take them to the library
*zoo
*observe nature (get a bird feeder!)
*garden and teach them things about garden as you go
*carpentry skills
*montessori activities
SOME WRITTEN RESOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL TO ME
*Games for Reading, Games for Writing, Games for Math (Peggy Katz
*the 3 R's (great suggestions for "living math" and for sounds games)
*Ready Set Read (Barbara Curtis) -- this is really a method for teaching reading in a relaxed way but has fun games
I can't think of any more right now