As a family, we use technology sparingly, and our homeschool is no exception. When we moved house four years ago we gave careful consideration to the environment we wanted to create. We made our dining table, fireplace and bookshelves central and put our TV out of the way, in the loft, where it’s now rarely used or missed!

Why discuss the use of technology in homeschooling?

In all honesty, I was shocked to read that children between the ages of eight and twelve, use screens for an average of four – six hours a day! This is true in both the United States (according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) and the United Kingdom (according to the Independent).

I think a lot of parents appreciate how detrimental this could be to a child’s development. However, I also know that a lot of new homeschoolers wonder how they will teach a wide-range of subjects, particularly those they didn’t excel in themselves. And some parents, who have multiple children or work commitments, wonder how they will find the time to homeschool every lesson themselves.

So I think most homeschoolers are striving for a good balance, and asking the question, “how can we use technology effectively in our homeschool, without it taking away from a truly enriching, and life-giving childhood?”.

Technology for the homeschool parent

Firstly, I appreciate that technology has made homeschooling considerably easier for parents than ever before. Researching and ordering curriculum, and materials, is easiest online. I also read book reviews and reserve books from the library every week. We have also found groups and events for homeschoolers locally, and learn from more experienced homeschoolers. I’m very grateful for the opportunities that technology affords us, in this regard.

Three ways that my children use technology for homeschool every week

Music

Every day we listen to some worship music from Spotify, or a scripture memory verse song from Slugs and Bugs, or Seeds Family Worship. We also listen to music for our Composer Study each week, and we have used songs to help remember all the countries in a particular continent, for mapwork.

Video Classes

Through-out elementary school atleast, I have tried to limit online courses or video classes to just one subject per year. In third grade, my daughter did Structure and Style with IEW which was delivered by DVD. I was working three days a week so it was helpful to have some Language Arts delivered for me. In fourth grade, she did Spanish with Rosetta Stone and it was helpful for her to be able to listen and speak Spanish using this program. We have also used Hoffman Academy for Piano lessons because it was more affordable than in-person lessons.

Documentaries

Most weeks, we watch a documentary of some kind. Most recently, we’ve enjoyed Wild Babies on Netflix, a nature documentary about animals and their young. It’s perfect for afternoons when the children are tired, and we all enjoy this tradition!

Here are three other ways we have utilised screens for homeschool

Extra Math

Through-out the years we have occasionally used interactive games to help with particular math concepts. We used a free game from Mathsframe called ‘Telling the Time’ in first and second grade, and another from Topmarks called Hit the Button for extra multiplication and division practice in third and fourth grade. I personally used these games sparingly, alongside things like skip counting songs, board games and wooden clocks, but they helped me add variation to our weeks, and assess progress, which we appreciated.

Creative Tutorials

Occasionally we’ve done short tutorials online particularly for handicrafts, like embroidery and knitting. We’ve also enjoyed the watercolour classes from Brighter Day Press and from Emily Lex, and drawing tutorials from Art for Kids Hub.

Computer Skills

Occasionally, my ten-year-old has used Canva, with my help, for certain projects. She types her own stories and designs a book cover, prints them, and binds them to give to friends and family! These projects are building a wide-range of important skills.

My rule regarding technology in our homeschool

Overall, my ten-year old spends no more than an hour on a screen each day. Of course, I expect this will increase in time, but we do truly try and invest our time elsewhere in these early years. More importantly, however, we try and ensure that this screen-time is truly enriching!

In most instances, we use technology when we’re unable to provide the same opportunity, any other way. My son for example, wanted to see how fast a cheetah could run, and hear a lion roaring, and documentaries allowed us to do that! My daughter wanted to listen to a Spanish speaker, and we couldn’t afford regular tutoring, so Rosetta Stone gave her this learning opportunity.

This personal rule of mine might seem extreme to some. However, using technology only when there isn’t another option for us means I can be confident we’re always using it to our advantage. I am not against increasing our use of technology in our homeschool, I expect to, but I want it to always serve a specific purpose.

The impact of our digital habits

This personal rule of mine, regarding technology, isn’t just for our homeschool. As I said, we chose to use it pretty sparingly. I attended an excellent workshop last year about how our digital habits can affect our walk with the Lord, and of course our physical and mental health too. I have since read several helpful books on the subject. You can read more about that here.