Homeschooled Kids Teach Toys How to Play

"Six different pieces of colored silk are more entertaining than all of Polly Pocket's Adventureland."— Lynn Costine

The 700,000 families in the United States who homeschool spend approximately $400 per year on educational supplies for each of the 2,000,000 children involved, according to Ian Slatter, director of marketing relations for the HomeSchooling Legal Defense Association. To tap into this growing market, TDmonthly Magazine interviewed five homeschooling mothers from Western North Carolina who are raising a total of 15 children among them. They said that their kids prefer goal-oriented or open-ended play, reject toys with fixed play patterns, and tend to use toys the “wrong” way to optimize their play experiences.

Though the mothers rarely integrate educational toys into the classroom, several expressed interest in science kits. Lynn Costine, mother of a 6-year-old boy and 8, 10 and 12-year-old girls, often uses products by National Geographic to supplement workbooks and textbooks.

“They make a planetarium that projects the constellations on the ceiling in a darkened room,” she said. “We did that when they were studying constellations and astronomy. The kids also built replicas of the solar system.”

Both Shawna Hughes, mother of a 10-year-old girl, and Susan Ledford, mother of a newborn, a 10-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son, said that they’d bought educational toys when their children were younger but had phased these out in favor of textbooks. Allyson Seagle uses flash cards to aid her 10-year-old girl in learning Latin. The mothers obtain most of their educational supplies from specialty stores for homeschoolers, bookstores and from the local school system.

The mothers all reported their kids preferred playing with toys that were either goal-oriented, such as construction and craft kits, or open-ended enough to allow for improvisational play. Hughes’ daughter uses animal, rather than human, figures in her dollhouses. Julia Petoia’s three 4-year-old sons “transform a toy Ferris wheel into a steering wheel so they can go on trips.” Costine’s girls pretend that Polly Pockets are full-sized people who’ve been shrunk and are hiding around the house.

“When they have an active interaction with the toy, it holds their attention better,” said Petoia, who also has three girls ages 11, 9 and 8. All of her kids play the violin and respond well to music- or art-related toys. Building another top play activity at the Petoia’s — was a favorite in all of the households.

“All four of my children love LEGOs,” said Costine. “They’ve built a giant LEGO town with friends. Each kid has a house and a business.”

Hughes’ daughter also “likes using LEGOs and K’NEX.”

“I’m always so disappointed that LEGOs are marketed to boys,” added Costine. “When they market to girls, the kits don’t come apart.”

Board games were favored in two of the three households with multiple children. The Ledfords play Monopoly and chess. Petoia said her kids like “anything that involves competition … or outdoor play.”

Petoia’s and Hughes’ kids love butterfly habitats, bug collectors and other nature-related toys. Costine bought 4” authentic singing replicas of eastern songbirds that are accompanied by a booklet describing each bird and its habits.

Dress-up was a passion among both the girls and the boys, since it allowed them to use their imaginations. “All the kids like anything to do with dress-up and make-believe,” said Costine. “Six different pieces of colored silk are more entertaining than all of Polly Pocket’s Adventureland.”

The following are examples of the kinds of toys that may find favor with your local homeschooling families: