Math is very easy to teach using a practical method. Cubes of sugar can help a child count, learn number placement, multiply and divide. Try using these edible counters as math manipulatives. Have your child stack them to show you the ones, 10s and 100s places.
Similarly, cutting up an orange is an excellent way to discuss fractions, addition and subtraction. Ask questions, such as "If you eat four pieces of eight total parts, how many are left over?" and "What's the fraction that you ate?" In the end, let your child gobble up his sugar cubes and oranges.
Let your child discover the wonders of nature by allowing him to experiment with plants. Start by wetting a paper towel and placing seeds in it. Roll it up and leave it on your kitchen counter. Have your child note each day how the seeds look until they begin to germinate.
Another fun experiment shows how water moves through plants. Place food coloring and water in a jar and insert a stalk of celery. Watch the brightly colored water move through the plant.
Make history come alive. Imagine the memories you'll make as you dress up as a Roman senator and read from Plato's Republic, or don Abe Lincoln's stovepipe hat as you recite the Gettysburg Address. Consider staging a mock battle with small, plastic army men to recreate D-Day. Have an all-potato meal as you discuss the Irish potato famine. Almost any history lesson can be livened up with food or drama.
Retention of what a child reads depends on her interest in the story and how much you help her to remember. Make language arts fun by using grammar rhymes to learn the parts of speech. Jazz up a book report by requiring a diorama or other multimedia. Have your child deliver her oral reports in character. Write a short paper with several mistakes and have your child grade your work.
Look for fascinating stories about artists and composers, and use those stories to remind your child about each artist you cover. Schumann injured his hand trying to mark it larger and wasn't able to be a pianist, though he was an amazing composer. Have your child explain to you how that must have made him feel.
Tell your child about Van Gogh and how he cut off his own ear. Artists' lives are fascinating and their oddities make for great art lessons. At the end of each lesson, ask the child to re-create a work by the artist.