TL;DR: You can turn your child's immediate questions into full lesson plans instantly with SparkAI. These "on-the-spot" lessons help you track progress even when you aren't following a set schedule.
Some of the best learning happens when you aren't planning for it! Maybe your child found a cool beetle in the garden or suddenly wants to know how black holes work. At LearnSpark, we believe you shouldn't have to stop that excitement to get back to a regular schedule.
Ad-hoc lessons are built for families who follow where a child's interest leads. They allow you to create high-quality learning content the moment curiosity strikes. You can turn any topic into a lesson with no pre-planning required.
How to Start an Ad-Hoc Lesson
Creating a lesson from a spark of curiosity is fast and easy. You don't need to check your calendar or long-term goals first. Great job keeping the learning momentum going!
Go to the Lessons section and choose to generate a new lesson.
Instead of picking a unit, type the topic into the Curiosity Topic field. For example, "Why do bees dance?" or "How do electric cars work?"
Select the students who are joining in. SparkAI will check their Student Profile to make sure the lesson matches their level.
Click Generate Lesson. In seconds, SparkAI will create a full plan with discussion questions and activities.
💡 Good to know: Since these lessons aren't part of a pre-set schedule, they are perfect for flexible days. You can follow your child's lead while still keeping track of their growth.
Connecting Curiosity to Learning Standards
Even though these lessons are spontaneous, they still count toward your records. When SparkAI generates a curiosity lesson, it performs a Skills Decomposition in the background.
This means LearnSpark finds exactly which educational skills are being covered. For example, a lesson about "Building a Treehouse" might cover physics and math. This info is automatically added to your child's Standards Progress. You can see how their hobbies help them master new skills!
⚠️ Heads up: Creating and regenerating lessons uses SparkAI Credits. Credits also power things like gap analysis and updating mastery profiles. You can check your credits in your Billing settings.
Turning Conversations into Lessons
Sometimes a lesson doesn't start with a search—it starts with a great chat! If you’ve already had a deep discussion with your child, you can use the recording tool to capture it.
Simply record the talk or a summary of what you learned. SparkAI will transcribe the audio and provide notes. This ensures that even informal chats help build your child's records. Great job capturing those special learning moments!
That's it—you're all set! You are now ready to turn every "Why?" and "How?" into a rewarding learning adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I save an ad-hoc lesson to use again later?
Yes! Once a lesson is generated, it is saved in your account. You can add it to your Weekly Schedule if your child wants to dive deeper into the topic later on.
Does SparkAI know my child's age when I type in a random topic?
Absolutely. SparkAI always checks the student's Operating Level and Interests first. This ensures a lesson about dinosaurs is "play-based" for a 5-year-old but more technical for an older student.
What if I don't have enough credits for a curiosity lesson?
You can still use the Log Activity button on your Dashboard to track the time spent on the topic. It won't generate a full SparkAI plan, but it keeps your Activity Logs accurate.
Do these lessons show up on my official reports?
Yes. Any lesson generated or logged is included when you create your Compliance and Progress Reports. You'll have everything you need for your next review!
Can I change a curiosity lesson after it's generated?
Yes! You can add User Notes for your own records or use Regeneration Notes to ask SparkAI to adjust parts of the lesson for you.