The pandemic has seen more of home learning in some parts of the world and while some kids are getting a hang of this new normal, adapting to the conventional structure that is being incorporated in home learning has been a major challenge.
This has made learning somewhat monotonous as the conventional structure of staying at a spot to learn only prioritizes crowd control ahead of optimizing learning.
We know that kids need to engage in deep learning that aligns with their development and allows them to be independent and creative so that they can solve problems – something that is lacking in most schools.
That is why we will be discussing ways you can rid the learning-at-home experience of kids off of the rigid structure that is associated with traditional learning environments.
How can you achieve this? Here’s how:
Use arts
Arts like music is known for improving vocal intelligence and memory while visual arts are known for augmenting the brain’s function and wellbeing.
Since all the many facets of arts inspire creativity, problem-solving skills and motor skill development, it is therefore imperative to encourage kids to embrace art and improve upon those skills by drawing, painting, sculpting, and creating fiber crafts like straw hats.
For music, you can ask the kids to compose their own songs or use any of the surfaces as instruments to make music or simply create a band with every member of the family being a part of it.
The interesting part is that you only need basic items which you can find around your home to pull this off.
Embrace exercises
What better way to kick-start their metabolism and get their happy brain chemicals flowing than exercises?
Staying at a spot for a long period of time can be boring especially for kids who can be hyperactive.
You can initiate a family workout and let the kids take the lead. They could select from a variety of online workout routines and as a bonus, you can ask them to invite their friends to participate. The great part is that their friends can join in via video conferencing.
Life skills? Yes!
Staying at home means there’ll be chores at some point in time and that will be a great opportunity for kids to hone skills like problem-solving skills, work ethics, multitasking, etc.
You can make chores fun for them by turning each chore into imaginative missions. For example, you could say your kid is a superhero and their mission is to save the city from the “stink monster” which is basically the trashcan.
Saving the day for them would be ridding the “city” (which is just the apartment) of the “stink monster” and vòila! the day is saved!
Another way is getting them to list out the chores that must be completed daily and think up ways to collectively handle them.
Bottom line
Remember, the trick is initiating one or two activities at a time per day instead of heaping the day with activities on all of the subjects.
Learning can take place anywhere and in any form. Who says it can’t be fun too?!
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