Due to the pandemic, local authorities have shut down educational institutions across the globe, leaving numerous parents with the unexpected problem of teaching their kids at home. Most facilities will often assign homework students must complete in less than a week. But if you want to expand your child’s reach and learning ability, below are eight steps that can help you educate your children while staying at home.
Making Them Curious Through Online Tools
You can also use the internet to pique a child’s curiosity and interest outside the standard modules and courses. Begin by asking them to write a few things they’re curious about or are aiming to learn from the internet. Then, you can help them get the answers to their queries. Bear in mind that the internet is an excellent source of information that exceeds the dictionaries and encyclopedias you’re used to.
Browsing the internet will allow them to gather audio files, videos, pictures, graphics, text, and other forms of information to answer their questions. For example, they’re interested to learn about world history. You can talk to experts on the topic, check graphs or statistical charts, hear songs connected with that period, or watch videos about it. That will enable both of you to learn in numerous ways.
Using Online Videos as a Teaching Material
Because everyone is at home, your children will spend most of their days watching TV. You can turn that moment into a learning curve. Be their companion while watching the TV and ask questions about what’s on the screen. Try asking them to sum up the show they’re watching, how the commercials are piquing their interest to use their products, or how an episode will turn out.
Or, if you want to teach them about staying fit, you can use tutorial videos made by an instructor that received a kettlebell certification. It’ll allow your kids to hone their mental functions. Media literacy is huge advocacy in this modern age. You can also teach them by engaging with the media content they’re consuming.
Not Using Standard Books and Worksheets
Most parents assume that working on classic books and worksheets is a productive means of educating them. You’ll need a modern-day approach. Before, asking them to draw a straight line from a picture of a cat to the letter “C” will teach your children about the alphabet. You can spice things up by asking them to list the things that start with the same letter, outdoors or indoors. Do this for other phonetic sounds.
Encouraging Them to Ask Lots of Questions
Kids will learn more from asking questions instead of repeating what they’ve already learned in school. You can ask them what they can do to keep themselves safe in this pandemic or why following the health protocols is essential. You can opt to reframe any topic into questions. It will not be helpful to ask them standard questions, so instead, ask questions focused on current events or based on your knowledge.
Keep them away from questions with standard answers and go with those with unclear answers, but that will exercise their cognitive functions.
Letting Them Play With Many Puzzle Games
Giving them the time to play puzzle games will help improve their color sensitivity, part-whole relationships, visual recognition, and other skills. Letting them play many puzzle games will also improve their mental reasoning skills. Enjoying a crossword puzzle will expand their interference abilities, knowledge base, and vocabulary. Find a schedule to play with the family and give them clues to help complete the game.
Finding the Games Your Family Can Enjoy
Many adults think that games are only for entertainment, but they can improve your child’s thinking and cognitive skills. For example, Monopoly allows your children to dive into money management, economics, or finance. Or Pictionary can train their visual thinking abilities, while chess develops higher-order reasoning, visualization, or abstract.
Don’t teach or lend a hand during the game, but allow them to enjoy it. Even lots of simple games can teach them mathematical skills.
Having a Talk With the Children at the Table
Most families don’t have the habit of eating together, but studies show that eating with your family has non-academic and academic benefits. It’ll also lead to higher SAT. In addition, you should avoid topics that will put more pressure on them. Instead, you can talk about topics that interest everybody, their exciting stories in the middle of the day, or what’s in the news.
Having these conversations will aid them in honing their thinking skills, verbal skills, and other essential skills both outside and inside of school.
Using creative approaches to educate your children will keep them more engaged with a specific topic. Be silly and make funny conversations. Find the method that works best for your child’s well-being and learning.
