The huge number of afflicted people with the novel coronavirus has caused mass panic that lockdowns are being ordered in different parts of the world. This means shutdown of schools and children are forced to stay home. Before long, either your kids would be glued on gadgets or your kids would be too bored they would start driving you insane.
Here are some fun and learning activities that you could do with the kids to keep them busy during these trying times:
1. LEARNING CENTERS- classrooms for young kids are designed with different learning areas. Since kids are guaranteed to be bored if they are just in one place, create different learning centers in your house to keep them moving. Here are some ideas:
- Turn your kitchen/bathroom sink into a sensory table. Fill it with water and let them play to their heart’s contents using measuring cups, funnels, and clear containers with different shapes. Even your bathtub would be a perfect place for kids to explore volume of water! Make it more fun by using food colors.
- Fill a tote box with sand. Let them create their very own Jurassic world by using plastic toys for roads, buildings, and their favorite plastic dinosaurs. No limit to their imagination! This may be good also at the backyard.
- Fish Aquarium. Let them fish in their very own aquarium. You may use plastic fish and even make your own fishing pole!
-Create a reading corner in one side of the house. Use a colorful bean bag and stack selection of books.
-Art Corner. Set up paint or other art activities in another part of the house. You don’t need to be creative to teach your kids. There are many YouTube video tutorials that are available and would surely inspire your kids to be creative as well. They even have step-by-step tutorials on basic drawing.
Check out more ideas here!
Check out more ideas here!
2. FILE FOLDER ACTIVITIES- These are activities being utilized by teachers to keep kids busy. Most of them do not need adult supervision and they are easy to prepare. Click here for some ideas that are ready for download.
3. FLASHCARDS- Again, these are also used to encourage independent learning. Your child can study the words by himself and you can make it fun by using spelling board to test him after. You may even give rewards/ stickers.
4. JOURNAL WRITING- The break might be the best time to understand more your kids through journal writing! This will not only help him improve his writing skills but also encourage self-expression. Some areas have three-four-week lockdown. Imagine what you can learn from your kids during that time!
5. PRINTABLE WORKSHEETS- The virus outbreak is obviously causing disruption in many aspects of our lives. Children’s learning does not need to be affected with millions of printable worksheets available online. This would probably give you also an idea in what lessons your kids are struggling.
6. YOGA AND OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES. Some educators claim the positive effect of yoga to teach kids regulate themselves emotionally and exhibit positive behavior. Again, you don’t need to be an expert to teach your kids how to do this. There are many videos on YouTube designed to teach and encourage kids on how to do yoga. If your kids are not into yoga, do a physical exercise following some videos on YouTube. It will be fun if you can join him/her!
This is the yoga channel that the kids I taught used to follow!
It is definitely a trying time for the whole world. Stock markets are going down, families that are affected are emotionally struggling, and officials are scrambling to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic as stated by WHO. However, there are still many things left to ensure that your kids will continue to learn, to have fun, and to stay being a kid in the world that’s turning chaotic.
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