Par Alexandra, @alsc_alexandra
As an elementary school teacher, I can understand the importance of keeping your kids occupied during this time. Here are 5 different activities to do with kids to keep them motivated and excited about learning while being at home!
- Keep a Regular Routine
- Online Learning
- “Ça va bien aller”
- Board Games & Puzzles
- Read everyday
I get it. It seems impossible to keep your kids occupied all day. However, a great trick to help them stay on task, is to keep them on the same routine as they might have been during school! I definitely recommend creating a visual schedule and putting it in a central place in your home where your children can access it easily. This is a great idea, even if you don’t have kids! I have created an “at home” routine for myself as well, so that I can continue to maintain a routine while also remaining positive.
Unfortunately for right now, our children are not getting the same education as they have been in school. The good news is there are tones of online resources that can be used for FREE! Make some time in your daily schedule for your children to focus on online learning. There are some really awesome resources out there that are tailored to you child’s specific interests, grade, and academic levels. This will allow them to continue learning & growing, while at home.
As most of you have probably already seen, many people have been making rainbow crafts with the saying “ca va bien aller” and hanging it up in their windows. This is an easy art activity to do with your children that does not require many materials or set up, and sends some positivity out into the community! An alternative to this is to draw a rainbow with some chalk on the sidewalk. There are plenty of little rainbows in the windows along my street and it definitely makes me smile every time I see them!
Back to basics! Have a board game night with your family. It is so rare that you get to have board game nights with everyone’s busy schedule, so take advantage! I pulled out all my old board games that I had forgotten about, and they are so fun! My personal favourite right now – “Clue”. Puzzles are also a great way to bond and work together as a family. My family & I just completed a 1000 piece Sleeping Beauty puzzle and it was awesome. Board games & puzzles have so many benefits as they teach kids important skills such as teamwork, how to be a good winner, how to be a good loser (very hard for some of them!), and reasoning skills.
Teachers work so hard every single day to make sure that your children are getting the proper education and reading is a fundamental part of their learning. Please read with your kids. Read to them to pass time, to learn about something new, to forget about reality, or right before bed. Have them get excited about books, the way that they work, and using their imagination! Talk about the details in the books and ask them questions. There are so many benefits to reading, and this will help them continue learning from home. If you are tired of your books at home, try looking on YouTube for audio books or order more on Amazon!
