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If COVID has done anything, it has shown us how hard it is to teach children and how valuable great teachers are. With many schools still working on a virtual program, parents need to find ways to get kids off the computer screens and doing some practical learning.
Dr. Jennifer Winward, a brain development expert and educator, cautions parents to ensure that their children remain actively engaged in their studies. “The greatest risk in the shift to online learning is students will passively watch lessons, going through the motions without building knowledge,” Winward told Mom.com.
Here are some ways parents can structure education enrichment for their children to maximize learning and enjoyment.
Use activities to encourage interest in their studies
When you incorporate educational activities into the daily learning schedule, your child will relate better to the subject matter and remember it easier. In fact, activities could be a motivation for many kids to want to dig deeper into the lesson plans.
Check out these educational enrichment activities that you can do with your child:
- Bake something: Kids can learn both math and science in the kitchen. Measuring ingredients and figuring out proportions helps them master math, while watching individual ingredients transform into something they love to eat is the basis of chemistry lessons.
- Visit a local historical spot: Most cities have historical spots that are still open as long as you maintain social distancing. This is a great way to take the classroom to the road, spend some quality time together, and learn something unique to your hometown or somewhere nearby.
- Gaze at the stars: Pull that telescope out and do some stargazing. The stars helped ancient navigators find faraway lands. Take a close look at the moon and open up a conversation about gravity. The sky is truly the limit when it comes to learning opportunities with the stars.
Educational games can make learning fun and challenging
Nothing makes learning more fun than playing a game. Teachers usually incorporate games into lessons for this exact reason. The great thing is you probably have some of these games already in the closet.
Here are some educational games to play with your kids:
- Trivial Pursuit: Get the version that is age-appropriate to test everyone’s knowledge on various subjects. Let’s face it, this is a good opportunity for you to refresh yourself on some things you might be helping your child to learn as well.
- Card games: Card games require concentration, memory, and often math skills. Pull out a deck and have some fun. Play War for some speedy math skills. Or a game of Memory. Be creative; there are a plethora of age-appropriate games to keep learning fun.
- Host a spell-a-thon: Kids love spell-a-thons and they are so easy to do. If you have more than one child, make age-appropriate word cards for each to spell. If you only have one child, give them a challenge with a prize to see how far they can get with a bunch of words. Make it challenging but winnable to keep them engaged.
Engage your kids with STEAM enrichment activities using household items
Thanks to the internet, you can order many different types of STEAM activities. But you don’t need to spend a lot of money on STEAM enrichment programs done at home. STEAM activities are creative and captivating — well worth the time to set up and do.
Here are some STEAM activities for you to consider:
- Popsicle stick catapult: Using a few simple items you have around the house (if you don’t have popsicle sticks, eat a few to prepare for the lesson), you can make a catapult to propel marshmallows. It just takes popsicle sticks, rubber bands, glue and a bottle cap. Have a contest to see who’s catapult is most accurate or sends things the farthest.
- Build structures: Using toothpicks and marshmallows, have kids build a cube, a pyramid and a myriad of other shapes and structures. This gets them translating what they see in their mind into something tangible and real. Of course, they’ll want to eat the structures after.
- The hundred cup tower: This sounds a lot easier than it is. Grab a bag of 100 cups and let your kids build a tower as high as possible with it. This will force them to understand why balance and stability are important, as well as teaching the younger ones to count to 100.
- Solar system sun catcher: "A" stands for "art" in STEAM, so let your kids explore their creative side. This fun project from STEAMsational using melted beads would be good way to brighten up that astronomy lesson.
Malia Martin, mom to a middle schooler, knows that in order to keep her daughter engaged she has to be doing things away from the computer and video monitor. “Even walking on the beach gives her a chance to explore and ask questions about the tides, the fish, and even the history of how our ancestors arrived,” she told Mom.com. Learning and enrichment opportunities are everywhere if you just look for them.
