Creativity and flexibility, especially amid a global pandemic, have become the name of the game when it comes to learning. Along with traditional in-person school, there now exists hybrid learning, homeschooling, alternative schools, virtual online education, or any mix of those combined. Finding teachable moments to supplement learning from school will of course vary based on your child’s age. There are also some important questions to keep in mind as you assess your learner’s needs. Where do they struggle? Where do they excel? What are their interests? Making your home and surrounding environment a haven for learning will not only foster family bonds, but can fill gaps, offer enrichment and build upon skills to keep your child’s learning on track.
Helping to create an atmosphere that supports literacy, away from school, tops the list of ways to supplement learning for children of all ages. Surround your kids with reading materials. Any kind will do. An engaging new magazine subscription related to science, food or sports create perfect opportunities for non -fiction reading. Try some comic books, or a series of novels that caught your child’s eye. A trip to the library, either in person or online to read the book you always wanted to, as a family, could spark hours of conversation. Also, do not forget a good old-fashioned flip through a newspaper. Maybe your family could make their own version of one?
Creating your own field trips for the kiddos can give you endless possibilities to learn. A visit to a local park, the harbor, a lake, or a visit to the local ski mountain or ice-skating rink can offer the exercise and conversation to both discuss and write about later. Encourage new ideas like a nature scavenger hunt or a recycling/ litter clean up walk. Even a bike ride or walk to the grocery store or bank can elicit endless possibilities to discuss budgeting, planning, and life experiences. Real life supplemental teachable moments are often the ones they never forget.
Enlist your child, no matter what age, as a helpful contributing member of your family unit. Older kids can help the younger ones to take on new responsibilities such as cleaning, organizing, cooking and baking. Kids like having jobs and responsibilities. They grow from the notion that they helped to create something, no matter how small the contribution is. Let them measure out the ingredients, set the table, fold the towels or water the plants. Switch it up every few days or weeks and see what new skills they learn and can grow from.
Lastly, allow for learning through downtime. Play games, with rules and steps and directions to be followed. Work on a hard puzzle and let them do the corners. Create hands on, old school science experiments with baking soda and vinegar. Use play dough and sand and let their imaginations run free. For older kids grow and hatch butterflies or plant some seeds or flowers. Document the steps and the process, before you appreciate the outcomes. And of course, because we are living a different kind of reality today, remember that sometimes the path of least resistance is the best path to choose. Allow for some screen time (within your own limits) and give yourself permission to relax technology boundaries where and if you see fit. Some screen time, a good movie, and an online visit with someone special are also learning opportunities and sometimes very necessary to help keep everyone on track.
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