Keeping Our Kids (and you) Happy at Home

Now that we are all facing many, many days at home with our children, we are put to the task of keeping them busy AND fostering an environment for them to continue to learn while their school doors are shut.  For those of us who are also balancing working remotely from home, this is extra challenging! The number one thing that many educators are stressing is to create a routine. Kids love a schedule, and while they might moan when you mention “math time”, they will appreciate knowing what to expect (and will look forward to those snack and play breaks)!

Here are some helpful tips to planning your days ahead:

• Try sticking as close to your normal wake-up and bedtime routines to encourage consistency and what would be your typical “weekday routine”.  
• Make sure to carve out sufficient play breaks in your day.  Depending on the age of your child, these will be more or less frequent.  These can also be used as a reward, if they complete an assignment or finish a work packet, you can “extend” playtime by another 15 minutes or so!
• READ.  If your child is too young, carve out time(s) in the day to read to them and talk about the book. Do you have more than one child?  If so, perhaps engage the older sibling to read to the younger one, playing the role of “teacher”. Have you read every book and itching for new material?  Try www.getepic.com for access to 35k books for children 12 years and under. 
• Outdoor Time.  If possible, get outside and explore - go for a walk or a scoot around the block.  Take a short bike ride in the park, get FRESH AIR. We are being advised to stay away from playgrounds and playground equipment, but there are plenty of other ways we can experience the outdoors.  Have a balcony or outdoor space? Bring the lesson outside (weather permitting)!  
• Creative/Art Time.  Extremely important for any child no matter how small or big.  Let the creative juices flow. Try to introduce a new medium every day of the week.  Paint, draw, clay, jewelry making. Get creative in the kitchen - make slime or try a science experiment (mentos and a bottle of Coke anyone)?!
• Write a Letter.  It might be difficult to see grandma and grandpa for a while, so why not write a letter to a different family member every day and include some special artwork? Now more than ever, this will surely help brighten up their day and will be a fun activity for you as well.  
• More Exercise.  Not every day will be beautiful and sunny but we can’t be sitting around all day.  Why not an online yoga class?  
• Learning Sprinkled Throughout the Day - Math, Writing, whatever it is that is age and grade appropriate.    There are SO many online resources to help assist. Here are 7 of them:

1. For the younger ones - Sesame Street of course! Students have access to hundreds of video clips and games that help them with phonics, rhymes, colors and more. 
2. PBSKids has loads of interactive content, including sing-a-longs!  They even have a daily newsletter you can sign up for that tips and daily activities during this stint at home.
3. Scholastic launched free online courses from preK and up. The courses provide approximately three hours of learning per day, including writing and research projects, virtual field trips, and geography challenges.
4. National Geographic Kids, students of all ages can enjoy science experiments, animal watch cameras and a ton of activities to keep them busy for hours.
5. Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. They have partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content.
6. Code.org provides free K-12 computer science lessons and games to help students learn how to code at an earlier age. Code.org is supported by tech company donors, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and many more.
7. CoolMath.com offers online math games that help students ages 3+ with basic math lessons, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, money and more. 

For a list of all education companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings, click here: https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/

Let’s not forget that us adults will miss our time exploring, seeing, and getting out and about.  Here are a couple of ideas that will help us keep our sanity and continue to learn and explore from our couch:

• “Go” to a New Museum:  Experience the best museums from London to Seoul in the comfort of your own home by taking a virtual tour.  
• LEARN SOMETHING NEW. Photography, design, writing….whatever your heart desires.

And most importantly, practice extra patience.  This is a trying time for all of us, and it’s going to take great efforts to balance play, work, school...all within the confines of our home.  Remember to smile, laugh and have fun as much as possible. After all, this is our opportunity to create new, beautiful and unique memories with our little ones.

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