There is More to Learning Than Letters and Numbers
Going beyond academics during the lockdown
By now all of us are amidst the lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. All of us are going through hardship and challenging times irrespective of where we are. We as a family, have locked up ourselves along with our daughter for over a month now. And I can understand and empathize with you if you are in a similar situation. The lockdown is getting even more stressful for working parents with young kids.
When we, the grown-ups, are finding it so hard to stay indoors for so long, it must be too hard for the little ones to stay indoors. Still, they are braving it! Indeed, they are our superheroes! But whatever said and done, it is especially hard times for the children — the schools are closed, they are not able to meet their friends, they are not able to go out and run, and just breathe some fresh air.
Learning is beyond academics.
And amidst all of these, the learning and school curriculum of the children have abruptly halted as the schools continue to remain shut for indefinite period across the globe. While many parents are resorting to home-schooling and schools are opting for online classrooms, we also learned something important. While we had been trying to keep our daughter engaged with minimal screen time and a little bit of homeschooling, we realized that learning is not just limited to numbers and letters.
There is also a lot to learn from observing our surroundings and taking part in daily chores. If you are struggling to keep your child engaged at this time and instill some learning, here are some ideas that worked for us.
Stick to a routine
Having a routine in place did wonder — for her and us. While my husband and I are working from home, we have ensured that our daughter stays engaged throughout the day meaningfully.
Keeping the child engaged with minimal screen time
Amidst the lockdowns, the screen time has increased for the children. A recent survey report mentioned that “nearly half of respondents’ kids (48%) are currently spending more than six hours per day online (a nearly 500% increase from before the crisis)…the most prominent platforms and apps used by kids whose parents completed the survey were largely non-educational: YouTube (78.21%), Netflix (49.64%), and TikTok (33.41%).”
This is worrying.
But what can be done to keep the children engaged especially when both the parents are working from home and still help the children to learn something new?
These are some of the things that we are doing!
Start the day with exercise
Exercising has always been vital. We start the day with some stretches that can be done safely at home involving the child as well.
Involving the child in preparing easy meals
Our daughter has always been a fussy eater so we are using this time to teach her some basic cooking skills. Apart from learning this basic survival skill, I could also see a rise in her interest in food. She actively participates in deciding the menu, fixes easy sandwiches, and brews excellent coffee for us.
She is also learning to cook rice, knead dough and roll flatbreads (the Indian staples), and trust me rolling flatbreads is no easy job! Apart from hand-eye coordination, it is also helping her to learn patience. And yes, being able to roll a perfect round flatbread is super exciting for her too!
Growing your own vegetables
A fellow parent mentioned the other day how they are indulging in growing their kitchen garden. If you are ready to let your child’s hands get dirty, then this activity is super fun and immensely satisfying. Let the child throw some seeds, water the plants, study germination together, and see the fruits and vegetables to grow! I bet; no screen time can take over this pleasure.
Art and crafts to tickle the creative genes
I am a big fan of making crafts from wastes. So, every day we are taking out some time to create something new from whatever is available at home.
Doing art and craft is relaxing, nerve soothing, engaging, helps to concentrate and focus, and yes, the joy of creating something new is un-measurable.
Connect with the extended family
We are also utilizing this time to connect with our extended family. Our daughter has her daily video call time in the evening when she speaks with her friends, grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunts. Yes, we are a pretty big family! Needless to say, it is a great way to learn some social skills at this time of social distancing.
Storytime!
We all grew up listening to stories. Listening to stories helps in learning the language, the narrative structure, and above all develop the listening skills. We are utilizing the lockdown period to tell her a lot of stories. Stories from our childhood, stories of real people. She also listens to a lot of audio stories (no screens!) while we are busy on calls and virtual meetings.
The daily chores
No work is menial and that’s what we are trying to teach her these days. She takes great pleasure in cleaning the dishes, tidying her room, spreading the table, and folding her clothes. It is indeed fun for her because she is doing the ‘real grown-up jobs’ that she otherwise doesn’t get a chance to do!
Finally, we are practicing gratitude as a family for getting food to eat and being able to stay safe together under the roof. As we are passing through these challenging times, we are learning to empathize with each other and taking pleasure in doing trivial things. Not sulking at life has been the biggest learning for us amidst this pandemic.
