Five Tips to Help Parents and Children Survive Time off from School and at Home (guest post by Cindy McKinley Alder)
🌟 5 Tips for Surviving This Time off of School and in the House! 🌟
To be sure, this is an unprecedented time, and an unusual break from school. Your kids might feel frustrated they aren’t getting to go to school, see their friends, and engage in their favorite sports and activities right now.
But every time your family chooses to stay home, help your kids see that they are actually being brave and helpful. You can help your kids think of this time not like a punishment, but rather like they are giving their community a great gift. Staying home, as many are, is a true act of solidarity. It’s a sacrifice they can give so that nurses, doctors, and all those for whom it is not possible to stay home and protected (from first responders to grocery store personnel, and many, many others) can continue to do their jobs and keep the rest of us safe and keep our lives as normal as possible.
Here are a few ideas from an article I wrote about stopping Summer Slide and from my book 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents. Although this is not summer vacation, it is still time away from school and hopefully you will find some of these ideas helpful.
1. Make a Plan! Hopefully there will very soon be online school in place. Until then, or in addition to that, talk to your child and his teacher to see if there is anything that your child could use to review/ practice during this time away from school. It is a good chance to catch up if needed!
2. Have a Daily Routine. Kids really do feel good about themselves when they accomplish something, so make a list of things to do every day before they have free time on their electronic devices. For instance: Do chores, Clean your spaces, Do one nice other thing around the house, Play in the yard for 30 minutes, Read for 30 minutes, Write one page in your journal…
3. Read Daily. Reading every day is probably the single best thing your child can do to help herself over this break. Let your child choose what she wants to read, and encourage her to do so daily. (Time will vary according to her age.) Think of fun things to do after reading like writing letters to characters, making up a new ending, drawing a picture of a favorite scene…
4. Write Daily, too. Writing in a private journal is a great way for your child to work through his feelings, especially at a time like this. You might let your child pick out a journal (or notebook) that he likes. Set a goal of time (say 30 minutes) or length (say 1 page) per day. Let him write whatever he wants. If he is stuck for options, offer him some ideas such as reviewing a movie, writing a note to Grandma, telling what he did today, recording observations of a nature hike using all 5 senses…
5. Practice Real-Life Math. Help your kids keep up with math skills by showing them all the times math is used in your daily lives. Find ads in the newspaper and make up questions about it. (Let your child make up questions about one for YOU to answer, too!) Use fractions and measuring while cooking something fun together. Have your kids measure copy paper and cover a cereal box. Let them invent a new cereal and include all the usual information on the box. If certain skills need help, play math games to practice them. For instance, a deck of cards or some 12-sided dice can be used to practice addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts in fun ways. Be creative and make up some games together.
Uncertain times can be scary for kids (and us!), and certainly time away from their friends and activities they love can cause tension. But in times when we are all usually so busy running everyone here and there, think of this a an unexpected time… to relax and reconnect. Have fun together. Find ways to keep learning and making it fun. And, above all, stay safe!
Authors Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly
Our book 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents has many more ideas and also details about everything mentioned here.
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