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Practical Ideas to Encourage Learning at Home



As schools around the world are closing their doors to in-classroom learning in the hope of slowing the spread of COVID-19, many parents are wondering what they can do to keep their children in a learning frame of mind. 

 I'm in BC, Canada, on our scheduled Spring Break right now, but today our province was the latest to announce that students will not be returning to school when Spring Break ends. While that is upsetting, it is absolutely the correct call to make sure that students and staff stay healthy. As of now, we don't know what school will look like for the remainder of the year, and that is, understandably, a cause of concern for many parents. 

 It's important to remember that even though they are out of school, they won't stop learning. People learn. In whatever situation they find themselves, people learn. However, in order to help ease the anxiety, here are a few things that children can do at home with their parents to keep the routine of learning happening during self-isolation.

 English:

  • Write in a journal
  • Watch a movie together as a family and find the main ideas, make connections to other movies, books, TV shows, real life, etc.
  • Read a book! As they read, encourage students to:
    • write down any words they don't know. Look up the definitions of the words at dictionary.com and write a few new sentences containing the word.
    • respond to what's happening in the book with a journal. They can write from the perspective of a main character or as themselves, asking the characters questions.
    • notice the characteristics of the main characters. Who do these characters remind them of? Are they like anyone in real life? Are they like characters from other stories? 
    • draw pictures of the characters and the settings in the book. Then write new adventures for those characters within the same settings. What would happen if the characters found themselves in completely different settings?
    • Write a book review or record a YouTube video giving a review of the book. Remember not to give away any spoilers in the review!


 Math:

  • Bake together. Ask students to follow a recipe and measure out the ingredients. How about doubling the recipe? How could you half the recipe?
  • Involve them in grocery shopping. Look online or at flyers to see prices and set a budget. Have students add the prices mentally as you go through the store and estimate the total cost before you get to the register.
  • Watch some TedEd Riddles on YouTube and see if they can solve them faster than you!
  • Play Yahtzee, Cribbage, or other games that involve counting and strategy.
  • Solve Sudoku puzzles.
  • Play Prodigy.


Science/Social Studies:

  • Follow Crash Course on YouTube. It has videos about history, engineering, biology, A.I., and many other topics. 
  • Watch Hip Hughes History on YouTube. 
  • Ask students to compare the COVID-19 pandemic to other worldwide pandemics (SARS, MERS, Spanish Flu, Black Plague, etc.). How do they compare with each other? What is different? What did we learn from the past that helps us now?
  • Research how the immune system works to fight diseases.


Other Ideas:

  • Play board games.
  • Play outside or go for a walk (as much as social-distancing allows)
  • Listen to music and sing songs.
  • Dance. 
  • Make art.
  • Let students explore their interests. 
  • Talk about the history of your family. Where are your ancestors from? Do you know your genealogy? 


Remember that your day doesn't have to be scheduled to the minute or include everything that would happen at school. It's okay if your kids sleep in a little later than usual. Letting your kids play, solve problems, and explore their interests will create rich learning opportunities.

 Any other ideas I missed? Let me know in the comments below.

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