We’re all scrabbling around in the dark trying to work out the best way to cope with school closures during these testing times. If your children are at home with you and you’re concerned with them keeping up with their school work, we have some fun ways to embed learning activities that will mix education with various activities.
These fun tutoring activities stem from daily tasks that can be enhanced and focused towards your children’s learning, rather than the task completion itself. We will also inherit some key factors that are essential to a child’s learning.
This article by Peepal Tree Learning aims to provide parents and carers with some tips on how to aid children in learning whilst being at home. Be sure to check out our website for information about us and the educational services we provide. We now do online tuition too!
Baking
Baking provides a wealth of learning opportunities and produces some delicious results too. Working through a simple recipe with your child will help develop measuring skills (Maths), following instructions (English) and can help them understand reversible and irreversible changes (Science). Topped off by a sense of completion and achievement, baking can be the all round fun tutoring activity for children.
As you work through the recipe, it would be great to ask your children questions like;
- ‘What does the recipe tell us to do next?’
- ‘How much more flour do we need, compared to sugar?’
- ‘What is different about the mixture now?’
- ‘If we wanted to make two, how much of this ingredient would we need?’
Writing Stories
Engaging your child in creativity by planning and writing a story is a great way to embed some learning in a relaxed way. Ask your children to pick a main character, a setting and a special object (such as a magic key, a treasure map, a broken lamp or a buried time capsule) and let their imaginations run riot! This type of tutoring activity may vary amongst children and is a great way to hone in on their interests and common ideas.
If your child begins to get stuck in certain areas of the story, begin provoking scenarios, characters and situations that may occur to continue the flow and lock in interest. You’ll notice that your child may become more involved in the story once it has developed further, so giving them a good base is always a great start.
Creating Models
Model making can be a fun way to engage children in a topic or subject. You could use playdough, modelling clay or even blu tack to make a model of the solar system or to show the different animals and plants in a habitat or biome. Another possibility is the use of recycled objects, such as boxes, food packaging, bubble wrap, newspaper etc. The models and scenery you make can also represent the book you began writing with your child!
Encourage your child to join different materials together, provoking the thought process on how they interact and function.
Planting
Planting seeds and watching them sprout and grow is always a rewarding activity to do with your children. And you don’t need a garden either; a few simple supplies are all you need to get you started. Using some multi-purpose compost in a plant pot, plastic cup or old yogurt pot, sprinkle the seeds in and cover with compost. This tutoring activity also grants that sense of completion, but also patience and other benefits.
Your children can be encouraged to take responsibility for certain areas of planting, if not all of it. Letting them focus on giving the plant enough water and sunlight can be a daily task, teaching them responsibility. Also, taking notes if the plants progress and measurements can provoke more and more interest as time goes on as the plants begin to grow.
To enhance this tip, here are some faster maturing plants to your aid your child getting faster results and retaining their interest;
- Mung Beans (2-5 days)
- Cress (3-7 days)
- Lima Beans (4-7 days)
- Radishes (7-14 days)
- Pumpkins (7-21 days)
Keeping Active
Being less able to go outside and play with other children may mean that your child is less active than normal but there are lots of ways you can incorporate exercise into your new home learning routine. Though not entirely academic, this fun tutoring activity has benefits in many areas. Parents can find ways to employ maths, english and science into these physical activities, but maintaining your child’s sense of activity is the main focus.
Joining in with your child can be a great way to initiate some physical activity. From warm ups and warm downs, to hopping around and sports. This is a chance for both you and your child to let loose and have fun.