Children are, understandably, quite oblivious to the whole coronavirus pandemic situation in the world. In light of nationwide school closures, all they want to know is when they can go out and play in their favourite neighbourhood park or when they can go back to school. And since, considering the absolute necessity of social distancing nowadays, they can’t do any of the two things, the result is almost always the same: cranky children.
Things can get worse if you are a working parent (as your kids won’t understand how important it is for you to respond to that email from your manager!). That is why keeping kids busy during school closures due to the coronavirus outbreak is so important. It is best to organize their day so that both you and your children are at peace.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
Keeping Kids Busy During School Closures
Maintaining work-life-balance while staying at home can be quite challenging for working parents, especially if you have school-going children. You need to make sure your children are not the ones suffering at the end of the day. For that you must have an organised day, a set routine that can be beneficial for both you and your children. Here is a list of activities to help you and your children make the most of these unexpected holidays.
- Indulge in STEM Play
- Do some gardening with them
- Involve them in daily chores
- Maintain a reading hour
- Develop a scrapbook
- Listen to them
- Watch an educational video
Let us discuss each of these points one by one for better understanding.
Indulge in STEM Play
You can involve your kids in STEM-based learning projects. STEM is an abbreviation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Such projects would not only increase their practical knowledge but will also help in keeping them busy during school closures.
One such STEM project at home is as follows: Take different containers, make some coloured solution in each container. You can pick whatever colours your child likes the most. Dip a part of the cloth in each container, see how the colour rises in that particular piece of cloth. Let your child observe closely.
Try these STEM activities for kids at home and see how well they respond to it. Simple things such as showing your kids how static electricity builds up can be interesting. Blow a balloon and rub it against the wall to produce static electricity.
One fun STEM experiment involves basic household ingredients like hairspray and water. Create a cloud in a jar and explain it to them what clouds are. Keeping kids busy during school closures is definitely a challenge but with these fun activities at home you can definitely help them learn many new things.
Do some gardening with them
Practicing social distancing doesn’t mean you keep your kids shut in the house without allowing them fresh air. Take them out in your garden or even an early morning walk. Just make sure there are not many people out there when you take your kids out.
Once your kids are out in the garden you can involve them in basic gardening chores like weeding, mowing the lawn etc. You can also explore your garden and make a terrarium with your kids. It is quite easy and will help your child connect with nature.
If you don’t have a garden, don’t worry. Time for some creative DIY activity for kids! Ask your children to collect empty plastic bottles. Cut out the central part of the bottle, add some soil and plant some vegetable seeds like brinjal, lady finger etc. Check out how to sow different flowers and fruits this spring season.
Involve them in daily chores
Now is the time to make your kids more responsible. Don’t just switch on the TV and make them watch their favourite cartoon all day long.
If you have older children, ask them to help you out in cleaning, mopping, washing dishes and doing laundry. It is best to train your child from early days on performing daily chores. Simply lazing around all day will not benefit them at all.
Maintain a reading hour
Reading books is always a great idea, especially when you want to spend quality time with your kids. If you have older kids, ask them one by one to read a story out loud. You can also have a tableau day where you pick their favourite characters from a story book and ask them to enact them.
This will help them get better on elocution, dialogue delivery and will increase their creative abilities. Moreover, reserve a part of the day where you can help your child recite and read the Quran.
Develop a scrapbook
Keeping kids busy during closure of schools due to coronavirus pandemic has been a challenge for working parents. If your children are old enough to read and write on their own. You can perhaps ask them to develop a scrapbook.
Ask them to read different magazines and the daily newspaper. Tell them to cut out any image they like and paste it in the scrapbook. Ask them to describe the image in a few words. This will not only build their vocabulary but will also develop their observational skills.
Listen to them
Each day, listen to what your kids have to say. Your child mostly listens to whatever you have to say. They’re also quite used to listening to their teachers at school. So, for a change, try to get an idea of what they want to convey to you.
The idea of keeping kids busy during school closures due to coronavirus doesn’t mean you have to force them to follow a certain routine each day. After all, these are holidays for them. So, give them a free hand to choose the activity they want to pursue that particular day. Also, now is the perfect time to reconnect with your child and build a bond of friendship and love. Don’t sit down and talk to them. On the contrary, simply listen to them. Understand what they have to say. Let them speak their mind and heart out.
Watch an educational video together
We all know how children want to explore the gadgets you use. Don’t scold them every time they touch your laptop or smartphone. Ask them which video they would like to watch and make it a point that you get involved in watching their favourite video with them.
You will see how much they enjoy while watching it with you. Keep asking them different questions to make the video-watching session more interactive and fun.
So, these were some of the best tips to organise your kids’ routine. Help them learn new skills and involve them in constructive activities. Make the most of these sudden school closures due to coronavirus.
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Stay safe everyone and make these holidays meaningful for your kids.
