Corona Closure: How Parents Can Cope Children During Quarantine
It’s been two weeks since the closure of schools and educational institutes resulting teachers to work from home and teaching students virtually. So far, the commencement of educational institutes is not certain and we also have been advised to stay at home to stop spreading the virus. Schools and teachers are scrambling to get their courses online so that students can continue their education without interruption. However, where teachers are struggling to keep the dice rolling virtually with their students, the parents, on the other hand, are burdened with their sudden responsibility of their kid’s homeschooling. Especially those parents who are also working from home, it becomes challenging for them to minimise the boredom of their kids while completing their office tasks on a daily basis. Last week, even some parents texted me sharing their concerns on how to cope with their kids’ boredom at home without disrupting their daily routine.
Whether you are a parent whose job is letting you work remotely, or you’re missing work entirely and have to look after your kids, the pandemic is likely disrupting your routine and leaving you with a young scholar to watch after and guide. However, situations vary as some kids would no doubt be more than happy to spend the entire day playing PUBG or CS: Go and watching TikTok dance challenges. And then some kids give a tough time to their parents asking questions which are difficult for parents to answer. Moreover, parents whose kids are spending the whole day in front of a computer screen are also concern about their health and routine.
So, I did a bit of research and listed down some interesting websites and activities that parents can engage with their kids, helping them busy and being productive whole day.
HomeSchoolMom is one of the oldest and popular homeschooling websites. This website helps parents as well as teachers to devise their own lesson plans, or just figure out what kids should do hour to hour, parents might not know where to start,
Many profit-based learning companies are offering their resources for free during this time of chaos. The list of websites includes everything from a free e-book download made up of tools and ideas to inspire creative play to online science lessons to live Facebook broadcasts featuring sharks.
It’s a free website with an abundance of resources and ready to print materials that help not only parents but also teachers to engage students virtually at their home.
StorylineOnline is a YouTube channel where celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Chrissy Metz, Kristen Bell, Wanda Sykes, Sarah Silverman and many more read stories that your children will love. Each video also has moving illustrations from the book to keep your children even more entertained.
Free Online Courses from Scholastic
The educational company has launched a “Learn at Home” website that has daily courses for students from Pre-kindergarten to grades six and higher. From learning about why zebras have stripes to math lessons based on K-Pop stars, Scholastic’s learning plans cover all the subjects your student would be taking at school.
While children are very resilient, your child may be terrified by the idea of a virus that, frankly, has already killed thousands of people, and might have already impacted someone they know. One excellent resource for families is The Child Mind Institute, a non-profit organisation, which has a stable of excellent clinical experts and has been hosting Facebook Live chats with clinicians.
Become a Virtual Tourist to your Kid
Do you want to see the world as a tourist while at home? Laura Davis of the online service College Nannies, Sitters and Tutors recommends that parents keep their children’s minds stimulated by becoming virtual tourists.
Although screen time, this is a fun website for kids to dance along to some silly songs and move their body with different games.
Apart from such websites, there are also many more things which parents can do with their kids. The Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Ducker have listed down some exciting and engaging strategies for parents who are having difficulty engaging their kids in productive activity.
- Walk it out, 2. The Flexible Schedule, 3. Gardening Basics, 4. Makeshift Recess, 5. Online Connection and many more. Visit the source for the details.
In the end, we teachers, parents and students are all in the same boat, missing out each other’s old routine. However, every situation brings a chance to reflect how we take things for granted which are free to us; freedom, love, relations, feelings, respect and memories. We only realise its value when we lost it. The mother nature has granted us an opportunity by halting our chaotic lives to reflect. It’s time for every one of us to reflect and try to bring change in their mindset.
God bless us all.