The COVID-19 outbreak has caused many of our schools to close. Parents unite! We got this! Here are some fun, educational activities to do with your children during the school closure.
- Visit zoos via live web cams. Many zoos have links on their websites to see their animals on live web cams. Some even have videos of their zookeepers telling all about different animals at the zoo. Here are a few favorites.
- Use clay and play doh. My six year old son spends time each day making a few irregular words (where, the, put, of, does, etc.) to help him remember how to read and spell them. You could also use this method for spelling words. We also use it to practice fractions. Our favorite clay is Crayola Model Magic. It's so easy to squish and mold. Tools are fun to have too.
- Make spaghetti words. Another great way to practice words is to cook spaghetti noodles and let your child use them to make their words.
- Use shaving cream to practice words. Spray some shaving cream on the table and have your kids write out words. You could do spelling words, vocabulary words, their names, address, or even mom and dad's phone numbers to help remember them. This is also a great way to practice math facts!
- Play board games. Some children's board games are great learning tools. Some of our favorites are Bananagrams, Scrabble, Boggle Jr., Zingo, Code Master, Monopoly Jr., and The Allowance Game.
- "Bake" puzzles. My kids aren't crazy about puzzles, but they are crazy about baking competition shows. I turned making a puzzle into "baking a cake." I give them a time limit to get the "cake" made just like the do on the baking shows. It makes it so much fun!
- Do Lego challenges. If you have some Legos on hand, give them some challenges. For example, after watching Lego Masters (awesome show by the way!) we did a bridge challenge. Can you make a bridge strong enough to hold an apple? How about a 5 pound weight? There's a lot of science that goes into a challenge like that.
- Sign up for educational websites. I know there are a lot of free websites out there. However, we love ABC Mouse and Adventure Academy. ABC Mouse goes up to 2nd grade. Adventure Academy is for grades 3-8. My son is in first grade and does really well on ABC Mouse. We just tried Adventure Academy and my daughter (3rd grade) is obsessed! It's well balanced, so it has a lot of fun things to do, but definitely challenges her. I was able to get each child an 8 month subscription for just $30. It's totally worth it! Scholastic is also offering free lessons each day. Both my kids have done them and enjoy them (although not as much as ABC Mouse and Adventure Academy).
- Look for free printables. There are so many sites that offer free educational printables. Here are a few sites.
- Keep an adventure journal. These are unprecedented times. Have your child write in a journal once per week about something he/she did while being home, and have them draw a picture.
What are you all doing to homeschool the kids during this time?