It’s no secret that parents are struggling when it comes to online learning, this is especially true for those who have kids in preschool and kindergarten. Parents feel that they have to keep up with virtual schooling or else their children will fall behind their peers academically and miss out on social learning. Parents are also struggle with how much screen time their kids should have, but it’s become the go-to survival for those working from home.
How do parents give their preschool and kindergarten-aged children the academic and social skills at home without spending all day hovering over them?
4 Tips to help your child get the academic and social skills at home:
1. Engage with your child in household chores and activities that you can do together
This can be chores like unloading the dishwasher, loading or unloading the washing machine, helping with meals, or even raking leaves the yard. These activities help kids develop the skills they need to interact with others.
2. Incorporate the education into fun activities added to your daily routine
If you are concerned with your child not keeping up with math incorporate fun activities while doing things together around the house and neighbourhood that are part of the regular routine. This can include unpacking groceries and counting the number of items to taking a walk around the block and looking for shapes on signs and houses.
3. Help build your child’s mental tool box with 10 minutes a day
You can help your child build the mental tools they need to help with memory, emotional control and impulse control. Developing these skills for just 10 minutes a day can have a great impact on overall social and academic skills. Simple activities like tic-tac-toe and Simon Says can build these foundational skills that will help them throughout grade school.
4. Create a safe space at home where your child can engage in free play
You can create safe spaces in the home where kids can engage in free play unsupervised or semi-supervision. This can help parents still balance work on a computer and take quick breaks to interact with their kids. This can include setting up blocks, art activities, Play Doh and even magnets.
If you want to learn more about ParentAbility and how we use all this information in Uncommon Sense Parenting, come and join us! We also have a free Facebook group, Parenting Posse, where you can connect with many other parents with similar struggles.
