With the growing cases of coronavirus around Nigeria and the world at large, more and more people including parents are becoming worried. Besides the fact that social distancing is the new normal and businesses are on hold for now, schools are equally closed. Now, how can your kids learn during these troubling, unprecedented times?

It’s true that many parents need to keep working from home. And concentrating during COVID-19 with your children at home may be difficult.

In this post, we discuss 7 fun and simple ideas to help you engage your children so that you can focus on your own business.

Without much ado, let’s begin.

7 Ideas to Help Your Kids Learn during COVID-19 Pandemic

 Encourage Learning through Songs

Songs have always been perfect for helping kids learn. Apart from the fact that many children songs are rich in rhyme, alliterative patterns, and imagery, many of these songs are easy to learn.

During these unsettling times, encourage your kids to learn new songs and sing along. Music will help them focus on the positive side of this world crisis. Also, they’ll pick up new words, phrases and sentence structures.

The bottom line: music is perfect for improving your child’s mind and helping them stay happy while the world is ‘on fire’.

Read Age-appropriate Books

Reading books is another brilliant way to educate kids. And the books your children read should be suitable for their ages.

For instance, the Peter and Jane book series A, B, and C are perfect for kids between ages two and six.

Spending time to read with your kids will help you discover their reading abilities. If they’re weak in some areas, pronunciation for example, you could correct them. Also, you can teach them the meaning of words and help them understand the content of the books they read.

Exercise Regularly

While exercise isn’t exactly something that comes with topics or definitions, it’s a remarkable activity during coronavirus. Creating a home atmosphere where your children can engage in physical activities or bodily movements is a great idea.

Simple exercises like press up, squats, and jumping rope can be done with music on the background. In 5 to 10 minutes, you could repeat some of them, and before you know it, you’re done. Ready for the day!

Not only would these exercises keep your kids healthy, but they will also teach them to take responsibility for their health. Without questions, these lessons would become valuable as they grow into adults.

 Play Word Games or Puzzles

Word games such as Scrabble or puzzles on mobile devices are also good for helping kids learn during these times.

When we play games, the brain gets busy. It focuses on solving problems, partnering with others, and learning new things. Your kids can learn to play these games to shape their thinking capabilities and collaborate with their siblings or other adults in the house.

 Attempt Drawing and Painting

Drawing and painting are two skills that kids can learn and improve on while they’re at home. Yes, some kids have a natural ability for these art activities. If your child is one, allow them to put their abilities to use.

Alternatively, if your child isn’t good at drawing or painting, consider signing up for drawing or painting lessons on the internet. There are hundreds of websites that provide these services.

Also, you can download and install drawing or painting apps from the Google play store to your mobile gadgets including phones, tablets or personal computers.

The bottom line: when kids draw or paint, they learn to create something beautiful out of nothing. Also, it can be a great way to express their fears, anxieties or other feelings.

See Educative Movies

Movies are equally beneficial when it comes to helping your kids learn. If you’ve seen Akeelah and the Bee, you’ll know that children’s minds can be shaped in awesome ways, especially when you provide the support they need.

Other movies like Frozen and Moana are also good, as kids can learn to believe in themselves against all odds.

 Follow a Routine

Finally, when you do decide to do these activities, be organized about them. Create a routine where you can fit them into your daily schedule.

The idea isn’t to bombard your kids so that they don’t bother you. Instead, the goal is to help them learn in easy and entertaining ways so that they’re not given to boredom while schools are closed. You’ll find other great homeschooling ideas in this BBC article.

Overall, we don’t know how long this coronavirus crisis would last. But we, at Oyerinde Preparatory School, strongly believe that we will pull through. Our best wishes are with you always.

Stay safe and happy. Remain socially distant, but emotionally connected.