School everywhere is online now, and teachers are working harder than ever to make sure their kids achieve mastery of their competency areas in new, innovative ways. At Shoreline Christian School we’ve embraced the challenge that has come with this unexpected season, and we’ve never been more proud of our teachers for their heroic efforts to reach their students.
This post is sponsored by Shoreline Christian School.
At the same time, we recognize that this mode of learning places a new burden on parents. Many are scrambling to help their student understand new concepts, complete assignments, and function in an environment that typically hasn’t been designated for learning. Another huge challenge is that kids have hours to fill that were previously filled with school. Schooling at home typically takes less time because there isn’t passing time between classes or delays due individual student needs or questions. While this is typical, many parents want to extend the learning beyond the shortened homeschool learning day and are looking for enrichment activities to help fill the gaps.
Here are some ideas.
Watch Ted Talks: If you have an older child, Ted Talks are a great way to introduce them to concepts that will help them succeed. The possibilities are practically endless; here is a list that may be of particular interest to teens. Disclaimer: Always do your research to make sure the content fits with your family’s values and worldview.
Make a Video Presentation: Every child wants to be a YouTube star these days, so they’ll be totally engaged in this activity that makes them feel like one. Have them research a topic that’s of interest to them and then plan, record, and edit a video presentation about the topic. This can be done with varying levels of skills and detail depending on the age of your child.
Design a Country: Have your child make a map of a country. Design a flag, designate a capital city, choose the national flower and bird, make rules, traditions…this can be as simple or complicated as you’d like. Have older kids design a government and detailed presentation.
Draw Your House to Scale: Have your child measure and then draw (or build) your house to scale. This is a complex mathematical and problem-solving activity that will probably take several days to complete.
Design a Menu and Grocery Shopping List: Again, the complexity of this task can be changed based upon the age of your child. Give them parameters (ex: each meal must have a vegetable and protein; give them a budget if they’re older) and have them write out your dinner menu for a week, research recipes to make a grocery list, and enter the list into your favorite grocery-ordering app to see the grand total. Have them make adjustments if they go over budget.
All of these activities will help your child develop valuable life skills while encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and even development of core content area competencies. Learning doesn’t have to be drudgery – in fact, we discourage that! Use this time to assign your child projects they’d never otherwise have time to do, and they’ll be more than ready to return to the traditional classroom whenever that resumes.
At Shoreline Christian School, we strive to purposefully integrate faith and learning. In every modality – including today’s online learning environment – we give our students the tools to succeed in life and academics while encouraging the maturation of their faith walk. Learn what Shoreline Christian School can offer you and your child, and how we’ve risen to the challenge of remote learning without compromising educational richness!
