The enhanced community quarantine implemented in Luzon, due to the threat of COVID-19, practically gave kids an early summer vacation due to the cancellation of classes. I can almost hear the joyous chorus of kids who do not need to take their final exams or just need to finish their final projects before they are free to enjoy their summer vacations, as much as they could during the lockdown anyways. But as the saying goes: “Learning does not just end at school”, here are some tips for parents to help their kids study at home during the quarantine.
Provide Good Study Materials
One of the simplest things you could do to help your child study at home right now is to simply provide your child with supplementary materials to help with their studies. It does not have to be something like books and other references, especially for younger children, providing educational sites and shows is already a good step in supplementing their lessons. You can also try teaching them if you are familiar with the lesson that they are currently in, such as helping your child write the alphabet properly or simple arithmetic.
Help Them Finish Their Final Projects
As I said before, probably one of the things teachers are using to mitigate the fact that they would not be able to meet their students for an entire month is to give them final projects and simply submit them online. This could turn into a double-edged sword if the final project is a bit complex or long for the child and the child requires help in finishing it. This is where a parent comes in, they can assist their child with finishing their projects, especially if the project is either a mock-up or diorama.
If the child’s project is a research paper or requires your child to hold video calls with their group mates, you can help by giving them space and the appropriate resources they need to finish their paper/s. These resources could be as simple as providing them the time and space they need to finish their projects or helping them clarify certain terms that they are not familiar with.
Teaching Your Kids Simple Home Skills
Just because school’s cancelled does not mean your child does not learn anything new. The enhanced community quarantine provides an opportunity for parents to help teach their kids home skills that they can carry wherever they may go in the future. These home skills range from as simple as cleaning and fixing your bed when you wake up to actually cooking and preparing their meals. It does not have to be complicated, in the example of cooking, you do not need to immediately ask your child to cook their own meals, just simply teaching them on how to set the table and clean up after eating is already good for them to learn.
I have already covered the details on how to fix one’s bed in a previous article, but I have mentioned it here as a lot of kids simply leave their beds as is when they wake up and do not bother to fix it so that you do not have to. Teaching them how to do it themselves will help in their self-confidence as well as they go on with their day.
Quarantine Allows You to Learn More
In the end, even if we are all stuck at home due to COVID-19, it does not mean that we can stop learning. After all, learning can happen anywhere and everywhere, so, dear parents, use this time to teach the kids new things!