Arts and Crafts
Activities related to arts and crafts will not only be a fun way for your children to unleash their creativity, but these can also assist with core skills and improve cognitive thinking immensely. Dr. Amrita Vohra explains that interest in arts and crafts improves bilateral coordination, which is the ability to utilize both sides of the brain. This coordination ability is enhanced by tasks that activate several areas of the brain, such as using play-doh tools and lacing yarn or threading beads. Additionally, sketching, painting, and sculpting can heighten kids’ focus and visual learning, which can aid memorization abilities.
Passion Project
If your child has a special interest in science, art, or reading, among others, you can challenge them with a passion project. The project can be in any form — some suggestions from ‘3 Fun Activities for Kids During the Pandemic’ include writing a short storybook or redesigning part of their room. It can be a fantastic way to help your children develop what they want to do in the future. Moreover, it teaches them independence and the importance of working hard for good results. Similar to school projects, try to make the project realistic and time-bounded, so set a deadline depending on the level of difficulty. You may also want to set a reward after completing the project to give them additional motivation.
Kitchen Activities
In our list of ‘Fun Activities for Children After School’, we mention how letting kids assist with cooking can help them learn new skills and imitate good behaviors. Learning to follow recipes and instructions allows for a hands-on application of core subjects such as reading and comprehension, while measuring and observing the cause-and-effects of cooking methods draws on math and science concepts. A study in the Journal of School Health shows that students that underwent food-based nutrition activities revealed significant improvements in their science and mathematics knowledge. Assign easy, supervised tasks for your children such as measuring ingredients, mixing batter, and watching out for the cooking timer the next time you’re in the kitchen.
Yoga and Meditation
Keeping children entertained can be a grueling task, especially for those with high energy levels. An activity that is often recommended for both fitness and relaxation is yoga. It is a mix of meditation, breathing exercises, and physical postures that help with sleep, flexibility, and emotional wellness. It also improves their physical capacity and their balance, which is useful if they were to pursue sports. Some easy positions include the child’s pose, upward and downward-facing dog, and the sun salutation. In Edmunds Elementary School where yoga is implemented daily, test scores have actually increased more than 18%, and the number of students being sent to the office has also decreased by more than two-thirds.
Music and Instruments
A lot of children are enrolled in extracurricular music classes — while this can serve as a great hobby and creative outlet, it can also make students better mathematicians and readers. Findings published in the Journal of Research in Music Education indicate that music education is vital in boosting general learning processes in different areas. Music is a great way to supplement a holistic approach to education. Making your children listen to different genres, introducing them to various instruments, and playing musical games are all simple ways to start incorporating music into their learning.
We hope we were able to prove how learning at home doesn’t have to be limited to homework and studying. These simple, creative activities will allow you to bond with your kids while also encouraging them to keep learning and discover
Article written by Jaime Riggins
