Across the globe, many children have a different definition of what school means this year. Terms like eLearning and virtual learning have become the norm, and some parents have even chosen to keep their kids home in an effort to keep them safe from the COVID-19 pandemic.
People have homeschooled for years for many reasons, but the top one is a concern about the school environment. Now, the main concern is about health.
If your children are learning virtually this year, or you’ve decided to homeschool them, you have a unique opportunity to not only keep them on track with the required curriculum, but to teach them some important life skills along the way.
Let’s take a look at a few of those skills and how they can be incorporated into your lesson plans.
1. Baking
If you love to cook or bake, there are so many things your child can learn from it. Baking is science – every part of it. From measuring out ingredients to understanding how they work together, you can have your child help you bake something, and use it as a lesson.
Some topics to cover are how raising agents like baking soda work, or how eggs work to emulsify. You can also teach them about measurements and grams, and even include some math into your adventure by dealing with fractions.
At the end of the day, not only will you have incorporated a science and math lesson, but you’ll have something delicious to show for it, and your child can use those baking skills for a lifetime.
2. Gardening
Gardening is good for your physical and mental health. If your child is stuck in front of a computer most of the day, putting together a garden with them can be the perfect break they need to get some fresh air.
The academic skills that can be learned through gardening include environmental science and social studies. You can have them plant something, and collect data on how it’s growing each day. You can even get bigger with your project and have your child help with landscaping efforts. For example, Thuja Brabant is a great evergreen plant for hedging, so you can teach them the difference between certain plant species and how they grow, and why some plants die each year while others remain green.
3. Volunteering/Donating
Now, more than ever, people across the world need help. Getting your child interested in volunteering or donating to important causes can help them to learn how to research. They can look up the things that they’re passionate about, collect data, and put in the effort to help those organizations.
If your child gets an allowance, they can also use math skills to set a monetary donation goal. If they get more money for doing more chores, they could create a timeline for reaching their goal.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to incorporate real-world lessons into your everyday teaching. Don’t be afraid to get creative, and focus on the well-roundedness of your child. You’ll both have fun doing it!
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