Why is it that your work never seems to end, yet your children seem to be finished with their school work in approximately ten minutes? It seems that I just get my daughter started with her school work, only to be interrupted approximately ten minutes later with their device in hand and the explanation that she is, “finished with everything.” A look of great expectation is always stretched across her face. The expectation comes with her next question, “What do I do now?” And I know that if I don’t provide something, she will languish right next to me, which is lovely and I do like cuddles, but is difficult when I also have deadlines and projects staring me in the face. At which point I take a deep breath in…
Sometimes we all need to simply play out the clock. The days are getting longer (in more ways than one) and we all need purposeful learning activities for our children. There are a few simple ideas that will help alleviate those extra hours of boredom, while still encouraging reading and writing.
Gather everyone together for a read aloud. You do not necessarily need the physical books in your possession, either. Thanks to different apps, such as Audible, your child can listen to audio books whenever or you can listen with your child while doing things like folding laundry or preparing dinner. I have been taking a little time after breakfast to reread the Harry Potter series with my children. The act of sharing a story with your children (even older children!) provides fodder for rich discussions about the story and gives you the opportunity to discuss characters and situations in those stories. We have had many rich conversations about friendship, courage, bullying, and the importance of valuing your own strengths that have all stemmed from reading about that famous boy wizard. Reading fiction allows you to have an almost safe distance from issues that appear in real life and be able to process them through discussions.
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Other excellent choices for read alouds based upon age groups:
Primary aged children: Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary, The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney, The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Middle to Upper elementary: Wonder by R.J. Palacio, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr
Set time aside for silent reading. Encourage a set amount of time in which the only activity allowed is silent reading. When finished with a book, encourage your child to work on a creative activity that summarizes the story, such as making a jackdaw. To create a jackdaw, simply find an old shoebox, and encourage your child to find and create objects that represent different parts of the story that they completed. Find directions for making a jackdaw HERE.
Play reading and word study games. Everyone likes playing games. Playing games that involve word building or reading can be powerful for practicing literacy skills. You can find a link to our free downloadable reading games page HERE. Conversely, you might also encourage your child to create their own game, creating their own game board and rules. Encourage your child to look at board games that you might have around the house and have him or her try to modify those games somehow, to create a game of their own. Encourage your child to write the rules of the game carefully, so that even a young child could understand. Then, be prepared to play that game with your child (after you have written that sales report and finished the slide presentation to accompany it, of course!).
Invite your child to create their own masterpiece. It was typical in my former classrooms at school that if a child was done with an assignment early, I would always tell him or her to, “go work on your novel.” After reading extensively throughout the year and listening to many read alouds, I encouraged my students to write a longer manuscript for themselves. Many started crafting their own creative endeavors that went on for pages and pages. If you have a child that is not a fan of writing and is more artistic instead, entice him or her to create their own graphic novel or series of comic strips. To help get your child started, use our downloadable COMIC STRIP OUTLINE.
Again, children are not necessarily used to finding purposeful ways to occupy their time. As with anything, it takes practice for children to discover activities that will fill their time. You can encourage them to engage in activities that enhance their reading and writing skills at the same time. With a little encouragement from your end, you will be able to go back to your Zoom meeting, while still knowing that your child is doing purposeful work.
You never know, you might also be inspired to write that novel you always dreamed about starting. Or you can look over at the dirty dishes in the sink and remember exactly how it is that you spend your spare time these days. And exhale….
You can find more home schooling help at www.homeschoolnavigator.com. We are all in this together!