How parents can become pro teachers during Covid-19

Across the country parents are settling into the idea that the current coronavirus pandemic will require for many parents to take over from teachers and child care providers during lockdown and possibly longer.

There is a real possibility if the virus continues to spread at the predicted rate that school closures will be extended.

With thousands of children now confined to their homes, many parents find themselves struggling with how to balance study time with free time.

It’s one thing to entertain children all day on the weekends, however its an entirely different level when you have seven days a week to fill for an indefinite period of time.

Families are gathering teaching materials, setting up schedules, and looking for ways to keep kids engaged beyond the limited hours of remote-learning school days.

Parents who are pros at packing lunches and juggling sports practices may feel overwhelmed at the thought of managing students’ school days at home.

Teachers advise parents if schools offer remote learning to create a basic structure for children each day, supplementing them as needed with activities that round out the curriculum.

Even the most thorough remote-learning plans won’t occupy students all day and most families will need to find additional activities.

Parents with children of multiple ages have the extra challenge of balancing multiple remote-learning plans.

With the surge of parents looking for free resources and daily routine examples, there are plenty of options to choose from:

Learning

Khan Academy, a non-profit organisation that provides free e-education to students around the world, has created several resources for parents whose children are unable to be in a formal classroom right now.

The site offers daily schedules for children by grade level.

It also offers instructions on how to best use the site for parents who are new to the concept.

Its spins-off for pre-school children is Khan Academy Kids which focuses on maths, reading and writing skills for 2-5 year-olds.

Museums

Google’s Arts & Culture platform has partnered with 1,200 leading museums and archives to show their exhibits online and offer virtual tours.

While the Louvre Museum in Paris, France is closed for now, children can still explore some of its most interesting exhibits through virtual tours on the museum’s site.

Among the big names included on the platform are the Tate Modern and the British Museum in London and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Virtual tours of the Vatican Museum in Rome, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC will keep children entertained for hours.

Others also share images and information about their collections under the Instagram hashtag #MuseumFromHome.

Reading

Storyline Online is a fun website where professional actors read popular picture books aloud.

Children can build phonological awareness with the games and materials at Education.com.

Young readers can follow along with the text of stories at Storynory and practice skills from alphabetic awareness to reading fluency at Raz-Kids, which provides evidence-based structured literacy resources.

Writing

Storybird is a short story creation website with a beautiful interface and engaging prompts.

Older kids can accept writing challenges created by experienced teachers or write their own tales, while preschoolers and kindergarten children can dictate stories to adults to type.

Math

DragonBox provides engaging and colourful math games for preschool and primary school levels.

It covers important concepts and has useful parent advice.

Greg Tang makes math fun and accessible for kindergarten and primary school students using games and puzzles that support an inquiry-based approach.

The Math Learning Centre‘s free apps for preschool to fifth grade students allow children to access online versions of favourite math games.

Living Maths is another app which is also giving free online sessions on a “first come, first served” basis.

Science

ABCMouse offers award-winning science games for preschoolers through second graders. Students can watch National Geographic Kids‘ collection of videos, activities and online polls.

For budding astronauts NASA has launched a new activity hub called NASA at Home, that’s full of videos, podcasts, do-it-yourself projects and even virtual tours.

Current events

Parents can access Scholastic‘s collection of news and nonfiction stories.

Newsela offers parent access to news stories and quizzes written to engage primary school children’s interest.

Audio books

The OverDrive app provides library access to audiobooks.

Preschoolers can read along with the text of books like “Last Stop on Market Street,” while older children can get into series like “The Magic Treehouse” or “How to Train Your Dragon.”

Older kids can enjoy Adam Gidwitz’s spooky fairy tale podcast, Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest.

Meditation recordings like those on Body Scan for Kids allow kids and parents alike to relax, especially at nap or bedtime.

Following the closing of schools around the world, Audible has opened up more than hundred audiobooks to children worldwide, at no cost.

The stories are available in six different languages, from age 0 to 18.

You will find Timeless Tales of Beatrix Potter, Winnie-the-Pooh, Jack London’s White Fang, or Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by American astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Podcasts

Wow in the World from NPR is hosted by Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz and guides curious kids and their grown-ups on a journey into the wonders of the world around them.

But Why is a podcast for curious kids. It tackles topics large and small – there’s a story about nightmares, another one about why lions roar, another one explaining how do we taste food and many more.

Of course, there is also a special on Coronavirus, explained to kids.

What If World is a storytelling podcast for kids.

What if a tiny dragon lived in my closet?

What if there were a never-ending bowl of ice cream?

What if cats ruled the world?

The wacky stories are inspired by questions from listeners.

Live safari

WildEarth is offering live streamed safari tours straight from The Sabi Sands and The Maasai Mara where you’ll be able to see lions, leopards and hyenas up close in the wild.

Another website worth visiting is SafariLIVE, an award winning, expert hosted LIVE safari, broadcast directly from the African wilderness into your home – and it’s completely free.

According to the website, the safari shows are completely unscripted and unpredictable and is reality TV as it is supposed to be – authentic and real.

The tours are available twice a day – sunrise and sunset – in local time, so check out the WildEarth website for accurate timings so the kids don’t miss out.

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