The suspension of classes is happening all over the country and, unfortunately, this is not a vacation period. With children at home, parents need to know how to use this “free” time to distract the children and make this period as less troubled as possible. With that in mind, I’ve assembled a number of reading tips, house games e how to proceed with studies during quarantine.
Quarantine is not a vacation, spread awareness!
The moment we are living is of great concern, but even so, there are several records of families visiting parks, beaches and public places with their children as if it were a school vacation.
If you have thought for a moment about doing this too, know that school suspension has only one objective: to avoid exposing children to public places, with many people and with a risk of contamination. By disregarding this recommendation, we are exposing our children, their families and ourselves.
So if you know someone who’s using quarantine for a walk, raise awareness that person. It is everyone’s duty to spread information, instead of exposing family, friends and people close to the danger of contamination.
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Study, play indoors and reading tips!
But you might be wondering: what to do with children at home in times of coronavirus? I know how hard it is to distract children indoors for several days and keep a confined routine. However, some activities can help you during this time such as reading, studying, physical exercise and of course, playing!
Catching up on studies
The children are not on vacation, the suspension only occurs because of the risk of contamination. Therefore, it is the parents’ duty to create a study routine at home so that the children continue learning.
Some schools already have the recommendations and teaching materials for children to continue learning at home. But if you don’t have access to this information, explore other possibilities. How to review the content studied in the first months of the year, use free websites for early childhood education, among other possibilities.
The important thing at this time is to create a study routine, as if the child were studying at home. From 07:00 to 11:00, for example, it is time to catch up on studies.
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Playing games indoors
In the face of such a serious and worrying problem as the coronavirus, the climate inside the home needs to be softened so that everyone has quiet home isolation, and this should be taken to the children. Often we do not notice, but the children are watching everything that is happening and they too can become tense, worried and afraid.
So to alleviate this climate, you can bet on games indoors that will allow fun and distraction for children. Here are some cool ideas!
1. Make-believe jokes: that’s simple, easy and stimulates the children’s imagination. It can be a shop, a vet, a restaurant, a hospital, or whatever your imagination allows. To do this, provide materials, toys and other items that children can play with.
2. Activity circuit: the idea is to provide the energy discharge. In that case, move the furniture away from some environment of the house and create several obstacles, challenges and missions for the children to move around.
3. Camp inside: that’s a diversion for the evening! Prepare tasty food, create a camping atmosphere (it’s worth using applications that imitate sounds of nature), and do readings for children, as if they were around a campfire.
4. Paper folds: Every child loves this activity, which still contributes to motor coordination. Select some origamis videos on YouTube and let the kids have fun doing folds.
5. Painting: This activity needs parental supervision (some children paint in addition to paper or canvas), but ensures distraction and fun for the little ones. You can leave the painting free or ask the children to do certain drawings.
Practicing physical exercise
Daily exercise contributes to the physical and mental health of any individual. In a home isolation, it is essential to keep the body active by making some adaptations such as changing the walk in the park for a sequence of HIIT in the dining room, for example.
For children, physical exercise can serve as a discharge of energy, fun and entertainment. Among the most recommended options to do at home are: stretching, meditation, yoga, pilates, sequences that can be done at home, among other exercises.
Exercising your mind with games and reading
Besides exercising the body, children need exercises for the mind. Activities such as board games, logical thinking and reading, make it possible to exercise the mind and distract the children. Here are some ideas for games and reading!
● Logical reasoning games: On the internet there are numerous online games that stimulate logical reasoning, memory and brain development in various aspects. Remembering that it is not to leave children in front of the computer all day, is just a period of supervised online gaming. Sites like Racha Cuca and Geniol, are great for brain stimulation.
● Board games: if you don’t have a checkers board, chess or any other kind of game, bet on the online options as well.
● Activity books: what about books with activities you can learn while having fun? These are great options for this quarantine period. Here are some indications!
● Language Adventure – 1st Year
● Think and Discover – Mathematics 1st Year
● Primavera Project – 5 to 6 years
● Children’s literature books: to have a fun and exciting reading moment is wonderful. For that, count on some options of e-books and physical books to spend time with the children.
● Online Family (e-Book)
● We Are All Extraordinary (e-Book)
● Good Morning All Colors (e-Book)
● The Little Prince
● Malala, the Miss Who Wanted to Go to School
● The Story of the Jaguar that Wanted to Wake Up Early
With all these reading tips, indoor games and activities to entertain the children, this period will pass faster and we will soon be able to move on with life normally.
