Tips, Tricks, and Opportunities for Critical and Creative Thinking at Home

Although it may not have been your decision, home learning may be a chance to encourage your children to nurture their particular interests and passions, allowing them to thrive during this crisis. As a parent, you may offer advice, resources, and encouragement. You do not, however, have to submit all of the answers. Allow your children to experiment, fail, and try again. The finest instructors inspire students to ask fascinating questions and uncover answers with their assistance and advice. You will build family ties, increase quality family time, and learn things that transcend well beyond the classroom if you create a flexible environment of thinking and learning in the home.

Here are some pointers for people who are new to home learning:

GOALS, RULES, AND ROLES

 

  • Spend as much time as possible with your children. Consider working together with a clear description of how we can operate best individually.
  • During study time, try to avoid using social media and watching television.
  • Respond to their queries while being open about what you don't know. Investigate unknowns with them, encouraging children to question and confront problems, and putting their critical thinking abilities to the test.
  • Set realistic learning objectives; start small and build up rather than the other way around. It is preferable to begin with tiny accomplishments rather than overachieve and experience failure in order to encourage learning.
  • Be flexible thinkers; every family is unique; you do not have to do what every other family does. Choose what is best for YOUR family.
  • Allow youngsters to choose where they will undertake their learning activities whenever feasible. They should be comfortable and happy in their place; do not push them to remain in a setting that does not suit them.
  • Allowing children to select subjects of interest to investigate may build a love of learning and encourage a curiosity that is not always available in a highly regulated and predetermined school day.

SCHEDULES
 

  • Allow youngsters to participate in making their own timetables. This offers students ownership and a sense of empowerment over their learning, which reduces resistance and conflict.
  • Some families thrive on order and regularity, while others do not. Allow your children to demonstrate how they learn best, and be open to experiment with various methods of getting through the day until you find what works best for each child.
  • Take rest and play breaks. Unfortunately, many schools have abolished recess, despite data showing that children require it. Allow for recess throughout your homeschooling time.

SEEKING IDEAS AND INSPIRATION FROM YOUR ENVIRONMENT

 

  • Collaboration and virtual communication with other families and educational groups are essential for maximizing resources and providing the finest educational and social experiences possible.
  • Make your learning days interesting, inventive, and unique so that students remain interested, engaged, and curious about the world around them. Change things up and allow them to select some of the activities they participate in, even if they seem trivial or inconsequential. Simply having the ability to chose empowers them and motivates them to take appropriate risks.
  • Encourage children to explore their environment with all of their senses and to respond to the world around them with surprise and amazement, even if that world is momentarily restricted to the household and what they can find online.
  • Art is everywhere; encourage your children to be artists using whatever safe and disposable materials you have at home, not just crayons and markers. If they want to show their work, set up an art gallery and an art opening, complete with refreshments, beverages, and chats with the artists.
  • Music is omnipresent; it encourages children to listen to many types of music and make their own music, maybe sharing music as a family for a portion of each day.
  • Cooking may be used to teach counting, measuring, proportion, chemistry, physics, how to follow directions, and other skills. Cooking with children teaches them a valuable life skill. Allow them to select some of the recipes. Limiting ingredients to those found in the kitchen and employing substitutions promotes critical and creative thinking.
  • Literacy is everywhere; encourage youngsters to read anything they choose (even if it is the same book over and over again) and to read aloud. Share your favorite books and stories with them; you are contributing to their literacy as well as your connection. Encourage your older children to read to the younger ones. Both are gaining knowledge.
  • Allow children to construct obstacle courses for fitness and to put parents through exercise regimens they invent or discover online.
  • Take this opportunity to learn about your ancestors, share family tales, recipes, languages, customs, songs, poetry, sayings, and all the other things that make each of our families distinct.
  • Use internet resources such as author read-alouds, science projects on YouTube, and more. A simple Google search will provide thousands of free and good home resources, including the ones listed below.

 

A LITTLE HUMOR AND REFLECTION CAN GO A LONG WAY

 

  • Maintain your sense of humour! Implementing a regular family joke exchange or viewing humorous videos with your children will provide some lighthearted fun and ease some of the tension we're all feeling. They are also excellent writing and journaling prompts.
  • Finally, remember to remove your teacher hat at some point each day and simply be a parent. Give yourself and your children a break; not every day will go as planned, and that is just fine!

This article has been curated by the editorial team at ekdali.  From our collection we recommend that you buy the world map for wall

It is a great learning and conversation tool


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