Winter is coming. But working parents, fear not.
Do you remember your first day of kindergarten?
I don’t remember mine explicitly, but I definitely remember what I wore: a mint green dress with a white lacy top my mom sewed. I had to wear a sign that spoke for me, in case I suddenly became mute at the age of five.
I remember the anticipation of the bus coming around the corner, rumbling down the street, knowing this was the final moment: the moment when I had to grow up and leave the nest. I climbed up the big bus stairs, sat with my buddies, waved to my mom and went off into the world of Elementary School. I don’t remember much about kindergarten. I don’t even remember my teacher’s name. But I do remember walking down the hallway at school, meeting other kids and the excitement of becoming a big kid with a big future.
Four years ago my husband and I were terrified that our introverted, shy kid wouldn’t get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten, but we prepped him in advance and hoped for the best — back-up plans established for worst-case scenarios. He left us utterly shocked when he jumped right on with nary a look back. It was almost like he needed an excuse to break free of the shell he constructed around himself. He was ready to make new friends and show himself that he was grown up.
It’s such a pity that many of our kids don’t get to experience that same feeling this year, especially those of us with kindergartners. Especially those of us with extroverted kindergartners who need to be around others and thrive in a classroom environment. Of course, it’s possible they’ll go back to school at some point this year, but those quintessential milestones of getting on the bus for the first time — on your first day of school — while your parents take an embarrassing picture you’ll remember forever but wish you could forget, will be missed.
Technology has enabled us to thankfully continue the learning cycle virtually, but how can we keep our kids inspired and excited about school when they’re not there physically?
I’m nowhere near a perfect parent, but my goals for this school year are to focus on them, help them build self-sufficiency and balance my own full-time job simultaneously. Here are a few tips we’re exploring to help keep our house a positive, happy learning environment this year.
- Spice is Nice.
Find a routine that works, stick to it and then spice it up. In addition to the normal school routine, there will be other pockets of time to fill throughout the day. Prevent the whining and the “I’m boooorrred” groanings by letting your kids pick a few special things they can do each day. Here are some ideas:
- Waffle day!! Let the kids pick one day a week (excluding weekends) to make a unique breakfast other than your normal routine. Omelets, waffles, pancakes, etc.
- I bought the full Rosetta Stone package for a $200 flat fee in the spring so the kids can learn any and all languages and have access to the full suite of services. Mine chose Chinese and study 30 minutes a day. It’s a fun, engaging learning process that doesn’t feel like work.
- We bought workbooks with fun math, language arts, matching, mazes, etc. activities embedded. They can do five pages or 20 minutes a day.
- We discovered https://www.artforkidshub.com/ in the spring and they love drawing in the afternoons after school. That’s a fun and easy 20-minute activity.
- Play outside with friends.
- On rainy days when they can’t get out and play in real life, we let them play Kinect so there is still physical activity involved.
- Pick a book and read for 20–30 minutes. Your young ones could even read to a stuffed animal and don’t need to know all the words — make up the story through pictures.
- Do a puzzle or play a board game. Teach them solitaire or war if you have more than one kid at home.
- Research a topic of interest and present to a grown-up.
- Take an animal adventure in the yard. Look for insects, birds and other small critters.
- Have your kid write a story from your pet’s perspective.
- Do some Mad Libs. Remember those?
- “I don’t want to do any of those things. They’re all stupid.” Heard that before? Yeah kid, it’s time for bed. Mandatory quiet / solitary time.
2. Invite your kids to build a creative learning space
Help your kids create a desk area where YOU would want to work. Ever since I remodeled my office earlier this year I don’t want to work anywhere else in the house; I love it that much. Your kids should feel the same about their workspaces. Get them a desk, set up a lamp, get them some pencil organizers and other fun office supplies. Make it special. Buy them their own rolling chair, or look for creative alternatives like foam rollers, bean bag chairs, yoga mats, rugs, fun stools or ottomans, etc.
If you know other families in your kid’s class and are comfortable getting together, consider arranging a co-study schedule where they can meet one or two times per week, attend virtual class together (on their own computers) and perform their asynchronous learning assignments together (if appropriate). This may provide some excitement with a small study group feeling and remove some of the constant isolation.
Think about weekly or bi-weekly themes you could try at home. For example, during camping week you could set up a tent in your living room and let your kids do school from inside the tent. Too wild for you? How about a “senses” week where the kids focus on a particular sense for each day: Sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. Each day can have a unique topic.
Other ideas:
- School spirit week (although I assume the schools will still do this)
- Bring a stuffed animal to school
- Arts & culture week (cooking, favorite snacks, favorite art project, etc.)
- Favorite character week
- Volunteer week (pick one volunteer activity your family can do as a team)
- Recycling week (learn about what is recyclable in your county and have the kids practice recycling different materials each day — paper, cans, plastic, glass, cartons, etc.)
- Health week (focus on a different healthy activity each day)
- Continents around the world (learn something about one or two continents each day)
- Household jobs (assign a chore each day to help them learn to help out)
- Numbers week (find numbers in daily activities)
- Science week (conduct easy household science experiments each day)
- Bug week (find a bug outside you want to learn more about each day)
- Kids’ theater week (they can set up a small play or other show to perform for you on Friday)
- Music week (explore a different type of music each night while you make dinner, or ask older kids to write a song)
- Photography week (take a picture of something unique each day)
- All about me week (have them create a posterboard about themselves, adding one thing each day — favorite food, favorite vacation, favorite activity, how many teeth they’ve lost, current height, etc.)
3. Instill intrinsic motivation values
Of course my first instinct was to create a points board or hand out some kind of prizes as awards for good work, but those extrinsic motivators may not be the best to cultivate in the long run. Instead, focus on intrinsic motivators that allow your kid to appreciate their own growth.
Have your kid create a “before” example of something they’re about to learn. For example, “What do you know about caterpillars already?” Write it down or have your kid draw a picture. Then, after the school unit on metamorphosis is complete, repeat the exercise and show your kid the “before” work. This will help demonstrate personal growth and instill feelings of pride.
Let your kid teach you something. Perhaps after dinner, say, “Teach me about something you learned today.” Many kids are interested in teaching others, plus this helps them better understand a topic when they have to explain it to someone else. Resist the urge to look at your phone while they talk to you, even if they ramble. Sip a cup of tea instead. Ask questions. Build authentic relationships that will last a lifetime. Plus, you can use this as leverage when they’re 15 someday trying to stare at their phone while you “ramble” about important adolescent topics. Always a step ahead!
Have your kid build a special poster board that highlights their interests. Do they love nature? Animals? Trains? Computers? Art? Sports? Encourage them to cut out magazine pictures and show you their interests. If these interests aren’t fully explored through school work, you can do fun projects on the side to help keep them interested in learning.
Of course, a special little treat never hurt anyone every once in a while too :)
Parenting is an evolving craft and you learn as you go, but hopefully some of these ideas will help you inspire your kids to stay motivated and keep learning during these wild times! It’s definitely a great opportunity for us as parents to better understand our kids, learn about what drives them and connect with them on a deeper level.
And hey, if all else fails, at least we can (hopefully) look forward to a normal year in first grade.
#noregrets
