Did you know that COVID-19 has turned our lives upside down putting approximately 1.5 billion children and youth out of school? It has led to the closure of schools in every country. Some schools haven’t reopened and admissions have been stalled.
This means preschool kids being at home ALL of the time. But this presents an opportunity to engage the active, curious minds with unique STEAM activities and learning opportunities.
So how do we engage pre-school kids at home without losing our minds while we are in COVID-19 time?
Simply follow these 10 step-by-step activities this month and have a balanced active family.
The best are points 5,6 and 9!
With risks of being infected in the wink of an eye, what’s more, alarming is the little we can do, as parents to protect our children. Well, learning can happen even beyond the walls of the classroom and can start with you right at home.
STEAM education for preschoolers at home without fear of COVID-19!
Here are some 10 ways to go on about it! All of them perfect for this season!
1. Make an easy dough at home!
Kids love playing with dough. And just not that, playing with dough has its own advantages. It provides a great sensory medium, helps develop coordination skills and fine motor skill development. It also helps kids understand more about chemical reactions and chemistry.
If you have already tried the traditional dough, here’s a new variety to it that you can make at home. The fizzy dough is cold to touch and is perfect for mimicking snow.
For details, you can click here (https://babbledabbledo.com/how-to-make-fizzy-dough/).
2. Make Pom Pom Shooters
You must be wondering how pom-pom shooters are remotely related to science? Well, pom-pom flies because of physics and there’s engineering too! If that’s not all, it improves critical thinking of the child as well as help understand forces of gravity. Simple fun exercises like this can bring both joy and education in boring times indoors.
Here’s a step by step procedure to make one.
Click here (https://leftbraincraftbrain.com/three-fun-easy-ways-to-make-pom-pom-shooters/).
3. Coding for everyone!
It’s an absolute myth that coding is only for adults. Children as young as preschoolers can start with coding. Coding can be taught by using screen-free activities, games, math challenges, and quizzes. Coding is a computer language that people learn to direct computers on what to do. It is like learning any other skill like your ABCs to Mathematics.
Let’s take a look back at our previous post for more details.
Here you go. (https://wizkidsclub.com/ultimate-guide-to-coding-for-kids-prek-to-elementary-teachers/)
4. Make your own Sensory Notebook
Notebooks can be boring, to begin with, it doesn’t need to be so. Incorporating our senses into learning creates rich experiential learning which can go a long way. And here’s why it works: we learn with different modalities and each of us has different learning styles. Recognizing them can be tricky initially and here’s where a Sensory Notebook comes in handy!
Take a look at our course at https://wizkidsclub.com/c/?p=toys-machines
5. Make your own LED Mask!
We often discourage exposing electronic devices to our children and that’s fair! However, what if we teach them to build their own gadgets? With their little hands handling little circuits, it can bring build in a lot of interest in building things. Fused with favorite Superhero characters, we can introduce them to the world of electronics.
Here’s how- have a look at https://wizkidsclub.com/c/?p=electronics
6. Build your own elevator
Our children are all exposed to elevators, isn’t it? But do we ever pause and wonder how it works? Well, this is the perfect time to go back to basics with our toddlers and learn. And what better way than to build our own elevator?
Have a look at https://wizkidsclub.com/c/?p=toys-machines
7. Back to nature
Involve children in nurturing our environment and improve the global situation at present. It can start from things as simple as planting a seed/sapling in a small pot in your balcony. Teach them the power of care and nurture. Let them water the plant daily but in proper limits. Too much of anything is bad and so is forgetting all about it when they move onto a new hobby. On a note, exposure to nature does not infect you with COVID-19.
Your child could learn about Botany and here’s a twist to this activity (https://diy.org/challenges/1975/time-lapse-a-plants-growth)
8. Freedom of expression of emotions
The more kids are allowed to express themselves since early childhood, the more they will learn. Expression of self can start with painting-singing-dancing to their likes and dislikes, and how they perceive the world.
As a parent, all you have to do is pay attention to those signs and you can encourage good habits. The expression of self even includes expression of emotions.
Regardless of age or gender, teach them that it’s okay to express the way they are feeling. It’s perfectly okay to cry when feeling sad or smile at a beautiful painting, dance to a nice song, or take time to mourn.
Expressing freely since childhood will allow them to become confident young individuals.
How about the Emotion jar? Click here (https://toddlerinaction.com/the-emotional-carou young isel-of-the-jar-lids-sensory-bag/)
9. Good old Paper Cup Phones
Kids love gadgets and especially phones. How about we teach them how to make simple phones which they can play whenever they want to! And by this activity, children can be taught about the basics of sound, vibrations, and transmission!
Here’s a link (https://www.thecrafttrain.com/paper-cup-telephones/) for more details. Have fun!
10. Make Tsunami waves at home
Children love to play with water. But what will make the play educational is if we can introduce them to the concepts of frequency, earthquakes, and tsunami with this cool experiment! Energy, frequency, and vibrations can be made easy and accessible if we can break down to simple steps and enjoyable at the same time.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=897144263748439
Hope you have a great time doing these activities together despite COVID-19 lockdown and add them to your memory journal.