During the pandemic, many of us are finding ourselves out of our normal routine. Many schools have gone virtual and some of us have opted to keep our kids home for a time which puts us in a new role: teacher. Whether you are participating in your school’s distance learning option, or are facing a few days home each week, you may want a little extra support. Learn how to make distance learning fun for kids with these six simple tips.
How to Make distance learning fun for kids
1. Stay Connected to friends
Whether you are homeschooling or participating in a distance learning program, this year is unlike any other. The pandemic has changed our normal and many of us are feeling isolated. Staying connected to others on a regular basis is critical to staying happy and healthy. Here are a few ideas to get your started.
Do art with friends on Zoom. Choose your favorite YouTube art tutorial, invite friends, gather supplies, and do art together!
Host a virtual science fair. Invite friends to showcase science fair projects. Set up a Zoom meeting, send out invitations, and schedule 5 minutes for each participant to tell about their project and demonstrate.
Try an Outschool Class. Would your kids like to connect with other kids virtually to learn science, art, theater, history, writing, or cooking? Outschool has hundreds of affordable and fun classes for a variety of ages to choose from.
Host a Zoom LEGO Club. Invite friends, choose a challenge, and start building together. Artsy Fartsy Mom has created a free printable LEGO building challenge game that would be perfect for an online LEGO group.
Host a virtual book club. For younger kids choose a series of books and invite friends to join you on Zoom to read the book and complete a simple craft or activity. For older children select a chapter book for them to read independently and discuss as a group. Check out this guide for starting a virtual book club.
2.Stay Active
Check out Fitness Videos
Try Cosmic Kids Yoga, Go Noodle for short videos, or Kidz Bop for dance-along videos.
Go for a Nature Walk
Choose a location, do a little research to find out what types of plants & animals you might find, grab your backpacks & supplies, and go on an adventure! Heart of Michelle has a nice guide for nature walks.
Explore State Parks in your Area
There are 10,234 state parks and 59 national parks to visit. They offer rich educational resources as well as a junior ranger program. Here is a list of state parks by state.
3. Get Creative
Try a video art lesson. Jerry’s Artarama offers over 4,000 free lessons for all levels and mediums. Chalk Pastels offers fun and free chalk pastel tutorials based on nature, movies, books, holidays, and more.
Learn to draw with a Mo Willems or Art for Kids Hub drawing lesson.
Try ceramics as a family. Visit a local art workshop to try making pottery or painting ceramics.
Encourage your child to write their own comics. Comics are the perfect way to tie together art and creative writing. We like the Usborne Write and Draw Your Own Comics book.
Get Cooking! America’s Test Kitchen Kids offers kid-tested recipes, cooking experiments, & videos that will excite young chefs.
Learn about great music through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers Program
Explore the world of Classical music through Classics for Kids. I’ve put together a free 32-week listening guide using their resources.
4. Create Fun STEM Challenges
Learn about earth science with fun hands-on activities. Cookie landforms. Layers of soil with LEGOs. Create a crystal geode. Make a 3-D saltwater map. Check out these ideas from Learn in Color.
Explore the moon with STEM activities. Build a lunar buggy, create clay craters, or make a solar eclipse. Check out Steamsational’s ideas here.
Engage kids in STEM challenge. Check out LEGO STEM challenge ideas from Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies and Star Wars STEM activities from Left Brain Craft Brain’s fun ideas here.
Use STEM toys to learn through play. Our family has some favorite STEM toys that you can read about here.
Break out the microscope. Let your kids explore the microscopic world and watch their excitement grow! You can order prepared slides or collect your own specimens like pollen, pond water, hair, and more. Stars at Eight has a free handy microscope guide.
Set up a butterfly habitat. Watch your caterpillars grow, become chrysalises, and morph into beautiful butterflies. This kit from Insect Lore has lasted our family for years.
Explore the human body with hands-on activities. Create a working heart. Eat a model cell. Design a robotic hand. The Discovery Apple has awesome ideas in this post.
Explore the stars! Pull out a telescope and constellation guide and do some star gazing as a family. Here are some free constellation cheat sheets from Homeschool Freebies and Giveaways.
5. Have Fun as a Family
Play trivia as a family. Professor Noggin’s trivia games are a blast. They are inexpensive, appealing for all ages, and cover topics from geography to science to history and more.
Watch educational programs and documentaries. We love Magic School Bus, Discovery Education Kids, National Geographic, and Liberty Kids. My Little Poppies has a great list of favorite online resources for homeschoolers.
Go on a virtual field trip. Did you know that you can visit The San Diego Zoo, Titanic Wreckage, Yosemite, The Smithsonian, The Great Wall of China, The Metropolitan Art Museum, The International Space Station, and the Louvre from the comfort of your home? The list could go on and on. Check out a few fun and free virtual field trips here.
Play a storytelling game. Work as a family to create silly stories using story cubes, a storytelling game, or homemade story dice. Check out our post with our favorite creative writing resources.
Read a Great Book as a Family. Cuddling up on the couch and reading together is one of our family’s favorite traditions. Read Aloud Revival has fantastic free book lists.
Learn geography with Disney movies! Find a Disney movie that is set in the region or country you are studying. Make it a movie night with music, food, a game or craft, and a movie. Check out our Around the World with Disney Movies post.
6. Add Some Fun Hands-On Activities
Use Geopuzzles to learn geography. These puzzles are fun and educational. Each country is represented by a puzzle piece. Kids quickly learn their way around the world using Geopuzzles.
Develop critical thinking skills with games. There are myriad options for all ages and levels including chess, sudoku, Mindware games and mazes, Genius Square, Foxmind Games, and Smart Games. Check out our post, 20 Games that Build Thinking Skills.
Enjoy a nature study. You can visit a local nature reserve or your backyard to observe, sketch, and learn about plants, animals, weather and more. Our family’s favorite curriculum is NaturExplorers from Our Journey Westward.
Play learning games! There are fun games to support every topic under the sun. How about Scrabble for spelling practice or The Scrambled States for U.S. Geography. Check out this huge list of learning games from Our Journey Westward.
Try a monthly subscription box. KiwiCo is a favorite in our homeschool. They offer STEM and art boxes for all ages. The kits include everything the child needs to do multiple projects and provide hours of learning fun. Check out our post about Kiwi Crates here.
How do you make Distance Learning FUn?
What are your favorite tips to make distance learning fun? Please comment below with questions or ideas. Please comment below and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. I wish you a rich and joyful learning adventure and hope this year is one of sweet times and wonderful memories for your family.