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Friday, March 27, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Figuring out what to do with your kids when school’s out can be challenging even in the best of times, and we’re in uncharted waters right now. While there’s some measure of comfort knowing you’re not alone in this, the challenge remains: how to help keep your kids productive and creative—and stave off boredom.
Consider taking a page from the rulebook of homeschooling parents. Create a curriculum of some form, and structure weekdays as if they’re typical school days. It’s important to establish a routine with kids—for example, waking up at the same time, eating a healthy breakfast and changing out of pajamas. Pack a lunch and keep it in the fridge for later. Kids must be able to distinguish between school days and weekends, so when they transition back to the classroom, it won’t be so jarring.
Get creative with resources available online. For younger kids, check out beloved children’s book author and Illustrator Mo Willems’ Lunch Doodle series, streaming daily at 1 p.m. on YouTube. Storytime comes alive on Storyline Online, where celebrities read children’s books accompanied by illustrations. To brush up on subjects like math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics and more, Khan Academy provides personalized learning for K-12 and early college, all for free. Bring nature into your home by letting little ones watch pandas, penguins and polar bears on live cams at the San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
Older kids need less hands-on entertaining, but time at home doesn’t have to mean spending hours on Snapchat or TikTok. Coursera offers lots of online courses that might spark an interest in a future college major. If they want to brush up on a foreign language or pick up a new one, DuoLingo is a fun app that gamifies the process. For the more creative types, Skillshare has courses in everything from creative writing to photography. And for a bit of culture, several world-class museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Tate in London, offer virtual tours.
Self-quarantining and practicing social distancing is difficult for adults, but even more so for kids who have energy to spare. While playdates are out, you can and should take them out for fresh air every day. Find a not-too-crowded park (though be mindful of touching surfaces), go for long walks, ride bikes and hike easy trails on the weekends. In the evening, share a family meal that your kids helped make. Talk about your day like you normally would. Even in these unusual circumstances, there are ways to find a new normal.
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
