The back-to-school sales are in full swing, the kids have met their new teachers, and everyone is ready to start the learning process. Whether you’re still online, are back in the classroom or doing a hybrid-model of learning, many parents are finding themselves playing a bigger role in their kids’ education. It can be overwhelming to try to balance work, home responsibilities, and being a bigger part of ensuring each child learns what they need to learn. Fortunately, there are lots of tools and tricks to encourage the smaller members of the family to excel in the new information they’re digesting in the classroom. Finding artistic ways to engage young people in their learning can make it fun while allowing them to exercise some energy and creativity. Special shoutout to the homeschool parents out there who have trod this path before and made it easier by putting some of their fabulous resources online!
Here’s 3 Creative Projects to Help Kids Practice Reading and Writing:
- Coloring Sheet and Coloring Books: There are many coloring books out there geared towards helping kids learn their numbers, letters, and so much more! Even better, many of them are available for free online, or in coloring books you can find for as little as a dollar. They can start with tracing, and end with reading full stories and sentences. They’re also a lot of fun, and can be incorporated into indoor playtime. It expands the learning time without feeling like a chore.
- Name collages: Getting to make something colorful to hang over their beds can be a thrilling moment of pride and accomplishment for a kid. Some people keep them their whole lives in little treasure boxes. Make a special day of it with lots of arts supplies. Have them practice spelling out their whole name on scratch paper, and then design a beautiful collage. Maybe have stickers of their favorite animals, the letters in their favorite colors, and pictures of them doing some of their favorite activities. Unique and personal, learning to spell their full names will become a special occasion to remember.
- Write and illustrate a book together: Youth breeds eternal optimism and creativity, which can be easily channeled into cool character ideas, plots, and images. Taking time on a rainy day or maybe a slow weekend to use the kids’ energies to make a family storybook can help them put the new skills they are learning to good use. They can practice their letters and sentences. Using glue and glitter to tell a magical tale of any world imaginable, and they may even learn to spell new words in the process.
Learning from home is something many are still adjusting to, and being able to supplement what is going on in the classroom in a special way is a great supplement to regular school.
By: Bethany Verrett