Let’s learn at home……

Today, we are in the midst of an adverse situation which can be controlled positively only by social distancing, awareness, self control, following precautions to stop COVID-19 spread and being responsible to ourselves, our families, the society and the world at large.
Parents must be finding it difficult to engage children in some productive, creative and safe activities at home when schools, malls, parks and various other public places are shut. So, here are a few engaging and creative ideas to utilise the time productively rather than indulging in social media excessively.

1. Children can help in small household chores like cleaning their rooms, baking muffins, organising their books and study table, assisting you while serving food and/or refilling water bottles.

2. As digital natives, they enjoy more playing games on mobile, spending time on social media and surfing various websites. Make use of their digital comfort and encourage them to learn through the same media. Here are some suggestions for learning at home in the supervision of parents.

2.1 NCERT has several learning portals which can be utilised by the students and parents for learning from home.
– SWAYAM portal is an excellent platform for higher-class students to learn. There are several free online courses which can be done from home.
– E- Patshala is a portal which has all the NCERT text books for classes I to X available online. There are various other learning materials available which can be availed for learning concepts from home.
– NROER Portal is a learning platform for the students of classes I to XII. Parents can help children to make use of this platform for learning various concepts through videos and lectures.

2.2 Other Online Resources
• Udemy
• Khan Academy
• Tinker Lab by Rachelle
• Beast Academy(for Math)
• Discovery Education
• BBC Learning
• Outschool
Scratch (scratch.mit.edu)

2.3 Some Youtube Channels:
• National Geographic Kids
• Freeschool
• The Brain Scoop
• Kids Learning Tube
• Science Maze
• Crash Course Kids

2.4 Here are some websites as potential productive and learning engagements:

• www.classroommagazine.scholastic.com (Scholastic has created a website to learn from home with 20+ days of content)

• www.duolingo.com
(A mobile app and website for learning languages)

• www.theimaginationtree.com
(Creative art and craft ideas for little ones)

• www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources

• BBC Education

• oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home

• Oxford Owl

3. Board games are another fun alternative. Ludo, Catan and Monopoly can teach critical thinking and strategic thinking to children. Playing board games together with family members will also strengthen the bonding among them.

4. Reading books (online or using hard copies) is also advised and has been proven to enhance language skills, vocabulary, knowledge and world awareness.

5. Provide them with basic mechanical tools to tinker with household discarded materials/machines and old toys. Let them explore!

6. A corner on the wall can be painted black at the suitable height for young ones to scribble, draw and write.

7. Read the younger ones a story everyday.

8. Encourage children to collect information about the possible career trajectories they’d like to be part of.

Parents are requested to engage children in learning through various available resources. Children must be encouraged to go beyond textbooks and concentrate on learning fundamentals and concepts.
Use this opportunity to teach children how to remain happy, content and engaged positively in any adverse situation. Visiting malls, spending money on buying unnecessary items and eating out may not be the ways to enjoy life. There are many more effective ways to feel happy and engaged.

Mrs. Ranjna Jangra
Principal