With everything going on in the world right now, it is easy for children to put learning on hold and just enjoy being a kid. While that isn’t a bad thing, 6 months or longer is more than enough time to fall behind academically. The good news is, there are more than enough resources available to teach from home and keep your child engaged in learning while sheltering in place, waiting for a time when they can return to school again. Here are a few resources you can try.
ABC Mouse
ABC Mouse is for kids up to 8 and is not only educational, but kids love to play it as well. While you have to pay for this program, it has a full online curriculum that consists of a step-by-step learning path which your child can work through at their own pace. ABC Mouse covers reading and Language Arts, math, science, social studies, art, and music. As your child works through the lessons (which all seem like games to children), they earn tickets which they can then use to “buy” rewards such as new clothes for their avatar or fish for their aquarium (which is another cute activity).
There is an interactive zoo and a farm which teach children about different animals. Your child can read books (or have one read to them), do puzzles, listen to educational songs… I could easily keep going. ABC Mouse is $9.95 a month and WELL worth it to keep younger ones learning while out of school.
Adventure Academy
If your child is between 8 and 13, but ABC Mouse seems intriguing, Age of Learning came out with a new program about a year ago and it definitely holds up to ABC Mouse when it comes to features and engagement. Adventure Academy is a virtual world that children play like a video game, but in a learning environment that their friends can join as well. Their avatar goes around a campus where they go into classrooms where they do activities that help improve their knowledge. To your child, it’s a game. But as they play, they learn all the same subjects as ABC Mouse. Adventure Academy is $9.99 a month as well, which pales in comparison to the knowledge your child could gain from this program.
Beanstalk
Another great resource for children up to 8 years old is Beanstalk. Beanstalk offers live and on-demand classes that vary from learning magic to learning boundaries. They offer virtual camps like Wizard Camp, which is a 5-day event where your child is taught to make their own wand and potions. They have “adventure time” to get your children outside, and reward little “wizards” with special prizes for doing well. Once the week is over, your child receives a Wizard Diploma (which I think is quite cute).
There is also an Eco Camp where your child can learn how to take care of the planet and recycle. Again, there are special prizes and adventure time to get your little one away from the computer and more active. As with the previous programs, the price is $9.95 a month.
Carson Dellosa
If you aren’t a fan of your child learning on the computer, Carson Dellosa offers free printable resources on topics such as Spanish and personal space for you to teach at home. These mostly come with infographics and then a worksheet for your child to complete using the infographic as their guide. Carson Dellosa has great resources for children from Preschool to grade 3. They also offer educational products you can purchase and have shipped to you.
While you can’t make up the days your child is missing in a classroom, there are plenty of ways you can make sure they are prepared to return when the time comes. Whether you want your child to keep up on core subjects, or learn more unconventional, yet necessary, lessons, there are resources out there so your child doesn’t suffer, educationally, as a result of world-wide shutdowns. I hope you find the above resources useful when you teach from home.
