Teachable Moments

What do you do when there’s nothing to do?

We’re often so busy with education and activities outside our homes, there aren’t many opportunities to educate children inside the home. Enter the quarantine of 2020. Never has there been a time where we were all in our homes for weeks at a time, without any outside activities. This time presents many opportunities for teachable moments around the house.

Laundry.

Darks and lights. What goes in the dryer, what doesn’t. Now is the time to teach your child some basic lessons around doing laundry to ensure your they aren’t clueless at the laundromat their freshman year of college. Even the youngest child can help load machines, measure detergent, push buttons and match up clean socks (if you can find both).

Cook.

Allow your child to (safely) assist with planning, preparing and cooking meals. Plan a cooking competition, with your child as the chef and the rest of the family as judges, set the table and have the family dress up for a fancy sit down dinner.

Make the bed.

This is a simple act that can set the tone for the rest of the day. Before you make it out of your room, you already accomplished something!

Read a map.

Because those turn by turn directions aren’t right every single time, you’ll want you child to have the ability to understand a map, paper or digital. Plan a scavenger hunt in your yard with a treasure at the end, and let your child be the leader. If you have older children, give geocaching a try!

Hammer a Nail.

Learning some basic home repair skills at an early age can come in handy (pun intended) when your child becomes a homeowner or apartment dweller. Assist your child with hammering nails into a board, teach them how to change a light bulb, plunge a toilet, paint a room or any other items on the to-do list. You’ll feel accomplished to check-off your list and your child will pick-up some great skills. It’s a win-win!

Clean the bathroom.

Much like lessons in home improvement and laundry, some basic cleaning skills will serve as lifelong tools for your child. Ask them to help with the dishes, pick-up toys, vacuum the rugs, clean the windows and the bathroom. Be sure an adult supervises children while cleaning and use products that are safe for children.

Balance a bank account.

This is a great way to teach math without having to learn elementary school math. Create a play store, give your kids some money and help them learn about spending and saving.

Plant a garden.

Find an area of your yard where your child can create their garden. Work together to clean the area, remove weeds and prepare the dirt to receive plants or seeds in the coming weeks. If you have the supplies needed, start seeds growing in a window now. The responsibility and reward of planting and caring for a garden throughout the summer are wonderful lessons for children and adults alike.

Manage a schedule.

Ask you child to create their own schedule. How do they want to structure their day? What’s important to them? Help them learn to balance free time or play time with work time. Getting work done is important, but learning to balance work with leisure will give them skills to manage their stress levels in adulthood.