One of the measures the World Health Organization (WHO) put in place to curb Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is social distancing. This means that your child has joined others not just in Australia but across the world in staying at home. Non-essential services providers, including even the best childcare in Sydney, have been shut down indefinitely as the country fights to stop the spread of the virus.
About four months since the virus started spreading, medical practitioners haven’t yet identified a cure for COVID-19, meaning your child’s stay at home might be longer than you expect.
While social distancing is a good step towards responsibility, having your children at home for long may alter their learning process. What measures then should you, therefore, take while in Sydney, North Ryde or any other part of the world to ensure their early childhood education (ECD) goes on? That’s what this article is about.
Innovative Ways To Continue Your Child's ECD
Early childhood education is important for your child’s wellbeing as it shapes their growth, determining how they turn out as adults. It builds their cognitive ability and enhances a long list of other essential skills like social, emotional, motor, etc.. that are key to their growth and development.
It is, therefore, important to keep your child educated even as the world struggles with the pandemic. Some of the ways you can keep the learning process going on a are:
1. Virtual Learning
Availability of fast Internet, digitization of services, and easy access to smart gadgets have all made it easy to accomplish many things, like virtual learning.
You can now use computers, tablets, and other communication devices to connect your child to their tutors at any of the North Ryde childcare centres. The whole experience is an imitation of a real class session.
Also known as distance learning, virtual learning enables your child to continue learning and taking recognizable examinations and tests despite being physically separated from school and their teachers.
2. Play Games
Since your child is at an age where decision making is critical, engaging them in activities that require cognitive skills helps them grow. One way to help your child this way is by getting them games verified as good for their development. You can find out from their schools what games they enjoy while in session to help them settle down even better. You can also check online for engaging games to play with them.
3. Do It Yourself (DIY) Activities
Until the world’s medical facilities come up with a solution for COVID-19 soon, you might end up staying at home for longer, giving you plenty of free time. You can put this extra hour in doing stuff like creating playthings from trash with your child.
In Sydney and surrounding areas, you can pull out easy-to-do experiments from the internet and engage in them with your child. You could also find adequate tutorials for these beneficial activities from YouTube and other sites.
4. Reading With Them
Reading will open up your child’s mind, equip with knowledge, build their communication skills, and so on. Depending on your child’s age and preferences, you can choose books that bring them all these benefits while making it fun to learn.
You can make the whole experience more interesting and fun by taking turns while reading and narrate to your child later to see how best they understand. Luckily for you, the internet provides options by having online libraries where you can choose what best suits your child. These books come in many forms including audiobooks.
5. Involve Them In House Activities
Before enrolling them to that North Ryde childcare facility, your child was probably too young to help around the house. After joining the centre your work schedule might have limited the amount of time you spend together in the house.
With the lockdowns and all the other restrictions put into place, you can use your free hours to teach your child some chores. For example, show them how to carry out simple tasks like cleaning after themselves. Not only will this be effective at this time but they will also learn to become responsible people.
6. Writing Skills
While this may seem like a tough call to make, you can actually have your child practice and refine their writing skills during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure out ways make this interesting for them. FOr example, you can start by helping them to write notes to family members, their friends or noting down their preferred birthday gifts. Constant practice gives your child confidence and they can later develop the skill to write proper sentences.
You can also help them draw simple art pieces. This will contribute to the development of their numeracy skills.
To best make your child understand and appreciate learning at home, first teach them about COVID-19 and why it is necessary for them to stay at home. This will make it easier for them to adapt to these changes. You can learn more about how to get them informed and continue the learning process by consulting any of the best childcare in Sydney.