6 Homeschool Activities and Ideas to Supplement Distance Learning

The new school year has begun for most of us. If you’re homeschooling or your kids have switched from in-person learning to distance learning, you may be looking for homeschool activities and resources to help enrich their education.

Here at All About Nannies, we’re sharing a few of our favorite distance learning activities to help spark your student’s creativity, hone new skills, and allow them to explore new subjects outside of the classroom.

Start coding 

Code.org has a full catalog of courses for students in three groups: grades K-5, grades 6-12, and beyond. With code.org, kids as young as age four can start learning the fundamentals of computer science. Older students build on those concepts by creating their own art and stories, or begin learning about algorithms, conditionals, functions, and more.

If you want to keep coding lessons short and sweet for your kiddo, try an hour of code tutorial designed for all ages. Students can learn how to create their own app in Javascript or journey through Minecraft. They might program their own Star Wars droid or join Anna and Elsa on a Frozen adventure.

Take learning outside

When your child is learning at home, they lose out on regular daily recess and gym classes. Enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, get up and moving, and try a new educational activity outdoors. Try these outdoor learning activities:

• Create your own nature scavenger hunt
• Identify birds, butterflies, trees, or flowers
• Start a garden
• Fly a kite
• Identify constellations

Of course, you can always take your other learning activities outside, too! Let your kiddo read a book, work on homework, or study on their laptop outdoors.

Learn a second language

A language learning platform like Duolingo can help kids learn a new language through fun, game-like lessons. You might try Duolingo for Schools, which is used as a companion resource for classrooms around the world. There’s also the Duolingo Kids app for iOS, which teaches young children Spanish, French, or English.

And of course, the regular Duolingo platform works for kids, too!

Explore works of art

Traveling is pretty limited right now (we are writing this in August 2020), but thankfully, there are a ton of online resources that allow us to visit museums and cultural destinations all around the globe. Google Arts & Culture is a nonprofit initiative that brings the world’s art and culture online for everyone.

One of the great things about Google Arts & Culture is how it’s organized. Thinking of a certain artist or museum? Find it in the Artists or Places category. Want to learn about a historic event or the evolution of art over a certain time period? You can tour the site that way, too. Kids who learn best visually will love this resource.

Read a book

Head to your local library, check out ebooks, or browse through tens of thousands of free books on Project Gutenberg for your child’s next read. Reading books is a fairly inexpensive and fun activity that kids of all ages can do. Plus, reading strengthens your brain and builds your vocabulary. It also makes you feel good by reducing stress and boosting your mood.

Along with textbooks and assigned reading, make sure you give your child plenty of opportunities to read for fun, too! Let them choose their own books from the library so they can really enjoy reading.

Make distance learning easier on your family

Even with a wealth of educational resources online, keeping up with your child’s education is not easy. Many parents who work outside of the home or from home may be looking for an all-in-one solution: quality home education and experienced child care.

All About Nannies offers a private educator package for those parents and families! We’ll match you with the perfect private educator for your family’s needs. Learn more about our placement packages and apply today.