What To Do When School's Out? Educators Offer Their Tips
If your child is on a break from their usual school schedule, it can be stressful to come up with a plan for how you’ll fill the time when kids are out of class. Whether school’s canceled for an unexpected spike in COVID cases or a planned holiday break, you may be feeling the pressure to find a way to keep your child engaged in something fulfilling and create a daily structure that preserves everyone’s sanity.
We asked Outschool educators to share their top tips for what parents can do when school’s out. Here's what they said:
“My top tip for parents: don’t be afraid of boredom! Moments of boredom are where the spark of creativity lives. Allow your learners time to incubate, process, and explore the concepts and ideas they have learned. When creativity is ignited in a natural and organic way, the magic of learning burns its brightest.”
“Don’t stress. A missed day of school is not a setback. Use the day to reconnect or do something fun. Playing is learning! If you’re stressed, your children will become stressed.”
“Set your child up to win by spending at least part of their day being creative. When we participate in creative activities and are allowed to enter a flow, our mind, body, and emotions enter a state of well-being. When days are stressful and uncertain, paint, draw, sing, dance, do yoga, or cook … and enjoy the day!
“My top tip is to join a class with little to no supplies that your little one can jump into last-minute without extra preparation when you’re already scrambling to do it all! Check out some of Outschool’s amazing health and wellness classes. These will get your kiddo up and moving and most importantly having fun! … Online fitness classes are a great way to fill the day, give you a break, and help your child build the foundation for healthy living.”
“What helped me through years of home-schooling my own (dyslexic, neurodivergent) children: audiobooks, legos, and art supplies for hours of learning and fun! Back ‘in the old days’ we checked out audiobooks in CD form from the local library, but there are lots of options now! Kids would listen to books for hours while creating art or building masterpieces, and these are still some of their best memories. Sometimes it was difficult to get them started – but it was equally hard to get them to stop!”
“I suggest keeping a list of each child's current interests handy (favorite school subjects, video games, books, etc.). Then if you are dealing with a last-minute school closure, you can quickly search and find Outschool classes on topics they will love! I also like to check out the calendar view of my kids' most preferred teachers. When school is canceled last minute, I can see at a glance what their favorite teachers have available that day. It's a fast and easy way for me to search, and the kids are happy to see a familiar friendly face!”
Did you find any inspiration for your next day at home with the kids? We hope so! Get started by exploring the 140,000 classes for learners ages 3-18 on Outschool.
