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It’s a Boy Thing – Pause before Panic

Written and Narrated by Jacob Knowles.

I would like to begin this week’s article and podcast by again acknowledging the work of teachers across the country. Schools have undergone changes in the way that they plan, deliver and evaluate their teaching and learning and where this would normally be done over the course of months or years, they have achieved great success with only a few days notice. Students remain supported and cared for through what is an extremely confusing time.

 At the same time, parents and carers have had to adapt to a completely new way of schooling where they have been thrown in the ‘deep end’ and now are having to go back to school themselves and learn, question and support their children through the learning journey. Remember, we teachers and schools more broadly, are here for you and your children and want to support you through all this.

Just a few weeks ago, searching for hope among the hourly reminder of the increasing state of panic around the Covid-19 pandemic seemed pointless. Every report, newspaper article or social media feed was filled with stories of pain and suffering, mass panic and irrational behaviour by the general community. People were afraid and when fear floods our body we tend to make decisions that we otherwise wouldn’t. Decisions that upon reflection, will certainly have many people ask themselves: “what was I thinking..?”

With many parents and carers following advice to keep their children home and complete their schooling through online teaching and learning, I believe we have entered in to a new phase to this pandemic. That is the phase of ‘togetherness’. Families are spending more time together and where this time had been filled with ‘busy-tasks’, this has been replaced with more family centred activities. Sports trainings have become family walks, going to the movies with family movie time, trips to the shops to buy snacks with parents and children baking and cooking together. I myself have even participated in a movie night with another family via a Zoom meeting which ended up being more like a live screening of GoggleBox than anything else.

Families are also being more creative in the way they get outside to be active and to spend time together. Through social media, parents are sharing arts and craft activities for others to try with their own children. Dance routines, drama skits and music parodies are also a daily feature with a good balance of skill and humour. Things that at one point in time we might have considered somewhat cringe-worthy to watch are slowly becoming the new ‘norm’.

 

So how can this creativity be applied to children’s learning?

Along with those things listed above, there has also been a steep increase in the amount of articles printed to support parents through the online learning process. Schools will have their own approach to this and these should be followed as they provide a good sense of connectedness between children and their teachers.

The following are ideas from Edutopia, an online foundation dedicated to transforming K-12 education, on learning from home across a variety of subject areas:

 

SCIENCE

For younger children, scientific discovery is best learnt through play. Throwing balls or toys, changing the form of an object or simply spinning in circles teaches physics lessons. Encourage the use of open-ended toys like blocks or lego, scarves, blankets and cardboard boxes so that they can build and engineer their own creative designs. Look for simple science experiment with household ingredients and equipment (bicarb soda and vinegar with a little food colouring is always a favourite.

Where families have older siblings who are also students, let them take the lead on executing the experiment and guide younger children through the process. Have them think about how they can increase the effect/result of the experiment through changing some of the parameters to the method and carry out the experiment again. For boys, make experimenting a challenge to use the same equipment for the largest result.

Nature should be seen as a pathway to scientific exploration. Children should spend time in their backyards or where possible a park and talk about what they see: water cycles, ecosystems, and food chains. Collect specimens (not living of course) and research their names, cycles they go through and relationship within their environment.

 

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Children should be encouraged to find books about history or cultures that they may be interested (or that you introduce with relevance to their own lives). Many local libraries have made digital catalogues free during the crisis and so children have more access to resources now than they ever have before. After researching a particular topic, challenge children to create a medium to summarise and share what they have learnt with the family.

This technique can also be used for movies or television shows. Model an inquiry-based approach as a viewer and even scepticism in what is being presented. These are crucial to developing critical thinking skills. Watch age-appropriate historical or international movies with children and talk while you watch. Ask them what they think is happening and perhaps have them think about what the consequences (positive and negative) are to certain situations.

 

MATH

In math, it is important to keep it simple. Children should be being supported in numeracy by their schools at the appropriate stage they are at. To support this, children can practice the core operations (addition, subtraction, division and multiplication) with real objects or in real-world contexts. Cooking is a great way to teach these real-world math skills. Considering what one and a half cups of flour looks like lays the foundation for learning fractions. Halving or doubling a recipe is also a great opportunity for children to strengthen their understanding.

Board games and card games offer another opportunity to practice math by counting money or moving a particular number of spaces. Talking about probability and chance through these games can also foster conversations and strategy which is applicable to other areas of life.

 

ENGLISH

Encourage children to read. Read everything. Read aloud. Read in a funny voice. Read, read and then read some more. Also look for opportunities to make reading a social activity. Consider holding some time sacred to read as a family and then ‘unpack’ what you’ve read about. Reading and talking go hand-in-hand and are not mutually-exclusive. By consolidating learning (what was read about) reinforces concepts so that they ‘stick’ for longer.

Writing is another good technique for improving English comprehension. In homes with older and younger children, challenge older siblings to write their own picture book or short story and share it with their younger siblings. Writing in different genres also develops skills for older children and encourages them to use a more broad language ‘bank’ to convey their work.

 

THE ARTS

Visual arts enhance brain function and well-being, and music improves memory and verbal intelligence. The Arts promote motor skill development, creativity, and problem-solving in a variety of forms. Children should be encouraged to paint, sketch, draw, create sculptures, or do general craft activities. These tasks do not need to be complex and should take advantage of recyclable household items where possible.

In music, children can learn new songs or create their own. Household items can also be used to make instruments with drumming genres a favourite among many children. Talk to older children about your own favourite albums and listen together talking about what memories it evokes. For children who have been having music lessons, print out sheet music or find online videos that teach them how to expand their playing repertoire.

Many families also have old instrument stored away in a closet. Get these out and have some fun exploring what sounds you can create. Perhaps you as the parent had learnt an instrument but not played for some time. This is a perfect opportunity to make yourself vulnerable and show your children what you remember from your playing days. This may inspire them to take up learning an instrument of their own in the future.

 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION (INCLUDING PLAY AND MOVEMENT

Younger children will have less issues with being active (and often it is sitting still that is harder). For older children who are used to the traditional schooling structure of sit and learn, they may need some encouragement to be more active. One popular activity being shared by many families is a morning family workout aimed to kick-start everyone’s metabolism for the day. This will not appeal to all children, however making time for this and then providing choice in how each family member maintains some form of physical activity is important during long periods being confined to home.

 

So how much and how often is the right amount?

It is important to remember that school-age children should be following the recommendations that their schools are sending out. Parents should also not feel compelled to make every minute of the day a creative opportunity. This in itself can become tiring and lead to frustration. Authentic learning takes place within real-world, meaningful contexts and at a pace that is different for every person. When children need a break from their school work it is important to remember that as long as they are moving, creating, or playing, they’re learning.

 

To finish, I would like to ask parents to remind their children that teachers are working extremely hard to prepare learning activities that inspire and challenge students through exploration of content and applications to the real world. Teachers also know that parents will have had their own unique experience of school and for some this won’t be an overly positive experience. Remember, teachers are here to support online-learning for children and wherever possible parents as well.

To my community, and all those other communities out there trying to find the best path forward, please remember your young people. They are experts in hiding how change effects them and so we need to be asking more direct questions and asking these more often. George Orwell writes in his short story ‘Shooting an Elephant’ that “man wears a mask and his face grows to fit it”. Many of our children are well practiced in hiding what they are thinking and feeling and it is our responsibility to help them ‘take off the mask’ and talk about their emotions in response to these uncertain times.

Please look after your family and friends, but make sure you also look after yourself.

As always, thanks for reading and if you have any feedback or would like to suggest a future topic, please click HERE.