Original feature was written by Rachel Ferguson on April 15th, 2020.
'Letting the kids be': Advice for parents on managing at-home learning expectations
Hasina Lookman is a mother of two and the founder and CEO of Explorerhop.com, an organization that focuses on teaching entrepreneurship and financial literacy to kids as young as six years old. She believes there are other ways to “rise to the challenge” presented by the pandemic.
In a phone interview with CTVNews.ca, Lookman said parents can use this as a teaching opportunity. They can show their kids how to turn negatives into positives by coming up with meaningful ways to spend their time.
Teach Practical Skills
With so much time at home, Lookman says parents should “take the opportunity to teach their kids the things that they never have time for.” One big learning opportunity, she says, is money management. For example, parents can include their children in creating a budget and a weekly grocery list, to teach them how to shop for necessities when resources are scarce. They can also take this time to teach children financial literacy and how the stock market works. Lookman’s program teaches kids as young as 11 years old how to create a fantasy stock portfolio, starting with $10,000.
For artistic and creative projects, Lookman suggests getting crafty and teaching kids the basics of sewing. With a growing shortage of protective face masks, why not teach kids how to sew their own? By showing them how to make the most of what’s available, Lookman believes parents are instilling resilience in their children.
Make Learning Fun and Innovative
When it comes to math, rather than printing off worksheets to be done at the dining table, Lookman recommends getting creative with household items. Her family has devised a program for her six-year-old called “Toilet Paper Math,” a new stream of algebra used to determine how much toilet paper each family member gets to use. In this exercise, kids get all the benefits of practicing division and multiplication, with a fun utilitarian twist.
Another way to make traditional learning fun is to incorporate technology. Lookman suggests having children create a blog or produce creative content for social media. For example, one of her students is creating TikTok videos about multiplication. In Lookman’s experience, children are motivated by the opportunity to use these platforms. These kinds of projects allow students to practice academic skills such as writing and math outside of the classroom through the lens of their own interests.
Another way to make traditional learning fun is to incorporate technology. Lookman suggests having children create a blog or produce creative content for social media. For example, one of her students is creating TikTok videos about multiplication. In Lookman’s experience, children are motivated by the opportunity to use these platforms. These kinds of projects allow students to practice academic skills such as writing and math outside of the classroom through the lens of their own interests.