We are living in uncertain times. Covid-19 has literally swept over the globe. The world as we know it – our routine lives – has been disrupted. And now we are spending all of our time at home. This is perhaps hardest on a modern day parent. The moms and dads were used to the routine of going to work while their children followed structured schedules of school, academics and co-curriculars. Things have gone haywire from last few weeks.
As the Director of a residential school, I often hear parents talk about the need for self-discipline and self motivation in children.
Some parents said, “He wants me to do everything for him, ma’am. I want him to know how to do things on his own.”
Some even went on to say, “She doesn’t pay much attention to the family. Her grand-parents are getting old. This culture of digital media and socialising has made her distant from family.”
Guess what? With schools and formal education coming to a stand-still, now is a great time to tap into all the other learning we want to inculcate in our children. Formal learning is important. But value based learning, life skill, empathy and respect are a basic necessity. And while for years, we worried about what the future generation capacity for values will be, we have been given an opportunity to address these issues in the form of crisis.
Also read: Revathi Srinivasan: Time to think new and innovative
Our team at Billimoria High School has decided to take a little break from traditional academics. Let’s reconnect as humans instead. Let’s practice physical distancing. But let’s learn how to connect better socially instead. Some ideas to inculcate this kind of learning in the entire family are:
- Cook meals with your kids: Use online resources to look up simple recipes for foods that you find interesting.
- Explore family history: Call an elderly relative and ask questions. Introduce your children to their roots. Look things up online. Use an app or website to chart it all out.
- Learn a new language: There are great free apps and websites for this.
- Get Coding: Free apps like Bitsbox are a great way to learn basic coding. All age groups.
- Explore an interest: If there’s a topic you always found fascinating. Now is a good time to look it up.
- Create memories: Do artwork together. Video / photograph it.
- Play Classic Board Games: Antakshari. Charades. There are so many options.
- Talk Spend time together: This is a great time to get to know each other. Something we never really took the time to do.
The Billimoria High School social media pages (@billimoriapanchgani) is posting a new activity / suggestion every day. Our kids and parents have loved it. And we are looking forward to hear new things which our kids have learned.
