Technology is a boon in times like this. It allows us to keep learning, to stay in contact with each other and to connect with the world outside our homes.
However, this is also an ideal period in which to rediscover the time-filling activities of our childhoods, away from screens and blue light. Up to a certain age, children are happy spending their days outside, inventing games and running about, playing tag and hide and seek. However, due to the ever-increasing pervasiveness of technology in our lives, this period in a young person's life seemed to be reducing year on year.
That is, until the pandemic took hold. Now that so much of their schooling takes place over the internet and behind a screen, students are turning back to the outdoors or more crafty activities to balance out the hours they must spend online.
In this vein, we have made a list of pass times that encourage child development in more manual and fun ways (of course, any of these activities can be adapted depending on the age of a student). Board games, learning to cook, getting outside if there is the opportunity ... it can be very inexpensive but surprisingly easy to fill one's hours with non-digital activities!
As we face more weeks of self-isolation and social distancing, these might be welcome suggestions to younger and older students alike to liven up their day-to-day routine.
This could also be a moment for parents to think about what sort of hobbies they had when they were younger, when screens and social media did not exist. This is a great time to talk their children about them and pass on old ideas with modern twists. If you're seeking an opportunity to bond over something with your child and be close to them during these uncertain times, why not start here?