As flu season arrives with a vengeance, parents and schools across the country are thinking about how to keep kids learning while they’re home…due to either sickness or school closings.
Being sick is no fun…but learning while home from school can be! Francie Alexander, our Chief Academic Officer, offers these tips for keeping kids learning even while they’re under the covers.
1. Curl up with a good book: Both for comfort and to keep learning. Your child will be getting smarter while getting better.
2. Listen to an audiobook: Too sick to read alone? With an audiobook, kids are still gaining vocabulary and comprehension skills
3. Look for learning-themed children’s TV programs: Great shows on PBS like WordGirl or The Electric Company – or Clifford for the little ones!
4. Play games: Word games and crossword puzzles are fun ways to get reading practice. Visual puzzles help younger kids with problem solving and spatial relationships.
Back in August, Scholastic and several other companies began working with the US DOE to help schools keep kids learning during flu outbreaks and closings that might occur from H1N1/Swine Flu outbreaks. As part of that work, we developed Stay Smart! a free online website includes twenty days of reading, writing and math activities (from the archives of Scholastic.com, Scholastic News and Scholastic Teaching Resources) to keep kids in grades K-8 reading and learning in case of flu-related school closings.
As part of the program, we’re also offering schools, parents and kids free access to high end digital programs that are normally only available through schools and libraries, including BookFlix for kids in K-3, which pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic, and ExpertSpace, a new digital curriculum for kids in grades 4 and up that combines reference materials and multimedia resources for an incredible research experience.
But during school closings, it’s the students who struggle most who are most at risk of falling behind. To that end, the Scholastic Education team has prepared 20 days of special READ 180 and System 44 activities for Stay Smart! to help kids in the program keep up with their work. It’s all free and accessible on the web from anywhere in the world at Stay Smart!.
So, the next time kids in your life are home from school and looking for something to do…try Stay Smart!
Previously On Our Minds:
* WordGirl becomes even cooler
* Smart Girls at the Party
* Comics, Memory Lane Edition