Many parents have now also become their kids’ teachers whether we wanted to be or not. There is a lot of pressure and unknowns with the quarantine and school closures. I work from home and I will continue to work through the quarantine and school closures and I know that many parents will as well. I understand the challenge of managing work, kids, relationships in new structures and know that we will have to be patient with ourselves and others as we navigate this together and set new priorities and boundaries. 

In light of obligations and parenting styles, there are many who have abandoned all structures and those who have hyper structured environments to stay sane. Each family and child is different and I suspect that our routines and approaches will continue to evolve. There is fear that our kids will miss out if we don’t recreate school at home. While others are afraid our kids will miss out if we do create school at home. I get it. I also think that we have an opportunity to make space for learning experiences that are authentic, personal, and impactful for each child while they are home. For me, it is not about recreating school, it is about fostering a love of learning and joy, and slowing down to just be, explore, wonder, and create. 

Before I share some examples of what you (and more importantly your kids) can do, I want you to take a minute and think about a time where you learned something that has stuck with you and made an impact. This doesn’t have to be in school. Think riding a bike, learning to cook, driving a car, performing a play. Think not only about what you learned but how you learned.

Consider: What was the context? How did you learn? How did you feel? 

If you are like most people, you are probably smiling after conjuring up some great memories and powerful learning. Regardless of the vast experiences, I hear people share, the themes of authentic learning experiences remain pretty consistent.   

These characteristics are:

• personal connections,
• opportunities to exert agency,
• clear goals and accountability,
• an inquiry-based approach,
• collaboration,
• authenticity,
• productive struggle,
• use of models, and
• time for critique, revision, and reflection.

We have an opportunity to connect with kids and help them see parts of the world and slow down a little bit. Instead of trying to recreate the school day and mince it up into subjects and worksheets, we can take this opportunity to engage in authentic learning experiences that mimic these same powerful experiences that you just reflected upon. It’s important that kids have the basic skills and maybe finish that math worksheet but more important that we foster connection, love, and curiosity and hope in these unprecedented times.

Here is the rub, if you ask a lot of kids what they care about, many don’t know, especially in the context of school- I know this is a generalization but bear with me. Everyone likes the idea of a passion project or authentic learning but without a little structure or a spark, sometimes it’s hard to get started. If we want children to engage in authentic learning, it is foundational to spark curiosity to help them develop the new skills, knowledge, and mindsets that are so critical for their development. “Curiosity is the engine of intellectual achievement. Studies show that those who are more curious about a topic tend to learn faster. For example, this study shows that curiosity essentially primes the brain for learning.”

Here are some ideas and opportunities to spark curiosity and engage in authentic learning at home.

Go on a Virtual Field Trip

There are a few zoos around the country that are letting you explore and see the animals while they are closed. Now you can go on a safari at the Cincinnati Zoo or check out sea life at the aquarium, and hang out with giraffes all from the safe quarantine of your home.  Check out the zoos and aquariums that are offering some virtual field trips here. You can also visit these incredible museums and galleries here.

Put on a Performance and Share 

Jennifer Garner, who is pretty amazing and an empathetic mamma started #heyjenlookatme to create a place for kids to share performances that they have been working so hard on. You can have your kids create something, practice it, and share their art with Jen or Laura Banati who is doing something similar. If you aren’t quite ready for the public, share videos or go live with grandma and grandpa, some close friends or just put on performance inside your own home for your family.

Build a Fort or a Treehouse

My kids have been obsessed with our tree outside and it now has a zipline, 2 hanging chairs and since they are home indefinitely they have decided their “project” is going to be to build a treehouse… Stay tuned. Building forts and treehouses or whatever is fun but they also have to learn how to be resourceful with what we have, work together, and use some skills to make the thing a functioning structure. And when it’s done they can play in it for hours or days and then get inspired to renovate based on my own experience:).

Draw with Mo Willems 

Famous author and artist, Mo Willems is inviting us to join him for a doodling session. So cool! https://www.facebook.com/KennedyCenter/posts/10157801467120865. What an opportunity to learn and draw with him at 1 p.m Eastern time?!?

If you can’t make this live event, you can watch it later or just make time to draw and create on your own throughout the day.

Read 

Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams have teamed up for #savewithstories to read favorite children’s books. More about that here.

Whether you read to them, celebrities, grandparents, their teachers or whomever, make sure that kids have lots of opportunities to read stories, nonfiction, newspapers, blogs or whatever piques their interest. Spending time each day reading independently is important. It is also really important for them to see you read. Here are some great strategies to use when reading with kids of all ages.

Go on a (Nature/City/Farm) Walk and Explore Your Community

I love this project from elementary teacher Annick Rauch. She took her students on a walk in their community to notice, explore, and learn what makes a good community. You can recreate this with your kids by going on a walk (and of course keeping the appropriate distance from others).

Bake Something

My daughter loves to bake and it continues to be a great learning experience for her and she likes to tell people that she taught herself to bake via youtube. She watches videos online from her favorite bakers and then through some trial and error realizes that she has to find a recipe, or at least think through the plan, make sure she has the right ingredients, measure, mix, and make and then creates a variety of (mostly) yummy dishes. Here are a few recipes to try.

Learn About Covid 19 and the History of other Pandemics 

There are some great videos and resources that are being created to help kids learn about Covid 19. Katie Novak has created some daily schedules and coronavirus resources and activities. Check it out for more ideas. 

Go to the Coronavirus text set on Newsela (free login). Allow kids to choose two articles they are interested in about Coronavirus. They can read alone or work with a sibling. You can also read it to them. You can lower reading level so kids can comprehend articles they choose (it’s in the Lexile box on top right). 

Alternatively, play this podcast for kids from “But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids”- it’s about coronavirus and the science of soap! (Thanks, @TimOLeary_VT) 

Ignite Passion and Unleash Genius

In my book, Learner-Centered Innovation, I shared examples of how we can create authentic experiences that spark curiosity, ignite passion, and unleash the genius in schools and there are so many opportunities to do this at home as well. I shared these questions in this blog about how families could make the most of the time at home and hope they are helpful to extend the learning and build off of the resources shared.

• What problems are you interested in working on?
• What do you want to learn more about?
• What do you know and what do you still need to learn?
• What resources i.e books, articles, videos might help you learn more?
• How does this connect to what you already know?
• What are some creative ways to solve this problem?
• Who are the experts you can learn from?
• How will you share what you are learning?

This framework and guiding questions from Design 39 Campus are great to think about how you might structure an inquiry-based project. When kids are curious and engaged in authentic learning, there are many opportunities to write, read, create and share throughout the process.

These are just a few examples. I would love to hear what other examples you have to spark curiosity and involve learners in the process.