That saying ‘Everyday’s a school day’ is a fitting statement for the opportunities for learning that present themselves on a daily basis. You may have to lift the veil on the everyday activities you take for granted, but there are always avenues for learning. Whether you are running some errands, doing chores around the house or embarking on a family holiday you can create some great educational prospects.
1. Shopping
A necessary job that can create as many avenues for learning as a standard classroom lesson. The great part is that you can tailor it to suit a range of age levels and abilities. Children are known for their lack of attention spans, who hasn’t seen a child having a wobbly in the supermarket? By including them in the family shop with a calculated role it can help them stay off the tantrum radar and give them practice for essential numeracy and literacy skills.
- Count up fruits and vegetables at the grocery section
- Practice measuring and estimating at the deli counter
- Compare product value by working out prices per kilogram or litre
- A small individual shopping list to rehearse reading new words
2. Driving
Bundling the whole family into the car for either a long or short haul trip can prove as tumultuous as a trip to the supermarket. However, there are ways to get children to stay focussed and avoid the terrible sibling meltdowns.
- Counting again for items that are constantly moving by
- Getting a running tally of certain types of vehicles to use for information gathering skills
- Determining average speeds
- Estimating times of arrival based on speed and distance
- Estimating travel times for reaching road markings
3. Cooking
Not only is cooking with your children a great way to encourage new domestic skills, it is also a wonderful opportunity for exercising their brains – whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner find new ways to get educational in the kitchen.
- Reading recipe books
- Measuring out ingredients
- Following instructions
- Time organisation for cooking and preparation
- Organisation for bench space
- Time keeping for cooking
4. Gardening
The great outdoors give plenty of opportunity for learning, however gardening especially can allow for learning of numeracy, literacy, artistic and science skills. It is also a great way to enlist little helpers with your big landscaping plans.
- Reading horticultural books to establish suitable plants for geographical location
- Plan the design of plant beds based on the geometry and size of garden
- Read instructions for planting
- Organising appropriate tools for the job
- Time management to get the job done
- Calculating number of plants needed based on plans
- Looking at location of sun exposure for planting in appropriate areas of the garden
- Reading about native plants for the area
These are only a few of the everyday activities you can use to give opportunities for learning at home. They can be fun, family-friendly and easy-going so a range of ages can be included. Why not experiment and see how many ways you can come up with.