Education at home doesn’t have to be boring! There are plenty of fun ways to bond with your kids while teaching them some valuable lessons. Including your children in many of your “mundane” daily activities can make life more fun. Setting aside time to bond with your child in a meaningful, educational way will help you both grow closer together while expanding your minds.
Cook Together
Cooking together can teach your kids how to make healthy eating choices. Nutrition is a vague concept that even many adults struggle to apply in real life. Look up healthy recipes together that show your child eating healthy doesn’t have to be bland or boring.
Learn a New Language
Children have an incredible capacity to learn new languages during the first 10 years of life. Afterward, bilingual fluency may not be as easy to achieve, but there are still plenty of benefits to studying a second language.
Try an app like Duolingo or YouTube videos to practice Spanish, Italian, French or another language that piques your interest. Spanish is the easiest language for native English speakers to learn, and it can help both you and your child in your academic and professional careers.
Exercise
The CDC physical activity recommendations suggests that children age six and older get at least 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise daily. Adults should perform at least five hours of moderate exercise every week.
There are plenty of fun ways to get your kids active. You can do yoga together, play sports in the backyard or try some active video games. Kids have different views when it comes to fitness, but less active kids are likely to become less active adults, putting themselves at risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Practice Life Skills
Repair the car together, tend to the lawn or sew something. There are so many everyday occurrences that can be a meaningful moment for you and your child to share. If you are a vehicle enthusiast or happen to need to tune-up your car, let your child assist with the next oil changing or take them with you to find and buy the best car parts. Teach your child from your own experiences. You don’t need to do anything monumental to leave a major impact. As you teach them skills they’ll use throughout their lives, your children will bond with you as long as you are patient and teach with love.
Think back to your own childhood. Most of the best memories came from everyday moments. Bonding with your child can provide them with plenty of life lessons. Experience really is the best teacher, and imparting wisdom will come naturally as you and your children spend time together.
