The Tech Will Save Us team has created unique kits for students to use in different aspects of STEAM education. From conductivity and circuitry to coding and sewing, their increasing variety of options provides something for students with various interests to design and construct projects at school or at home. We have been partners for a few years and their unique kits, like the Thirsty Plant Kit, Electro Dough Kit, and DIY Synth Kit, were the first ones we offered on our store. It now includes their newer kits, which add exciting elements to hands-on STEAM learning and we’re also excited to share one of their latest blogs, Staying Home and Homeschooling Tips from Tech Will Save Us Parents.
The post was written by the Tech Will Save Us team and appears below.
In the past couple of weeks, the parents here at Tech Will Save Us have been sharing loads of stories and advice among themselves on how to manage staying home and homeschooling their children.
We’ve put some of those activities in our homeschooling Ebook which you can access here. Today, though, we wanted to share some more of those tips with you guys too in the hopes it will give you some new ideas for activities to keep you and the kids entertained and learning while at home! That’s why we’ve asked parents on our team what advice they’d give to other parents from their experience.
Here’s what they came back with:
Bethany Koby—CEO and Mom to Ash (8) and Apollo (1)
My son Ash and I made a ‘school at home’ schedule. He designed it and decided what subjects he wanted to do. For example, Ash wanted to focus on creative tech and nature walks. He also wanted reading breaks so that he can have a snack and read. Sounds like an awesome day to me!
My mom also mentioned to me that we could go with the Montessori Method for this type of schedule and not require a fixed time on certain activities, so the child has much time as they need to finish each activity. If you’re looking for more flexibility in your homeschooling schedule, I recommend going the Montessori way!
Ben Takemori—Global Sales Director and Dad to Maya (7) and Toby (4)
One thing I’ve learned in this stay-at-home journey is you’ve got to accept there will be chaos in your house. Being a parent (particularly with multiple kids), chaos is already part of everyday life. However, having everyone home 24/7 brings things to a whole new level.
Under normal circumstances, I’m a bit of a neat freak and like to keep things clean and orderly. Now, with everyone stuck home, I’ve quickly had to accept that just isn’t going to be possible. Kitchen tables now double up as homework and art tables. Living rooms become, well, LIVING rooms. While I impose “clean-up times," things are inevitably messier than they were PP (pre-pandemic) and that's just how it is. So, I’ve decided to make like Elsa and just Let It…well you know.
I’d also like to share an activity we recently discovered that is not only great for the kids but also has turned out to be a nice distraction for me as well: Daily Doodles with Mo Willems. Mo is one of our favorite kids’ authors—known for The Pigeon series, Knuffle Bunny, Elephant and Piggie, and others.
He hosts a daily drawing session online. Kids get to do a drawing together plus see his studio, his early drawings, and even ask him questions. The kids have really enjoyed it and, surprisingly, so have I. I mean, since I’ve already finished Tiger King, I’ve got the time. Jokes aside, it’s been a great way to disconnect from constant coronavirus news and just let my mind doodle away. Plus, it’s great quality time with the kids!
Chris Catton—Head of Product and Dad to Arthur (7) and Fred (3)
This is a bit terrifying with two over-energetic boys. Arthur needs regular support and guidance and Fred needs almost constant attention. Luckily there are two of us, so we’ll do a couple of hours on duty each then swap, recognizing both of us will need breaks between caring and working too. We are also trying to set up an area in the house or studio where they can work that becomes “school” and not “home” to help them mentally switch, which I would recommend everyone tries!
My boys are not exactly the most responsive to more organized homeschooling, but here are a few things we do that help sneak the learning in while having fun:
- Lots of arts and crafts projects (making cards, painting a canvas, etc.), but nothing too big since anything that lasts longer than 30 minutes can end in tears for us.
- We also have tech supplies at home (as you can imagine), so our projects can sometimes level up.
- We play lots of board games, which is handy for sneaking in counting and math. It's even better when we add in our own rules, like making animal noises.
- We have tons of apps that have some learning aspects that get used at times.
- LEGO is the main physical go-to tool that we use to make learning more constructive, though we add challenges for what the kids have to build as well as making them work together to complete them.
Amanda Odeh—Retail Sales Executive and Mom to Malina (3)
I found turning activities into a game really works. For instance, if we are doing flashcards and she’s losing interest, I put the cards on the floor and ask her to imitate whatever animal I said. It’s really helped her learn and have fun! Here’s how you can do it too:
- Take your flashcards and lay them face down on a table or on the floor.
- Ask your child to pick up a random card and act like the animal on it for 10-20 seconds. Bonus points for realism or comedy!
- If kids aren't sure what the animal sounds or moves like, have them find a video on YouTube to copy.
- Want to level it up? Players need to tell an interesting fact about the animal before they can claim the card. You can take the lead here!
If you don’t have flashcards, there are loads of online resources you can use to download flashcard templates for free!
Liam Fisher—Digital Director and Dad to Gabriel (7) and Audrey (5 months)
Our main aim will be to stick to the school routine as much as possible, so from 9 AM until 3:30 PM is “school” time with playtime breaks in the morning, midday, and afternoon. We’re working on topics and lessons that he recognizes from class in similar time slots that he normally works on each of them. Then, after 3:30 PM, we do something constructive before dinner but, most of the time, it’s just more non-screen playing.
However, what really worked for us was breaking activities down into 30- or 45-minute chunks. It’s helped him engage for longer periods of time and given us some time to focus on our own work! If you’re struggling with this, I recommend trying to structure activities this way—it worked wonders for us!
So, there's some helpful examples of how parents at Tech Will Save Us are managing homeschooling. Thank you to their team for sharing their experiences and allowing us to share them with our audience as well!
Find additional TWSU resources and products
We’re happy to have the opportunity to really ramp up our partnership with the Tech Will Save Us team and thank them for sharing some of their experiences with teaching and learning from home. To learn more about the kits, and those on our store, visit the Tech Will Save Us page. If you’re interested in requesting a quote for any of the Tech Will Save Us kits, we’d be happy to provide that to you and you can also feel free to place an order on our site at any time! Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and make sure to check out Tech Will Save Us, too!
The team at Tech Will Save Us would love to hear from you! If you have any other advice or activities you’ve done in the past weeks that you think will help other parents too, send them a message on social media and they’ll share it with their wider community! You can also join their Facebook Group, Stay Home: Ideas for Parents and Kids, for daily ideas and activities.