If you’re a parent, you probably care very much about your child’s development, including their progress and performance in an educational setting. However, it’s very common for parents to worry about their child if they’re struggling in school.
Whether it’s having a hard time following directions or struggling to focus on what the teacher is saying, your child may face difficulties in preschool. Keep in mind that this does not mean your child will always struggle in school — if anything, now is the best time for you to intervene.
10 Fun Educational Activities for Kids Struggling in School
One way to improve your child’s learning development is to organize and participate in fun activities at home with your child. If you’re looking for parent-child activities to do at home, look no further! Below are ten examples to implement in your home to support your preschooler
1. Obstacle Course
Building a fun obstacle course in your home can help get your child thinking about shapes, how items in your home can be used for other purposes and how to organize them properly. Kids need to use their critical thinking skills, creativity and imagination, all of which can help them with learning development. The obstacle course can be as small or big as you want, but make sure your child can navigate the course safely!
2. Backyard Scavenger Hunt
Another way to engage your child in learning is by organizing a backyard scavenger hunt. You can spend time taking photos of different things in your backyard, whether it’s a certain bush, a set of flowers or a vegetable growing in your garden.
You can print out these photos and have your child go outside to look for them. This will help children learn how to identify objects by comparing photos to the real thing.
3. Cooking
Spending time with your child in the kitchen provides a plethora of opportunities to teach them basic skills, such as how to count, how to use different utensils or how to mix ingredients.
For example, if a recipe calls for four cups of flour, you can count each cup out loud to help your child pick up counting skills. While you preschooler may not be able to make their own cake, try to transform cooking meals or desserts into a learning experience.
4. Yoga Sessions
Another activity to participate in that can help your child improve their school performance is yoga. While yoga itself is not inherently educational, you can incorporate various learning skills into a basic yoga session.
Yoga is known to help people of all ages relax, and tune into their bodies. Yoga can even improve your child’s mood, which may positively impact their ability to pay attention or feel engaged when they attend school. Your child may feel less inattentive, less hyperactive or less impulsive if they practice yoga every once in a while.
5. Practicing Morning Routines
Having a morning routine is essential for your child. It can help them feel less stressed before going to school, which can keep them relaxed before school begins. However, practicing a morning routine can happen at any time of the day.
You can have your child pick out their outfits, choose which cereal they want to eat or how to pack their backpack the night before. Kids crave structured routines — it helps them feel secure because they know what to expect after waking up each day.
6. Jump Rope
Another activity to get your child’s blood pumping and attention focused is jumping rope. You can ask them to count how many jumps they do before failing, or ask them to jump to different parts of the house.
Asking your child to do two things at the same time forces them to use their critical thinking skills. In addition to learning how to count, you’re allowing your child to release some of their pent-up energy by exercising.
7. Timed Dress-Up
Playing dress-up is a great way to help your child identify and coordinate their colors, which is a basic skill they learn in preschool. Performing task such as buttoning up or zipping clothing can even help with your child’s fine motor skills.
They can also learn how to count the different articles of clothing they’re dressing up in out loud. You can also ask them why they like certain colors, or have them tell you a story about an imaginary character they’re impersonating. There are plenty of ways to put an educational twist on your child’s dress-up session!
8. Sight Words Game
It’s important for your child to learn sight words, which are a tried and true method of helping children learn reading comprehension skills. Words such as come, the, like, and, at and does are examples of sight words that young children can start identifying in preschool or kindergarten.
If you want to improve your child’s sight word recognition, consider using a pen and a set of index cards. Write sight words on each index card and have your child guess the word. As they guess, set a timer and determine how many words they can guess correctly in 30 seconds. Set aside any cards they struggle with, as these are cards you should run through again.
9. Classification Game
Another simple parent-child activity to do at home is a basic classification game. You can find household items and have your child organize them by color, size, shape or texture. It’s important for children to learn these skills, as it builds a foundation for math, science and
You can make these games even more fun by having them organize food, candy or other items that stimulate the senses. If you want to make classification or categorization more difficult, try to make the categories more interesting or specific to spark your child’s interest and critical thinking skills.
10. Alphabet Hunt
Last but not least, teaching your child the alphabet is an important milestone they’ll reach as they enter preschool and kindergarten. Instead of singing the alphabet song, create an alphabet hunt!
You can print out individual letters from the alphabet and have your child go around the house placing letters on items that start with the letter. For example, your kiddo might put a letter “A” on an apple in the kitchen, or letter “D” on a door. This can help your child improve their knowledge of the alphabet in a fun, playful way.
Supporting Your Preschooler in Their Learning Journey
To reiterate, it’s common for parents to worry about their child’s learning journey, as it’s not always linear. Your child may need extra time to learn certain foundational skills, such as reading, counting or classifying items. However, these fun educational activities for kids to do at home will help your child improve upon the skills they need to enter formal schooling. Have fun incorporating these activities into your daily routine, and see how they benefit your child!
