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Learning at home

Offline learning

Students at home will need a different routine to that which they would normally expect on a regular school day. It is important to set short timeframes and include breaks for exercise and social interaction. There may be home-based skills that you can do together as well as more formal classroom style learning. Fun is important!

Some ideas (select those that are age and level appropriate) :

Cooking: make the family dinner, think about recipe quantities, modifications if there are ingredients missing, experiment with adapting a recipe several times  such as morning tea muffins or dumplings - what happens when you change ingredients, which versions are successful, which less so - record what you learn.  Get feedback from the family and write up the best recipe for use again and again or to send to someone else. 

Gardening:  plant some vegetable seedlings and care for them while at home. Take a photo every few days and record their growth. Find out the best way of feeding and watering them, plus protecting them from the hungry birds.

Sewing/knitting: dig out the knitting needles and start a scarf or make a simple skirt or headband out of fabric scraps.  Record each step and send to another classmate to have a go themselves.

Building: use lego, blocks, cardboard or an old shoe box to get creative:  build a scene from a book you are reading, create an imaginary planet or invent some new type of transport device or household tool

Jigsaws and board games: learn how to win and lose; build spatial awareness with a large family jigsaw, adding dice, 

Literacy:

• Reading and writing in any form is great. Use the online resources below or re-visit some bookshelf favourites.
• Read to each other, read to a puppet/teddy, record your reading and play it back, read to a relative over Skype.  Talk about the story and the characters; consider such questions as "Who would you be in this book?",  "What would you do differently if it were you?", "How can we change the ending?"
• Use the story to inspire writing:  re-write the plot from another character's point of view, write a letter to one of the characters, what do you want to know about this person, describe (or draw) the setting.

Online learning

There is some great local content on Home Learning TV available through TVNZ on demand.  Pick from a range of age levels (preschool - 15yrs) and subject areas. Videos last about 15-30 minutes.   Home Learning TV

These tips from Family Zone offer some advice for families who are concerned about keeping safe while distance learning.

 Literacy links 

Some of these sites involve making an account or paying for content ($). Others are free. 

Reading Eggs All students have a log in for this	Book Creator Create a book to share (make account)	Unite for literacy Online multilingual reading books (free)	Storyline online Actors read beautiful picture books (free)	Starfall Excellent reading and phonics site    $	Storyweaver Free online library of multilingual books
Epic for kids Read aloud comic books of different genres (make account)	Vooks Animated stories $	Storybird A wonderful writing website $	Radio New Zealand Storytime NZ stories read by Kiwis	Scholastic Story starters and creative writing ideas	Pobble 365 Creative writing - KTS students use this site for ideas
Games to Learn English Free games for English Language learners	British Council Learn English Reading and writing games (free)	David Walliams Stories and activities (free)	Storytime from Space Stories read by astronauts (free)	Oxford Owl Info about learning to read.  $ (+ free activities and e-books)	Loyal books Free online audio and e-books

Maths links

Mathletics Each child has a login

ICT games Awesome site full of free games

Alien addition Practice basic facts

Top marks Maths games for a range of skills and levels.

Khan academy Resource that explains how to do exercises.

Xtra math Basic facts support

Exploring the world/creative thinking / languages / skill building / getting active 

Go Noodle Fun, physical movement breaks for kids	Any Questions Library staff on hand to support inquiry learning	Kiwi Kids News Up to date and local news	Scratch Coding tool	The kid should see this Smart videos for curious minds of all ages	Sparklers at home Wellbeing activities and ideas
Cosmic Kids yoga Stories and yoga	Learn NZ Sign Language Upstart mag some sign language starters for kids	Language Nut KTS students have  log-ins. Huge choice including te reo. Great for the whole family!	Auckland Philharmonia Musical things to make and do	Online jigsaw puzzles Memory Games for kids	Thinkers keys on different topics
Suzy's World ideas, games, videos	Science topics to explore Science Learn (NZ) Crash Course Kids US - youtube	Outdoors NZ Geographic Explore US National Parks	Museums Auckland Museum at home Tales from Te Papa	Smithsonian Virtual Tour Metropolitan museum Art for kids	National Geographic for Kids  Activities and videos

 

Parent Support at home

Research suggests that "the most accurate predictor of a student's achievement in school is not income or social status but the extent to which that student's family is able to:
1. Create a home environment that encourages learning
2. Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their children's achievement and future careers
3. Become involved in their children's education at school and in the community”.

http://www.education.com/reference/article/benefits-parent-involvement-research/ (for further reading)

Check these out ...

MOE - parent section including information about the New Zealand Curriculum

MOE - Ideas on how to help with reading, writing and maths - there are some fantastic ideas here for each year group.