10 Effective Ways to Make Learning Fun for Kids

When it comes to learning for children, why should it just be limited to textbooks? There is so much they can observe from the environment, their surroundings and learn, or for that matter, so many concepts, they can simply learn from experimentation and experience—on the other hand, the real challenge is for the adults, for the parents, to curate learning experiences. Here, we round up 10 effective ways of learning for children, sans the textbook.

Effective Ways to Have Fun with Learning

If we want our children to stay motivated and engaged, then it is essential to make learning fun. The real challenge is for the adults, the parents, to curate learning experiences and make learning fun here. Read this...

1.) Nature and Lifecycle:

Take your child out for walks in the parks and gardens and let the child observe and learn through experience, such as the lifecycle of a caterpillar, or about bird’s nests, or how a bud which was just a bud yesterday, has bloomed today and will wither away in a few days. You could also give the child a small pot of his own to plant some seeds in and nurture them.

2.) Planning and organizing:

When planning for a vacation or a day trip, let an older child take the lead. Let him decide the place, the number of people, logistics such as conveyance and expenditure etc. You could assist him in the plan, but let him figure out everything by himself, including coordinating and inviting other guests over.

3.) The Concept of Money:

When you go out shopping with your child, hand him over some minimal amount of change. For eg: 5, 1 rupee coins and let him figure out on his own as to how to buy his favorite candy off that money. This will help your child learn the basic mental math concepts (subtraction, addition etc.), the value of money (how he should spend the money given to him wisely so as to utilize it to the maximum), and even boost confidence while dealing with the shopkeeper. You can decide on the amount of money as per the child’s age, Rs 50 and maybe a little higher for older children. [How to Teach Child The Value Of Saving Money?]

4.) Problem-solving:

Encourage the child to think and come up with solutions to everyday problems such as blocking out too much sun from a window, or maintaining humidity, or even simple things such as carrying something heavy up the stairs. The child could come up with an idea to discuss with you or a drawing on paper.

5.) Strategic and logical thinking:

Invest some time on board games with your child that boost thinking and strategy-building such as chess, monopoly, or card games. These encourage the child to think of a problem-situation from multiple fronts and are not only interesting, but a great way to pass time in vacations. [Tips to Nurture Critical Thinking Skills in Your Child]

6.) Mathematical Concepts:

When cooking or baking, ask the child to help you out with measuring the ingredients. Buy a graded measuring cup, that has measurements in both ounces and grams etc., and keep asking your child to hand you 2 ounces of flour or 300 gm of sugar etc. This will help her in learning the conversions hands-on.

7.) Hands-on Learning through Camps:

During vacations, many government organizations such as the Traffic Police department, hold workshops or camps to educate children on road safety. Enroll your child in one. These will give the children first-hand experience of traffic rules and how wrong driving tactics can be dangerous. These are generally held at Traffic Training Parks and information is available on websites.

8.) History through Walks:

Rather than asking the child to mindlessly do rote learning, take him to a historical place of relevance, such as Agra, or on a historical tour of Delhi to know about the Mughal Dynasty. Read up on the history of the place/ruler of the fort, and tell the child about it. This will leave more lasting impressions on the memory of the child than textbooks. 

9.) Life Skills:

Organize a playdate for the children, were life skills, such as protecting yourself in case of a fire, or administering first-aid, are taught to them in a friendly-game like a manner. You could ask a professional to come to guide you or could take the children out to experiential parks such as Kidzania for better exposure.

10.) Internships with Professionals:

If your child has a career interest, then try and get him to work with a professional, such as go to a doctor’s clinic for a month (he may not be allowed to do anything, but spending time there will give him a real perspective about the profession), or help out a CA friend, or do some journalistic stories for a local newspaper.

While the textbook is important, they cannot replace what a child will learn on his own through observation and experience, from the environment and the surroundings.

Disclaimer: This blog is aimed at helping parents to encourage learning in their child, and is a special initiative supported by Kidzania.