Our son is turning three! So we’ve started to introduce him to the basics a few minutes a day. Early on, we both agreed on letting our boy discover learning as fun and meaningful. Thankfully, the pandemic has ushered in new teaching methods for our kids that are more interactive despite being virtual. While Tikoy’s age doesn’t necessarily require a full enrollment of classes, we handpicked some useful resources that assist parents in teaching concepts to kids.
Starfall
As a website for preschool or kindergarten kids, Starfall teaches basic literacy and numeracy skills. There are also lessons on colors, motion songs, and nursery rhymes. Learning phonics and numbers are made fun through their animation with colorful illustrations and catchy sounds. Starfall is a “freemium” website. This means that the basic lessons are freely available, but there are annual rates to get the premium content.
LEGO Foundation
You will find the words “What will you play today?” in giant letters on their landing page. LEGO Foundation has created a “playlist” of play activities for ages 0-12 that may or may not involve LEGO bricks or toys. These activities help kids develop life skills while having fun. You can explore games that may last for less than 15 minutes to over an hour through their website. The different play ideas follow LEGO’s five characteristics of playful experiences: actively engaging, meaningful, socially interactive, joyful, and iterative (denoting a grammatical rule that can be applied repeatedly).
Books of Belonging
Sarah Dryden-Peterson, Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, started this video series to read picture books. During the pandemic, we turned to books for comfort, and this included Tikoy. We loved Sarah’s literary choices and enjoyed the different themes across the series. Our favorite episode, which we might have watched more than twenty times, is Ann Hassett’s Cat Up a Tree.
Peep and the Big Wide World
Early on, we have discovered that Tikoy has good spatial skills. He likes to tinker things and solve puzzles. We came across Peep and the Big Wide World-a website that contains videos and games to encourage kids’ interest in specific science and math concepts. The videos of Peep and his friends Chirp and Quack are funny but also foster innovative ideas and answers the “why” of how things work. Oh, and did we mention that Joan Cusack is the narrator in the videos?
Netflix Kids
Saturday is Tikoy’s screen time day. While Netflix is known for TV shows and movies, there are many edutainment materials that you can use for your kids. Our all-time favorites are PAW Patrol, TAYO Bus and Dinotrux.
Bonus Resource
As a bonus, Camp Explore! They don’t have a program for toddlers yet, but we’re looking forward to having Tikoy join them! Abi has worked with Camp Explore in her former company in creating youth camps, and she attests to how the team can creatively transform big concepts into fun activities that impact lives. They currently hold WeBeKend, a virtual camp for kids and teens that build lifelong habits alongside making new friends.
Now more than ever, we have appreciated the value of a strong and reliable internet connection, not just at work, but also in facilitating fun and innovative learning.
With the strongest connection of PLDT Home Fibr, families can rediscover ways to enjoy online learning even with your little kids. Know more about PLDT Home Fibr plans at www.pldthome.com.
Mark x Abi 