The after-school hours are a special time many parents would wisely say is meant for the kids to use for fun activities and to explore the world on their own. Others, however, would be just as wise to say that childhood isn’t just for fun, but for doing what’s necessary to develop the skills and abilities one would need as an adult.
As such, how kids spend their time after school is a topic of contention for a lot of people, but, as is often the case, the answer may lie in the middle and some of the best engaging, fun, and productive activities for kids after school are online courses, coding games, and other online learning options, i.e. the type of activities that are both very fun and help with kids’ learning needs.
Here are some prime examples of fun and productive online learning options for keeping kids engaged after school:
1. CodeMonkey
Probably the most crucial skill for children to learn today is coding. This isn’t just for future professional purposes either, but especially becomes coding literacy is set to be a must-have knowledge for people in any career and life field in the near future. What’s more, coding helps kids develop their logical and algorithmic thinking processes, their pattern-spotting skills, their creativity and resilience, as well as boosting their confidence.
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All this may sound great, but coding can be difficult to teach to young audiences without the proper tools. Fortunately, there are courses and platforms nowadays designed specifically to appeal to and be suitable for kids as early as kindergarten and above.
CodeMonkey is a prime example of that, as this platform is full of K-8 courses that are perfectly balanced to give students in this age range a series of advanced challenges that are both fun and rewarding, as well as difficult and beneficial to kids’ development. Some of these courses may need a tutor’s help and can be utilized in the classroom or at home with a parent, while many others are meant for kids to tackle on their own.
2. TEDed
An offshoot of TED talks, TEDed is free and is specifically designed to celebrate the ideas and thoughts of students and teachers. This platform offers many lessons on countless different educational topics, including Earth School, real-life quest tasks, quizzes, and more.
What’s more, TEDed is a very engaging way to let kids share their own thoughts and explore their own creativity, interact with others, and build communities near different subjects, as the platform doesn’t just offer content to watch and read but allows kids to create their very own TEDed talks and share them with others.
3. Khan Academy Kids
For parents looking to keep their kids happy and active in a productive ways after school during the K-2 years, Khan Academy Kids is one of the best ways to do that. This platform has a huge variety of subjects and topics for kids to explore and employs very creative methods for not only holding kids’ attention and giving them information but also getting them to interact with the platform and the courses.
Khan Academy Kids can be a great tool for parents who want to help their kids practice specific topics they see as important or lackluster in the school curriculum. Alternatively, the platform can also be used to help just give kids knowledge and insight into a broader list of topics and skills, all while keeping them entertained and engaged.
4. Radiolab for Kids
Radiolab is a famous radio show and podcast that focuses on exploring various fascinating scientific stories and cases. As such, however, it’s often not particularly suited for younger audiences and wouldn’t hold the interest of most pre-teen kids (though many teens love it). Fortunately, however, that’s why there is a Radiolab for Kids, too.
Created by that same team, Radiolab for Kids covers similar scientific content that explores the natural world around us but is oriented toward younger audiences. Delivered in a more kid-friendly and engaging way and designed to hold kids’ interest for a bit while also giving them lots of cool and important information, Radiolab for Kids is an invaluable tool in any parent’s toolbox.
5. Learn with Smithsonian
Staying on the scientific topic, another great online learning resource in this regard is Learn with Smithsonian. This online platform, which is made by Lenovo and the Smithsonian Museum, offers a huge and extensive collection of materials for kids of all ages. On Learn with Smithsonian, children can explore anything from virtual tours of ancient historical sights and modern zoos to engage in various interactive, kid-friendly STEM activities.
Much more than just a digital encyclopedia, Learn with Smithsonian doesn’t just teach kids random interesting facts but is a great way to get them to interact with historical, nature, and scientific topics and build up kids’ fascination with such sciences and the world around.
