3 fun home learning ideas for 8 to 12-year-olds 

The age bracket of 8 to 12 is difficult to tackle. The kids are no more too young, nor do they have the maturity of teenagers. It’s also tough on parents to keep kids of this group engaged as they start outgrowing dolls and toys. Mobile games get them addicted. And they may not yet be ready for most movies and books. The pandemic has made the situation tougher for parents with tween kids grumbling around the house. Here are some lively activities to keep 8 to 12-year-olds engaged. As a bonus, they will learn while playing, and bond more with you.  

Word games  
Crossword puzzles and anagrams are a good starting point to keep kids busy and increase their vocabulary. There are a lot of age specific crossword puzzles available on the internet. An anagram is all about making lots of small words out of a big joined word. Try the usual ones like hippopotamus and Constantinople, and then go for the more complicated round. Here, the child will rearrange letters of the word to make another word. For example, ‘listen’ can also be ‘silent’. Both anagrams and crosswords are excellent for expanding vocabulary, creating a natural interest in language and communication, and of course, developing quick thinking skills.  

Creativity games  
Does your child read the newspaper or watch news? Now put that visual experience to use. Tell them a story, or give them a story to be read. Then ask them to create a news headline for it. Cinderella could lead to ‘Merchant’s orphaned stepdaughter to marry crown prince’, ‘Revealed: The owner of the white slipper is found’, and ‘Impoverished but beautiful orphan to be next Princess’. Get all the headlines together and vote, and the one with most votes is the winner. You need at least 3 people to play this game.  

Management games  
Can there possibly be a game that teaches management skills to tweens? Yes, there are plenty of them. The best starter is the scheduling and book keeping game. Tell your child to create a suitably illustrated study schedule, mount it in a DIY frame, put it up, and then stick to it. They just might, out of pride over their own scheduling and design skills. Book keeping starts with the old game of a doll’s shopping list. Ask your child to keep stock of the kitchen supplies, track when they are bought, and how they can be best stored. The results can be fun and a great learning experience.