Keeping kids entertained, active, and happy is something that parents aim for. They want to be sure their child is engaging in activities that promote good health, better their skills, make them happy, and that are safe, of course. During today’s times of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding group-based activities has been tricky at best. Many parents are now looking for virtual activities that ensure kids are kept safe at home, yet still gives them the level of socialization and physical activity they need.
So, as you search for the perfect online activity club for your child to take part in, here are some tips you can use that will help you find the ideal option.
Will the Activity Keep Them Interested?
If your plan is to have your child take part in activities in a virtual manner, then it almost has to be more engaging than in person. When they are at home staring at the screen, it’s easy to get distracted and end up walking away. Ideally, you want to find something that keeps them moving around and keeps a busy pace, so they never have that opportunity to get bored or distracted.
Keeping kids active and engaged means addressing a variety of interests at the same time and then building lessons and learning opportunities into those activities. There are plenty of physical educators at Boys and Girls Clubs across the country who are now offering highly active and highly engaging online content such as exercises, games, and sports. This kind of club is perfect as an after school activity.
How Many Participants Will There Be?
Another thing to consider is how many participants there will be in the online club. Sure, the physical activity part is important, but so is socialization, and just because they are in a virtual club it doesn’t mean they can’t socialize. Look for a club that has a good number of kids, and actually allows kids to converse in real-time. This gives the same effect as in-person would, and kids don’t feel as though they are just at home alone.
The activity club should feature live video instruction and communication not just with the teacher, but also with other participants.
Is the Club Easy to Follow Along With?
Any parent can attest to the fact that kids can get frustrated quickly, especially when a task seems confusing or hard. What that means is the activity club you choose must also be user-friendly from your child’s standpoint. You don’t want to be in there during the meeting having to walk them through the activities step-by-step simply because it’s too difficult to understand.
Now this is going to take some finesse on the part of the educators and club operators, as they need to recognize that a virtual club is very different than an in-person one.
Virtual Clubs Can Open a World of Possibilities
While these virtual clubs are being made necessary for a very real and tragic reason at the moment, it is shining the light on just how useful they can be. Perhaps this will change how clubs operate in the future and give kids even more choices.
