kids_at_home.mp3
kids_at_home.pdf
Neil
Hello This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English I’m Neil
Georgina
And I’m Georgina
Neil
?Do you remember the school holidays when you were a kid, Georgina
Georgina
Ah, yes, I remember Six whole weeks without school I used to go to the seaside
on holiday with my family - sometimes to the coast in England and sometimes
abroad to France or Spain
Neil
Yes I remember my dad driving us down to the seaside, looking out the car
window and playing I-spy with my sister
Georgina
But with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic many children are having to
take an extended and unplanned break from school
Neil
And with schools now shut for the foreseeable future, this is creating
challenges - both for children who can no longer meet their friends to play
outdoors…
Georgina
…and for parents who want to keep their children occupied and focused without
spending hours watching TV or playing on mobile phones
Neil
In this programme, we’ll be discussing some advice for parents trying to keep
their children educated and entertained at home in these unusual times But first,
today’s quiz question Under normal circumstances, which country has the
longest school summer holidays? Is it
A) Australia
B) Argentina, or
C) Italy
Georgina
Hmmm, they have really hot summers in Australia, right? I think maybe they also
have long holidays, so I’ll say a) Australia
Neil
OK, Georgina We’ll find out later whether you were right Of course, what’s
happening right now is very different from normal school holidays Parents and
children may be living together under lockdown for weeks on end and this can be
stressful as BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours discovered when they spoke to
parenting expert, Elizabeth O’Shea
Elizabeth O’Shea
The most important thing is see this as an opportunity
It’s unprecedented what’s going on but you may have a chance to have two or
more weeks with your children and if you can change your attitude towards that
you can actually enjoy this time and teach your children amazing coping
skills for dealing with difficulties in the future
Georgina
Elizabeth thinks that having a positive attitude by seeing the lockdown as
an opportunity will help in this unprecedented situation – a situation which
has never happened before
Neil
Adults are full of life experience and parents can teach their children things they
wouldn’t get to learn at school Being able to spend time at home with your
children can be a great opportunity to teach them coping skills -
skills they can use to cope, or deal with, stressful situations
Georgina
One of Elizabeth’s main ideas is that parents shouldn’t try to re-create a school
classroom at home Instead, it might be better to work with your children as
a team and decide together what you’d like to do
Neil
Here she is talking about keeping kids entertained at home
Elizabeth O’Shea
I would brainstorm ideas and then draw up timetables of what you’re going to do
each day Include a nice chunk of time, normally after lunch, for a bit
of downtime - quiet reading or quiet play but then, the rest of the time, build in
activities So playing with your children is wonderful – ball games, board games,
card games, word games, anything – doing a family disco – anything that is fun
and entertaining for them
Neil
If you lack ideas for what to do during the day, Elizabeth recommends
brainstorming - talking to your children to produce ideas and suggestions for
things to do
Georgina
Of course, games and activities are fun ways of keeping children entertained and
she suggests spending a chunk – or large part of time - on those
Neil
But it’s difficult to find the energy to keep playing games all day long It’s also
important to timetable in downtime - time when you relax and do not do much,
for example quiet reading
Georgina
And if it all starts going wrong, here’s Elizabeth again with a final tip
Elizabeth O’Shea
Pillow fights are also a great way to let off stream
Neil
If the situation becomes stressful then it’s good to let off steam - do something
to get rid of strong feelings by expressing them without harming anyone You
could let off steam in many ways – anything from going for a run to having a
pillow fight
Georgina
I think I’m going to need a holiday to get over this lockdown
Neil
Which reminds me it’s time to reveal the correct answer to this week’s quiz
question I asked you which country’s schools usually have the longest summer
holidays
Georgina
I said a) Australia
Neil
Good try, Georgina, but the correct answer was c) Italy They have up to 13
weeks’ holidays in the summer Imagine how much fun you could have
Georgina
Or how much English vocabulary you could learn
Neil
Today we’ve been giving some tips to parents for surviving
the coronavirus lockdown, an unprecedented situation – meaning a
situation which has never happened before
Georgina
One parenting expert recommends keeping a positive attitude by focusing on the
useful things parents can teach their children at home, like coping skills - skills to
cope with stressful situations, like being locked down
Neil
A good way to generate ideas for things to do is brainstorming – talking with
your children to come up with ideas and suggestions for fun learning activities A
large chunk - or part - of the day could be spent in fun ways like playing games or
finding things out together on the internet
Georgina
But don’t forget to schedule in some downtime – quiet time to relax and do
nothing
Neil
And when it all gets too much, find healthy ways to let off steam – get rid of
strong emotions by doing something energetic, like going for a run
Georgina
…Or having a pillow fight Come on, Neil, I always have a pillow handy, just in
case
Neil
Well, unfortunately, we’ve run out of time Unfortunately, we’ve run out of time
Search BBC Learning English for more language learning programmes as well as
English activities for your children during the lockdown Bye for now
VOCABULARY
unprecedented
never having happened or existed before
coping skills
skills and methods a person uses to cope or deal with stressful situations
brainstorm
discuss with others to suggest ideas or solutions to a problem
chunk
a piece of something, often a large part
downtime
time when you relax and do not do very much
let off stream
do something to get rid of strong feelings like anger or excitement
by expressing them without harming anyone
