When my kids went on spring break last March (2020)… and then NEVER WENT BACK… I had one burning question. Why have we not been teaching them TYPING from day one??
Although I am always surprised by the technological skills my kids already have, the pandemic has been a great eye-opener as to what life skills have been falling through the cracks. Granted, we moms have MANY things to teach our kids and different necessities come at different times. (Anyone else still struggling to leave the house with shoes on both feet?) Well this year proved that TYPING needed to be our priority. We just didn’t know.
Last summer was spent just keeping us all home and safe and wondering what the future would hold. It seems so obvious now. But when fall rolled around last year, I remember again being SURPRISED at how much typing was involved for our kids to do school at home. Regular raising hands or writing down answers in class had now turned into computer controls, mouse clicks and TYPING out answers with words they barely knew how to read, let alone spell or type. Their homework was now Google Slides and so many nights were spent struggling to move this box there and copy that circle here. My kids didn’t even know COPY and PASTE yet!!! Most academic concepts were completely lost in just figuring out the technology. We weren’t prepared… no one was!
“Being able to type without looking at the keyboard means kids can focus on the task in front of them, instead of getting distracted hunting for letters.
“Learning to type using a multi-sensory approach also strengthens reading, writing and spelling skills by emphasizing phonics.” (from Teaching kids to type)
I immediately signed my kids up for free with typing.com and got them hooked on learning to TYPE. It was easy for them to follow along and progress through the keyboard. They could work on it for five minutes here or there while waiting for the teacher during class. Unfortunately, the newness quickly wore off and they soon lost interest. I kept trying to encourage them to practice typing because I could see their frustration when they couldn’t type their answer fast enough and the teacher moved on too quickly. Somehow, we muddled through the rest of the school year… and my twins both passed the 3rd Grade! I call it a BIG WIN because it was a struggle for our entire family. We even had to call in the big guns (my mom) at one point. We lovingly call her GAGA and she was a great blessing!
THIS summer, I vowed to practice, practice, PRACTICE typing with the kids because I know it is a life skill they will need… sooner than my generation ever needed it. Can I tell you how many times my children have practiced typing and the summer is more than half over? That’s a big ZERO! Not to say I didn’t try my hardest. I think they were worn out… and I was worn out… from last year.
So I decided to do what I could to encourage their learning this summer, but mostly, just to take a break. It will be a big adjustment for everyone come fall. At least I know what we need to work on and I can sprinkle in some encouraging TYPING lessons here and there where it fits and when it will be received.
My plan is to find (or create) other age-appropriate typing resources that will work and keep them coming back. Send me your ideas and any resources that have worked well for you and your kids in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.