Of course we want our children to learn math, writing, reading, and other academic subjects and skills in our homeschool. But one of the reasons many of use choose to homeschool is to have focused and purposeful time to teach our children relationship skills and the ability to understand and respond to their own emotions in healthy ways.
Thankfully, in recent years, we've seen a growth in resources and programs for teaching Social Emotional Learning (SEL). This past month, the kids and I have enjoyed trying out LuvBug Learning - an app for kids (and parents!) that teaches SEL skills woven into gameplay with state-of-the-art graphics!
Soft Skills in Your Homeschool
Just as with many academic subjects, learning soft skills like empathy and awareness of our own emotions and the emotions of others involves developing the vocabulary to discuss and describe these ideas.
Studies show that most children can identify only three basic emotions: happy, sad, and angry (sad, glad, and mad). But there's a difference between frustration and disappointment, between excitement and contentment, and between envy and animosity. Playing the games in the LuvBug Learning app can be a fun and efficient way to help our kids build understanding of these ideas!
When you first open the app, you'll be able to choose between watching videos and playing games. Here's a sample of one of the videos your kids can watch through the app.
Click to play
Or, if your child chooses games, they'll have the opportunity to choose from a range of interactive games interspersed with SEL questions based on the ideas in the videos.
Or, your little learners can explore one of the three-dimensional immersive villages. Both the games and the villages feature the LuvBug Learning characters your kids will come to know and love! One of the favorites in our house is Violet. (See if you can guess why!)
Throughout the gameplay, kids will have the opportunity (called a "Checkpoint") to answer questions appropriate for their age level. Each question is read aloud so even pre-readers can follow along, and kids can get more information about words they don't understand.
Engaging Gameplay, Safe Technology
Developers at LuvBug Learning knew that one of the necessary ingredients in a successful game for kids was a rich and cutting-edge graphics environment. I can vouch for the fact that the games and villages are visually stunning and definitely keep the kids engaged!
But the parent dashboard also allows you - the parent - to control the amount of time each child is able to use the app per day. This is especially helpful if multiple kids want turns using your phone to try out the new games and villages!
You can see a sample of the visually-stunning gameplay here:
Click to play
Try LuvBug with Your Kids!
Want to let your kids explore this digital world while growing their social and emotional learning? Use code LUVBUG5 to get the annual plan for only $5 a month! This discount is only good through October 15, so make sure to check it out soon!