Social interaction is essential to human development. It provides young children with the developmental framework to curate their sense of self. According to Very Well Family, “socialization teaches your child how to handle and resolve conflicts with others—and how to navigate sharing, cooperating, respecting another child’s personal space, and being respectful and empathetic.” For Muslim parents, the surge of virtual learning and Islamic online education ultimately posed the question, how will online education impact my child socially?
Contrary to traditional learning, the freedom of an Islamic online education provides Muslim students with the perfect landscape for optimal socialization. With remote learning, children have more time outside of class to meet with others, learn to communicate with people of all ages, and enhance their social skills. Read on to learn how to keep your Muslim children socialized while receiving Islamic online education.
Here are 4 ways to keep your child connected socially while attending virtual school:
1. Enroll your child in extracurricular activities
Use this opportunity to explore your child’s interests. Extracurricular activities like martial arts, cooking, pottery, or coding can provide your child with a fun, creative outlet to strengthen their self-confidence.
2. Find a volunteer opportunity
Enhance your child’s sense of community. According to Simmons School of Social Work, “Volunteering provides exposure to different life situations and needs, and becomes transformative for the student by connecting learning with doing.” Encourage your child to volunteer for your local masjid, soup kitchen, or animal shelter, and simultaneously rack-up community service hours for college applications.
3. Plan a field trip
Who says online learning should be relegated to the home office? Field trips can be both fun and educational. Enrich your child’s learning and plan a field trip to museums, the zoo, or theater events.
4. Join a local youth group
Enhance your child’s leadership development by joining a local youth group. Youth groups like DUS Youth, Girl Scouts, or Boy Scouts, can help strengthen your child’s personal and interpersonal skills.
Al-Huda School is an accredited K-12 Islamic School, which was founded in 1995 as part of a larger community-building project called Dar-us-Salaam. Al-Huda Global is a newly founded online school based on the founding principles of our original brick and mortar location. For more information on how to provide access to quality online Islamic education from anywhere in the world please visit our website.