Unless I’m grilling, I don’t usually cook. But on a rainy evening with my wife out of town, I had to come up with something fast to feed my kids. In desperation, I typed into ChatGPT the handful of ingredients I had in my kitchen and asked it what I could make. In seconds, I got a recipe for a pasta dish I’d never heard of. It didn’t look terribly difficult, so I went for it. To my surprise, my kids licked their plates clean. I call that a win.
Some kids look at school the same way I look at cooking. It’s hard, not a lot of fun, and they just want to get it done. If your kid’s struggling (or even if he’s not and you want to incorporate some learning activities at home), pull out your phone or fire up your computer for ideas for how to use AI at home. Here are 5 unique uses for AI at home to make learning more fun for your kids.
1. Use AI to create fun science experiments.
One idea for how to use AI at home involves getting scientific. I asked the chatbot Gemini for some fun science experiments I could do at home with my two elementary-aged kids and got some great ideas: “Dancing Raisins” to teach kids about the properties of gases; “Rainbow in a Jar” to teach about the different densities of liquids; and “Homemade Lava Lamp” to teach kids about chemical reactions. The supplies were things I already had at home: water, baking soda, and vegetable oil to name a few.
Do it: Tailor your prompt for more specific answers. For example: indoor vs. outdoor, grade 3 and up, experiments that teachers use in classrooms, etc.
2. Use AI to turn a trip to the park into a learning experience.
Going to the park usually means watching my kids run around for an hour. But I thought we might be able to level up our trip by making it a little more educational. I wanted to see how I could combine learning and fun, so I pulled out my phone before we left and asked Copilot for ideas. Copilot suggested doing a nature scavenger hunt, talking about cloud formations, and measuring things like the width of the slide and length of the bench.
Do it: If you want a math lesson at the park, be specific in what you ask your chatbot. If reading is a goal, try this prompt: “Give me some ideas for learning experiences at a park with my 7-year-old that will help him with this reading skills.”
3. Use AI to help your child with her fine-motor skills.
In kindergarten, my daughter didn’t have a good pencil grip. My wife and I tried moving her fingers, but nothing stuck. There had to be an easier way. We didn’t want to discourage her from drawing or writing, so we needed other ideas. Using Claude, I asked the chatbot to give me “ideas to help develop fine motor skills in a 5-year-old.” The suggestions? Playing with playdough, lacing cards or beads, picking up small objects with tweezers, and ripping paper into small pieces. All 10 ideas also came with an explanation of how these activities help with the pincer grip, dexterity, hand strength… Awesome. It made me excited to try a new approach.
Do it: Claude 3 Sonnet, created by Anthropic, is free. Experiment with various AI tools to receive different answers. You may find you gravitate toward one chatbot more than another.
4. Use AI to brainstorm activities that teach life lessons.
We know school is more than just academics. It’s about learning how to persevere, work well with others, and recover from setbacks. I wondered if AI could help me come up with ways I could teach those lessons at home.
Do it: Pick a chatbot like Meta AI to ask for “father-child activities that can teach valuable life lessons” and see what you get. Of the 10 ideas Meta AI gave me, I decided to go with grilling. I didn’t realize I could teach my son about teamwork and responsibility while doing something I love!
5. Use AI to create (or continue) a bedtime story for your child.
After reading The Pigeon Drives the Bus to my child, she asked what happened next. Well, I didn’t know. But using AI, we could continue the story a little longer. I asked ChatGPT to tell me what happened next to the pigeon and got a pretty funny answer. It turned out the pigeon had headed up north on an Arctic expedition and encountered polar bears.
Do it: AI can help you and your child stretch your imaginations. We followed up with another question for ChatGPT because we wanted to know what the pigeon thought of the polar bears. Using AI for storytelling can help you bond with your child, be creative, and create something new together.
Sound off: What other fun ideas do you have for how to use AI at home?
Huddle up with your kids and ask, “What is the biggest life lesson you’ve learned lately?”