There are lots of holiday season tasks that can help your child to continually explore, unwind and develop, even academically. Developing writing skills, practicing budgeting and mathematics skills, shopping and cooking can keep your child’s mind working.
A great way to help your child to continually evolve is exploring opportunities to learn online. You can connect with your child’s teacher to find out online learning resources that are available for use at home during the break. This will help to keep open lines of communication with your child’s teacher, and give you the opportunity to learn more about tools your child uses every day.
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The kitchen is another learning tool; it can offer a great teaching and learning experience. Whether reading recipes, measuring ingredients or learning about temperatures, giving your child the opportunity to actively participate in creating your family’s delicious holiday treats is an excellent chance to sharpen mathematics and reading skills. You have also gained a great new sous-chef.
Time off from school doesn’t have to mean time off from reading. Hence story time fills in that gap. Over the holidays, schedule time to read to your child and model good reading strategies. Give your young learners the opportunity to participate more actively in the joy of reading by having them read their favourite holiday stories to you. Pick out themed books, ask thoughtful comprehension questions and have fun getting lost in a story together.
Move out and about. Days off from school can be a great opportunity to get out and do some activities you may not usually have time for. Check the newspapers, kiddies-centred magazines or community blog for educational opportunities for your whole family. Whether it’s a holiday fair where your young child can practice counting tickets or a trip to the mall where older children can help budget for gifts, there are lots of ways to get the whole family involved and have fun.
This is also a time to get creative. You can have friends and family have your child put on a play, which is key to developing your child’s art skills. Offer to help your child prepare for the big performance by setting up a stage or reviewing lines but make sure the play is entirely his or her own idea. Writing and performing plays is a wonderful way for your child to express him or herself and have fun.
You can also choose to film a video if live performance isn’t something your child is comfortable with. Your child will have fun filming especially with the teamwork of coordinating angles, sets, lighting and storylines. While this builds on concentration and commitment, your child will also feel very accomplished when the whole video is complete. Ensure you save it for future purposes. It could motivate your child to consider it as a skill in future.
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