The arrival of the holiday season means more family gatherings and, more critically, time off school for the kids. As a parent, you’re probably both worrying and looking forward to the increased family time. But if you really want to make the most of it, there are things you can do to continue to engage kids’ critical and intellectual faculties even when they’re supposed to be out of school. Here are six fun and academically challenging activities to do with your children over the holidays.
1. Take In Museums & Performances
For people with access to larger, urban areas with museums and other cultural centers, now is the perfect time to get the family involved. Museums of today are much more dynamic and interactive than the displays you were exposed to as a child. Take your kids to a performance or an exhibition; you may be surprised at just how engaging it can be for 21st-century parents and kids alike.
2. Try Some Baking
Baking isn’t just a holiday tradition, if you get kids involved, it’s also a way to expose them to a multi-disciplinary activity that requires reading, math, and introduces some basic chemistry as well! Find out if your kids have a little chef or baker in them all while learning about measurements and the importance of recipes and ratios.
3. Research The Holiday
You may be celebrating Christmas with different traditions and activities, but what goes into each activity? What is the significance? Do you or your children know the “what” “why” and “how” of a Yule Log? Or the origin of the candy cane? Look it up!
4. Document Your Trip
If you’re driving somewhere or flying to a new destination for the holidays, have your kids learn to document the journey as well. Teach them about keeping a journal, encourage them to make drawings, or even take their own photos of the trip.
5. Conduct An Experiment
Another great activity that you can all engage in as a family is run some safe science experiments together. These can be simple or complex depending on time and budget available. As a family, few things match the fun of an interactive experience such as this.
6. Read Together
Reading is an important activity and there are plenty of ways to engage in this over the holidays. You can read by the fire together, or have the kids read their own stories aloud. Even while traveling in the car, you can put in an audiobook rather than playing a movie and listen to the story. Also, remember to not just read or listen to books, but discuss them. Engage in the ideas and critically assess the topics and themes the books try to address.
Learn Together This Holiday Season
Read Smart is focused on helping every child benefit from the full power literacy. Being able to read opens so many professional, creative and personal doors of opportunity, but different children learn in different ways. With our approach to teaching, we put the emphasis on finding the way your child prefers to learn and optimizing literacy towards that predisposition. If you want to give your child the best possible start in learning to love reading, contact us to find out more.
