School’s out, but that doesn’t mean that learning stops once the holidays are here. Try these hacks to get your child to learn valuable skills and help them to become responsible and resourceful as they grow.
School holidays are the perfect time for children to relax and have a break from the demands of school, and most kids will be taking advantage of it by sleeping in, playing video games, hanging out with friends, or perhaps just doing nothing at all.
Though most children prefer to take it easy over Christmas or while on term break holidays, parents should still make an effort to impart useful life skills at this time. Consider using the holidays as a platform for teaching and learning. Not only do you get the opportunity to spend more time with your little ones, but you also have the chance to teach them valuable skills that they may not learn in school.
Here are a few smart hacks to keep your child learning over the holidays.
Go on a getaway
Most Kiwis love to travel during the holidays, and last year, over 3 million people went on overseas vacations for some rest and relaxation. If you’ve got a free week to spend with the kids, why not take them on a trip outside the country? Involve your children during the planning stage so they’ll learn to do important things such as keeping their passport safe, researching destinations to visit or places where you can have great meals. Meanwhile, older kids can be involved in choosing accommodation, and they’ll learn to compare hotels and AirBnBs so you can get the best deals. Not only will they learn to be organised, but as travelling also exposes kids to different cultures, they’ll learn to be accepting and respectful of other people’s differences as they grow.
Encourage creativity
Unlock your child’s potential during the holidays by providing them with an outlet to unleash their creativity. Whether it’s playing an instrument, painting, photography, writing, dancing, or creating video logs, provide your child with the tools that he or she needs so they can stay engaged and be productive while school is out. For instance, if your little one is interested in visual arts, make sure that there are lots of art supplies at home, and take your child to a museum or gallery so they’ll know about the different art styles and mediums. And if they want to do cover dances of popular K-pop songs and post them on YouTube, offer to be their cameraman and figure out together how to edit the video before posting on the website. Whatever it is, encouraging a child’s creativity allows them to try out new ideas and solve problems, and it gives them an opportunity to think in a different way.
Let them help out
Perhaps one of the best ways to teach a child basic life skills is by allowing them to help you out with your daily chores. So let your little chef assist you with meal preparation, or have your child check off your grocery list as you go shopping for ingredients. Young children can do simple chores such as sorting laundry or pairing socks while you’re doing the wash, while older children can wash a load or two by themselves after you teach them how to use the washing machine. Teaching your child to do chores or run errands enables them to become more independent. Moreover, it helps them develop a strong work ethic, and they learn valuable planning and management skills.
What learning activities do you do during the holidays?
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This article was written by Sally Sykes with additional content by Kidspot NZ. Sally is a freelance writer who left her corporate job for a life of freedom. She regularly travels with her family and absolutely loves camping in the great outdoors.
We read a lot and the kids love educational games on the iPad. I get the kids to help in the kitchen, they measure and count and get their math skills reinforced while making something that they will enjoy eating!
My son is been on to me to take videos of him playing with his toys and/or riding trains and basically be a YouTube star. t’s just me that is procrastinating and I know it requires effort to do some editing. We’ve tried some but not consistently. This is basically honing his creativity. Thanks for the reminder. Chores are essential for us too and we’ve started star rewards which gives him the option of getting what he wants when he completes them.
I have really been meaning to let my kids help with meal prep cos i do believe it helps in empowering them to be able to achieve something and contribute to the home.. sadly though…life gets in the way and my patience runs out .. so dinner ends up being a rushed preparation by me… i an hoping to change this… in the meantime i do try and let them paint or create in a crafty way instead…. sometimes we even bake haha… great article… got me thinking.
We still encourage reading books as well as learning how to plant seeds in the vegetable garden, dig out weeds and then off course harvest the vegetables over summer. But other than these two things we like the kids to actually have a break so they go into school in the school year ready to learn again.
Some great ideas for next time we have holidays. We dont do alot of learning things on purpose over holidays but deff do creative things.
Ooh this article is a little late for the last huge holidays we had over summer but certainly something to think about as we are nearing the halfway point to the next school holidays. Our son was part of a reading carnival at our local library over the holidays and we found that a great way to keep him reading, and interested in reading for a sustained period of time.
In the holidays we go for walks to keep the children active. We go stay with their great Nana to help her out as shes getting alot older and frail now. We also go to the museum and do the activities there and go to the library and read books and do any activities there.
We try and keep our 7 year old’s mind active even when she’s not at school. We have a globe at home and she often will play around with it and find countries. I also encourage her to read, she is a really good reader, but can be a bit slack at times so needs encouragement. When we are out and about we show her things and explain what they are (nature etc), especially animals or bugs which she finds fascinating.