Tips to prevent Christmas break learning gap
Guest post written by Jomary Schulz, 3rd grade public school teacher
As your child's Christmas Break slowly approaches it may be a good idea to begin thinking about how you will keep their minds engaged while out of school. Any length of time a child spends away from their normal, consistent, school schedule could be a "holiday recipe" for a learning gap to begin. Now granted, all kids will not suffer from a week to two weeks away from school, but their tendency to become lazy about problem solving or keeping their brains active is pretty normal for any child.
Even before they fall into their habit of t.v. watching or video game playing vacation routine, get your children involved with the everyday family tasks that may involve a little problem solving.
Here are some excellent way to get this kind of thinking going:
MATH
* Have them help you with the Gift Giving list. Let them be the one to calculate the costs of gifts, what the difference is between sale items, or how much money there is left to spend.
* Another fun idea is to have them write out their wish list using a department or toy store ad and let them add up the cost. Give them a budget and make them only get items that will stay within the allotted amount.
READING / CULTURE / SOCIAL STUDIES
* Read about how different cultures celebrate the Holiday around the world. Read about a different one everyday and cook or make a craft from each to display.
MUSIC
* Using a common Holiday tune, have your child come up with new words and let them perform it before returning back to school.
WRITING
* Have your child obtain a few addresses of friends from school. Show them how to write a letter or how to fill out a postcard and mail them out. (Most letters sent to people close to home get there within just a couple of days.)
SCIENCE
* For those technology savvy kids, have them track "Santa's Flight course" using Norad Santa Tracker and have them share updates with the family as if they were a television News Anchor.
Even though it is a vacation, and we want them to relax, we need to remember that our children's brains continue to absorb new things even when they are not at school. It is our job as parents to motivate our children to want to keep learning. Let's make this Holiday Break one where the learning does not stop.
Question:
How do you keep your children mentally engaged during their Holiday Vacation?
As your child's Christmas Break slowly approaches it may be a good idea to begin thinking about how you will keep their minds engaged while out of school. Any length of time a child spends away from their normal, consistent, school schedule could be a "holiday recipe" for a learning gap to begin. Now granted, all kids will not suffer from a week to two weeks away from school, but their tendency to become lazy about problem solving or keeping their brains active is pretty normal for any child.
Even before they fall into their habit of t.v. watching or video game playing vacation routine, get your children involved with the everyday family tasks that may involve a little problem solving.
Here are some excellent way to get this kind of thinking going:
MATH
* Have them help you with the Gift Giving list. Let them be the one to calculate the costs of gifts, what the difference is between sale items, or how much money there is left to spend.
* Another fun idea is to have them write out their wish list using a department or toy store ad and let them add up the cost. Give them a budget and make them only get items that will stay within the allotted amount.
READING / CULTURE / SOCIAL STUDIES
* Read about how different cultures celebrate the Holiday around the world. Read about a different one everyday and cook or make a craft from each to display.
MUSIC
* Using a common Holiday tune, have your child come up with new words and let them perform it before returning back to school.
WRITING
* Have your child obtain a few addresses of friends from school. Show them how to write a letter or how to fill out a postcard and mail them out. (Most letters sent to people close to home get there within just a couple of days.)
SCIENCE
* For those technology savvy kids, have them track "Santa's Flight course" using Norad Santa Tracker and have them share updates with the family as if they were a television News Anchor.
Even though it is a vacation, and we want them to relax, we need to remember that our children's brains continue to absorb new things even when they are not at school. It is our job as parents to motivate our children to want to keep learning. Let's make this Holiday Break one where the learning does not stop.
Question:
How do you keep your children mentally engaged during their Holiday Vacation?
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