Breaks are something that are looked forward to by students and teachers alike. They are much needed after weeks of learning and hard work. However, breaks tend to lead to a regression in academic skills and that is when holiday learning comes in.
While summer break sees the most of this, with a trend known as the “summer slide,” winter break can see similar trends even if they aren’t as drastic. Practicing skills at home doesn’t have to be tedious. Instead, there are fun options for families to continue their holiday learning over the winter break.
Reading for Fun
Whether you are reading a story to your child as they follow along with the words and pictures or setting aside a reading time for them to open their own book, any exposure to reading is beneficial to your child.
Try creating new, fun places or ways for your child to read such as under the Christmas tree, under the bed with a flashlight or on a mountain of pillows. Even changing the audience can be fun but still encourage the same skills. Ask your child to read to their favorite stuffed animal, a family member, a pet or even a snowman (if we ever get snow here this year)!
Have your child or an older sibling write down all the ways they read over the holiday break, including the time they spent reading and the different books they explored, and send it into school with them the first day back. Their teacher will love to see all the ways their reading skills were developed over the break.
Writing a Story
Supporting literacy skills over the break includes writing, as well. Regardless of your child’s age or skill level there are several options for them. Have your child write to people in your family or neighborhood using any format they are interested in. They could write a letter to a neighbor asking about their favorite part of the winter season. Or they could write an invitation to a family member for a holiday celebration. Or even help write thank you notes after gifts are exchanged.
Children can also express their imagination by writing creative stories about a snowman who lost her carrot nose, a snowflake who was sad that he looked different than the other snowflakes, or a child who gets a magical gift!
For children with developing writing skills, choosing a letter a day is a great option for them. Try writing the letter in a tray of flour with a carrot, tracing the letter in shaving cream with their finger, or making the letter out of cookie dough and then baking it.
Math and Baking
Speaking of baking, math skills can also be supported in this delicious activity. Children can help with the measuring, comparing the sizes of measurements or even converting measurements for larger recipes. Placing cookies on a cookie sheet creates an array, which is a perfect way to visualize multiplication skills. When they are all baked and frosted, count the total and older children can practice division by equally distributing the cookies onto plates or gift baskets for neighbors.
Supporting math skills through money is another great way for kids to get their math minds in motion. Have your child create a budget for gift buying based on their allowance or what they have saved up. For older children, they can practice comparing prices at the store.
Younger children, who aren’t quite ready for math with money, can work with shapes for practice. Winter is full of snowflakes and cutting out paper snowflakes is a creative way to explore lines of symmetry. It can even turn into a game of who can create a snowflake with the most lines of symmetry or even the least.
Science
While reading and math are the foundational skills that tend to be focused on the most, science is a subject area that children of all ages can explore alongside reading and math or even on its own.
After they are done measuring ingredients for cookies, they can make predictions on what the result will look like or even have a conversation about how all those ingredients in the mixing bowl turn into a crunchy treat.
Children can also have conversations about the weather and observe the thermostat each day. Try a science journal where they can record the temperature each morning, afternoon, and evening and then make predictions for the next day.
When it is a snowy day, there are several fun science activities they can do inside while sipping on hot cocoa. STEAMsational has a list of winter-themed options to try out including making a snow volcano. Then have them make predictions on how long it will take for the snow to melt based on how many inches are in the backyard.
Learning can look different for everyone. When you take a little dose of creativity and mix it in with consistency, it can lead to fun memories and increased academic performance when school starts up again.
