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Over winter break, kids get to experience the fun of the holidays, gather with family, and take a break from school. Incorporating learning into your everyday activities while your family is home will help keep your kid’s mind awake and prepared for returning to school in January.
Learning over the holidays can be a wonderful way to make memories and enjoy time together. Here are a few things you could do as everyday activities:
Read together – Find a book you and your child can enjoy together, maybe a short chapter book or even a holiday favorite of yours!
Keep a food journal – Have your kid write down the new foods they have tried and help them describe what they tasted like. Then they can look at My Plate and see if they got a balanced meal for the day.
Make family recipes – Cooking is an easy way to talk to children about math, science, nutrition, and literacy skills they will use in their daily lives! Plus, sharing a family tradition is such a special way to spend time together.
Explore and adventure – Take some time to go outside and look around at the community you live in, the natural terrain, and talk with your family about what you see and hear or what they think it is like in other states.
Family history and appreciation – Dig out the old photos and talk about what family members are in the images, where they are now, and what was going on in the photo. You could even start a new photo album by taking some new pictures with your child and making a scrapbook or video together.
Write letters or cards – If looking through old photos inspired you to keep in touch better, consider writing letters or cards together to family you haven’t seen in a while.
Start a memory jar – As a family, write one good thing that happened each week in a journal or jar and open it to look back at your year next winter break! This helps to keep a positive attitude and see the good things that have happened and is a fun way to say goodbye to the year.
Plan your family philanthropy and giving – Discuss why you volunteer and give to help your community and teach your child the importance of getting involved in the local community. Take a look at the Volunteer Portal and learn more about the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit to make your family’s year end gift.
There are so many possibilities within everyday life to learn, grow, discover, and have fun! Hopefully these ideas will get you started on some new and exciting traditions. Valley of the Sun United Way also has fun at-home activities that give back to the community. If you’d like to give them a try to teach your kids about philanthropy this holiday season, click below to get started.
