Holidays are here and whether it be summer or winter, kids and families all over have earned a break. Quality family time will be high on the agenda, but with a few ideas, some authentic holiday learning can be part of your child’s time off from school.

I am a big advocate of using number skills during the break. For me, using my mental maths skills is very much like doing exercise. The more I do, the easier it is.  So why not play a money-based board game like Monopoly or Game of Life and engineer that your child ends up the banker. They could be doing sums the whole game, without realising they are “doing Maths”. Or have your child create a saving plan for that something special (that Santa didn’t bring this year). Giant Strides also offer some really easy and fun Maths games that can be part of a holiday learning plan.

To keep up the writing skills, I recommend correspondence in actual writing. If you are lucky enough to travel, what about a postcard to a grandparent. They are a brilliant way to engage your child’s planning skills. They will need to summarise in order to explain the highlights of a trip in the space available to them. Spelling and fine motor skills get a work out and a loved one, who remembers the day when the fridge might be plastered with cards from all over the globe, gets a special reminder that someone special is thinking of them. Failing the postcard idea, hand-written thank you letters for the season’s gifts are an excellent idea.

Holiday reading is a must. It is amazing how much longer our concentration spans for a good read can become, when the hustle and bustle of a weekly schedule drops away. Suggestions for the reluctant reader would make for a whole other post but there are more and more visual / cartoon style books out there nowadays. This was the avenue for my 10 year old daughter’s foray into independent reading. She could engage with a mature story and its pictures and keep the pages turning. Before she knew it, a whole big book was behind her. Not so much time has passed and now it is Harry Potter books being pored over.

Hope this is helpful if you are stuck for ideas. Of course, at Giant Strides Tutoring, we can put together a more customised learning plan. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.