Chapters
Overwhelmingly, parents and caregivers spare no effort or energy in raising their children for the first few years of their babies' lives. Of course, most spare no effort or energy beyond their kids' toddler years too. But then, something strange happens: we sometimes assume that it’s only schools and teachers that can influence our children’s educational achievements.
That’s not true – caregivers' time with them has just as big an impact. That impact comes from what we do and how we engage with our kids. Simple things like spending time and holding conversations with them influence their skills, knowledge and confidence, all of which have an impact on achievement.
In the busy-making of daily life, the value of these perfectly mundane aspects of everyday human interaction can be overlooked. For those times when your children are out on school holiday, Superprof presents a few simple opportunities to make an impact on your kids' development simply by:
- playing games like 'What If?' to stimulate their critical thinking skills
- engaging in culturally-targeted craft projects to stimulate cultural awareness
- learning about various seasonal traditions from around the world
- keeping a running dialogue to build communication skills
Activities for Every School Break
Whether in winter, summer or every day, teaching moments regularly present themselves. You only need to recognise them, seize upon them and make the most of them. Even something as commonplace as preparing the evening meal offers a host of teaching moments.
In the frenzy of preparing meals, it's quite common to prefer that the kids not be underfoot, near the hot stove or in the way of sharp knives. One family I know went so far as to banish both kids and pets from the kitchen when food preparation is underway. Just think of all the lost opportunities that attitude creates.
Those kids could learn everything from food safety and how to handle kitchen equipment to explaining the difference between latent and sensible heat. Measuring ingredients, calculating ratios and proportions, even organisation and sequencing - is it better to wash up as you cook or afterwards? All that learning was lost!
The kitchen, often considered the heart of a home, could be 'learning central' but the hearth room is not the only place where learning can happen. You may watch documentaries in the family room and talk about them during advert breaks or after they end. If your streaming package allows it, you could also pause the show to discuss points of interest, and then continue it once your curiosity is satisfied. If your kids are younger - say, under seven years old, perhaps animal documentaries would be best.
What if your children don't like documentaries at all? Playing video games is also educational. For one, it improves hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills - physical abilities that will serve them their entire life. Playing computer games also helps them develop strategic thinking and decision-making skills as well as problem-solving skills.
Naturally, they don't have to play alone; you can be right there with them. It would probably be a good idea to keep the more bloody and aggressive games out of your library, though. Especially if your kids are younger.
Cooking, cleaning and shopping; working in the yard, on the car or on their bikes... While relaxing and even until they drift off to sleep, your child's day is full of chances to learn. Take as many of them as you want! Here are a few novel ways to approach every day so that the learning becomes child-led (rather than parent-driven):
- Notice what your kids are interested in and doing and ask them about their stuff - why they like it and what it means to them.
- Play 'What if?', as in: "What if we had to move house and couldn't take everything, what would you leave behind?"
- Make time to listen attentively, even if it’s boring. I bet they’ve had to listen to you being boring at times!
- Teach them effective listening techniques: rephrase what they said and repeat it, ask open-end questions
- Play with their toys/games at their level, and do what they tell you rather than take over.
- Watch their TV programme or game with them – their rules! Ask them about it.
- You might also let them plan the menu one night per week - with guidance, of course.
- Chat about the stuff you watch or play at other times (mealtimes are ideal) when you’re away from screens.
Spending time apart is vital to any healthy relationship, particularly if you are a home educator. When the kids spend time apart from you, don't let your inquisitiveness turn into an interrogation. The spirit of sharing that you build into every other activity you do together should foster their desire to relate experiences.
Activities for Winter Holiday
When school breaks for two weeks around Christmas and New Year, caregivers have the perfect chance to teach and reinforce civil principles that tie in with the spirit of the holiday season. In the run-up to winter break, you can talk with your kids about charity and kindness; the spirit of giving that permeates the time.
You can ask questions like 'Why do so many people only open their hearts and wallets around Christmastime when people need them all year 'round?'. Or 'What would/could you do to make the world a better place?'. To teach about charity and giving, take your kids with you when you donate food, serve in soup kitchens or volunteer in a shelter.
To one extent or another and at any given time, your child - like so many others, may feel underprivileged. How better to demonstrate the good life you provide for them than by showing them, in real time, how much worse off other people are? And besides, teaching empathy and charity is a great start on teaching your kids the social skills they need.
In the days before Christmas, one family spent quality time in the kitchen baking treats together. They then delivered those sweets and biscuits to firehouses, police stations and hospital A&Es to thank them for keeping them safe all year. The experience was an object lesson for the kids. The next year, they asked if their friends could participate.
In our joy at seeing family and welcoming friends during the holidays, we often forget those who will be apart from their loved ones. That may be because of a call to duty or because they are confined to a hospital due to illness. Volunteering at your local hospital, and reading to elders and kids is a great teaching opportunity. You can participate in such events while providing companionship; it's an excellent way to teach your kids the value of caring and giving.
Such learning has recently come into a great deal of focus. The pandemic brought one of our most serious social ills to light: loneliness. This crisis is not new; people in elder-care homes have struggled through countless Christmases, birthdays and other significant days with nary a reveller by their side. Our countries Adopt a Grandparent programme is an idea that has long been begging to be realised.
It's terrible that it took a deadly virus to make us realise that we could have been helping our nation's elders all along. One might say that COVID provided a teaching moment for all of us. Let's not let it go to waste! Even as we resume normal life, let's continue to visit and do for our elders, especially around Christmas.
Of course, you probably won't spend every evening in service to others. You'll want to spend a few at home, just you and yours. And if you have just a few resources and materials on hand, here are some activities to encourage learning:
- scrapbooking - to help develop artistic skills and vision
- making ornaments and decorations
- you might make jewellery to give as gifts, too!
- discussing winter holiday traditions worldwide - you could make a game of it: the 12 days of Christmas, each from a different country or culture
- Plan and prepare traditional holiday meals from different countries/cultures
- Participate in your neighbourhood's, town's or church's holiday pageant
So far, all of the activities we've listed have little to do with (formal) education and everything to do with personal development. When you weigh the two, which one matters more?
Activities for Spring Holiday
Being released from winter's long, icy grip is a wondrous feeling. Besides dancing in the sunshine and smelling that new-earth smell, what can you do with your out-of-school kids? Planting a garden is an excellent activity to bring them closer to nature.
Whether you want homegrown veggies or beautiful flowers, unlocking Mother Nature's secrets by instigating a growing cycle is an awesome undertaking. Kids love playing in the dirt and the look of wonder on their little faces when they see the fruits of their labour shoot up is priceless.
If you don't have the plot to plant a garden in - maybe you live in a flat, you could still plant flowers in a pot. One bedsit dweller I talked with grows tomatoes in her room. If planting anything is out of the question - say, you're known for your brown thumb, you might visit a farm.
Taking the kids out of the city in itself offers substantial benefits. And if you can arrange for them to see how animals and/or crops are managed, the learning will happen without any direct effort from you. Should you have the wherewithal to do so, how about building beehives and bird feeders?
A bit of carpentry can help your kids apply maths concepts like angles and measurements that they learned in school. Also, seeing something take shape and knowing it will have a function when you're done building gives a feeling of accomplishment that no academic exercise can match.
Springtime is the perfect time to build hives and feeders. That's when the flowers start to bloom, the bees return to their busy lives and birds orchestrate their twittery symphonies. Wouldn't it be great to give bees and birds a home? And think of all that honey you'll get to harvest.
Activities for Summer Holiday
Summertime fairly demands to be enjoyed out of doors. What could you not do during the summer? Everything from photographing a summer storm to kayaking down tranquil waters is on the table.
If you want to keep things simple, plan some family meals/barbecues/picnics when there are no mobiles/tablets present. If anyone finds it challenging to just sit and talk, you can just chat about current events and sports. You could also ask each person present to describe one funny thing about themselves. Or you could talk about the advantages and drawbacks of uni if your kids are at that age.
Should you prefer cityscapes to pastoral scenes, take your kids to places they've never been. There you can explore that city's history and architecture. You should make it a point to dine only in local restaurants and eat the foods/dishes particular to that region.
If you prefer natural environments or travelling to remote areas where there is no laid-on entertainment, explore and engage together. Observe, discuss, speculate, question, and chat. Make your platform the phrase 'Take only photographs, leave only footprints and kill only time'. It perfectly sums up the potential for learning through such experiences, both intellectually and spiritually.
School summer holidays are just the time to get moving together. Physical activity is essential for brain development and good overall health. Don't let your kids off the hook just because they don't have any classes to go to!
Involve them with daily life activities, decision making and chores. This gives you another way to show them that you value and respect their help, opinions and company. Even something as mundane as the weekly shop is an opportunity to share and talk. Do you have a fav holiday activity you enjoy with your kids? Let us know in the comments below.
Relax and enjoy your children/young adults. You won’t get a second chance to be with them, engage with them, or raise them to be the people you want them to be. But with activities like these, you ensure that your kids will grow into people who will make their valuable contributions to society. Not just today but for all of their lives, as you are doing through your parental teaching.
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