With the kid’s home for Christmas break, chances are you are looking to find activities that will keep their brain going while they are away from school. It is important for kids to continue with their academics while on break so that they do not loose any momentum while they are away from the classroom. If you are looking for some educational activities here are some that will not only keep the kids entertained, but will help them learn at the same time.
Inflatable Math
Prepare some snacks like popcorn and hot chocolate then hop in the car when it begins to get dark and spot as many inflatable Christmas decorations as possible. Take notes on the colors of each inflatable, what type they were, and anything else that you can think of. Then the next day, have the kids do some math based on their level of understanding such as creating a bar graph for the colors you saw and then asking questions about the graph such as which was the most popular color. This is great for elementary kids from first through third grade.
Present Thank You
Get some blank card stock at the local craft store and pull out various crafting items you have around the house like crayons, markers, paints, and stamps. Let the kids go to town making thank you cards for the presents they received. This is not only a practical thing but also a great way to keep them occupied by getting their creative juices going. I have done this with my own children and they are happy to create something for someone and it will also put a smile on the recipient’s face. This is appropriate for any age group although if you have a younger child, you might want to include a note to “interpret” for your child.
Grocery Store Game
Chances are you are going to have to get groceries at some point while the kids are home. Why not make an educational game out of it? Choose five items from the grocery list for your children to be responsible for helping to purchase. Have your children locate the item and make the decision on what to purchase based on sales, coupons, and what would be the best choice. You can adjust the activity by the developmental level of your child and various math skills can be practiced according to what you child is currently learning in school such as addition, subtraction, weights and measurements, and even fractions. When I have my kids actively participate in grocery shopping, they are not only learning a life skill, but they have gotten practice at a variety of math skills. They also tend to pick out things that they are more likely to eat also. This is a great activity for older elementary children from third through fifth, but younger elementary children can do this with a little more help.
Bake for a Reason
Have your children work on math, science, and English in one activity by having them help bake some cookies. Start by either double or cutting the recipe in half to work on fractions. Then have your children help mix the ingredients and talk about the changes happening. Once the cookies are in the oven, have the kids write about what they observed about mixing the dough. They can also turn on the light in the oven and write about what they see while the cookies are baking. This is a good activity for just about any group since you can modify the activity based on your children’s developmental levels. If they are younger, don’t worry about doubling or cutting the recipe in half. Instead, talk about what they observe and have them write or draw about what they see when mixing and while the cookies are baking.
See What You Get
Go on a scavenger hunt through your house to see what type of things you can gather for art materials. Take it to an area of your house where you can spread them out and see what you can create. This is a great for any age group since kids will naturally work at what they are capable of. You will be surprised at how long kids will be engaged as they are allowed to work freely to create something. Best of all, this won’t cost anything since you only will use what is found around the house. My husband is great at getting our kids to do this and they have come up with some pretty inventive things like a guitar out of a shoebox. This is a good activity for just about any age group although depending on how comfortable you are with messes; you might want to offer more supervision the younger the child.
It is certainly possible to keep kids busy with fun activities that are also educational. Most of the time, you can use things that are already around the house. Some activities can be done while doing every day things while others will be a good break from routine. The important thing is to get children to continually practice their academic skills while they are away from the classroom so that they will be better prepared to return to school.