As
we approach this Christmas Season I have rewritten a previous blog with some
recommendations for what you can do to keep your children’s brains ticking over while you all enjoy yourselves during the holiday season.
In
the past I have referred to maths games, listening games and reading skills. However, for real family time why not turn your thoughts to history and
geography? There are many great places
for family visits, such as Hampton Court Palace, museums in London (free
admission to those), and art galleries. Websites will inform you of special
exhibitions and of discount events, and travelling on the train often gives you two
for one offers on prices – pick up the leaflets in the station to see what is available at low cost.
To
make the experience particularly educational don’t focus on the event, instead over-involve
your children in the planning. Train schedules, car parks, ticket prices,
choice of visit, maps of venues and making a timetable for the day can all be
worked out together. Children love to be trusted to organise events and will be
proud to show you their skills. Learning experiences work best in the shape of
an enjoyable experiences; counting cash and sorting change on a shopping trip is
the point of learning mathematics – it is what number work is for, so gather a
bag of coins to use on the day (in my family we lovingly call this the purse of
gold!).
Allowing
children to choose and make decisions is also developing an essential skill. Buying them books is
not quite the experience that being allowed to browse and choose them is. Don’t
forget the public library either, a great cheap and fruitful outing. Direct
your children to the non-fiction sections of the library, children love history
and will be fascinated by how other lived. I remember spending hours learning
about ancient Egyptians, just for fun, during one Christmas – my poor mother
had to take me back to the library every two days to swap the books as I swallowed
them whole. Maps are also a great source of discussion… plan a walk using a
local area map, or see if you have a local heritage trail… and keep talking as
you go because discussion helps children to understand more than they will take
in for themselves. There are good apps to help – I use viewranger, which has all
the paths marked for my local common and lots more. And there is great joy to
be found in an unfolded OS map. Even a walk in the park (walking allows for far
more observation than a car journey) or around the neighbourhood can be filled
with discussions about what can be seen. Can you and your children name and recognise
5 types of trees or breeds of dog? Which Christmas decorations do they like as
they pass them? This is especially lovely after tea at this time of year once
it is dark and lights are twinkling – and the added bonus of technology free time
to talk to your children.
If
you have lots of children and the possibility of childcare, try making an
individual plan for a special and different day out for each child – children
like few things more than a day of their parent’s undivided attention. My own
mother took me to see the Tutankhamen exhibition on my own because of my Egyptian obsession and I have never forgotten the pleasure of that exhibition or the delight
of a day out with her by myself. She recently admitted to me that she remembered every minute of that day, it was one of her most treasured memories too.
So keep busy - and Christmas
blessings to you all.
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