Learning in the holidays

As we approach this Christmas Season this is a good opportunity to look at some recommendations for what you might do to keep your children's brains ticking over during the holiday.

Over the last few weeks my blog has referred to maths activities, listening games and reading skills. If there is any extra spare 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 gives you two for one offers on prices.

To make the experience particularly educational 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 works best in the shape of an enjoyable experience… counting cash and sorting change on a shopping trip is the point of learning mathematics – it is what number work is for! Use those mobile phones for learning; sign up to a dictionary app for a new word every day or a puzzle, or even a simple daily crossword.

Allowing children to choose and make decisions is also very useful. Buying books for them 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 enjoyable outing. Direct your children to the non-fiction sections of the library, children love history and will be fascinated by how others lived. Maps are 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. Even a walk in the park (walking allows for far more conversation and 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?

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 when I was about eight and I have never forgotten the pleasure of the exhibition or the delight of a day out with her by myself.  

Enjoy the precious days of the Christmas break.