Half of the summer has already gone, what else can you do to help your children learn while having fun?
Half of the summer has already gone, most of the families have been on trips and participated in lots of fun activities. What else can you do in the remaining time to help your children learn new skills and acquire knowledge while having fun?
Families are one of the most powerful influences in a child’s development, as a parent or caregiver, YOU have the power to unlock your child’s learning potential in everyday life.
PLAN A TRIP
Most parents are used to arranging everything for their children. They don’t even want their children to pack their own luggage in fear that their children might forget something while packing or have an upset during travel. Nonetheless, letting your child plan a trip on his/her own actually gives him/her the opportunity to rapidly develop.
From organising a day trip to a theme park to planning a trip abroad, budgeting the costs and arranging the itinerary can help children apply the mathematical knowledge they learn at school and strengthen their decision-making skill: Where to go to purchase the theme park ticket? What kind of transportation should be used? How much would it cost to drive a car? Such a planning process will not only enable children to obtain practical computing skills, it also cultivates their sense of responsibility.
MAP READING
Map reading is a great way for your child to develop spatial awareness. Learning how to follow a map and give instructions are important skills, even though technology has changed the way we use maps these days. Help co-pilots develop spatial awareness and language skills. This is an easy activity: you can do it whenever you are making a trip across town.
Print a map of the area you’re going to and, with your child, mark out the route you plan to take. Once you’re on the road, your child’s job will be to co-pilot and give directions.
Before you head off, discuss some useful techniques to keep track of where you are on the map, such as looking out for street names or features such as schools and community centres. Explain that, as co-pilot, they’ll need to give instructions well ahead of time so that you can make turns safely.
GAMES ON THE GO
Points: Decide on points for different vehicles or car colours — for example, one point for a taxi, two points for a purple car, three points for an emergency vehicle. The first to spot one of these vehicles gets the points and the first to 10 wins the round.
Would you rather …? is a game that builds creative thinking and conversation skills. Take turns to come up with questions such as: “Would you rather own a house made of marshmallow or a fountain made of melted chocolate?” Ask your child to justify their answers.
Examples of deeper questions can be: “Would you rather have a teacher who is strict and fair and taught you a lot, or one who is relaxed and fun but didn’t teach you much?” and “Do you think boys have it easier than girls?”
KITCHEN IS FUN
FOOD is the ultimate family experience and although cooking with children may create more mess and take more time, it’s a chance for special shared experiences — and a bit learning.
Cooking can help build your child’s confidence, maths skills, imagination and self-reliance. Hands-on activities help strengthen their understanding of different units of measurement. Using measuring devices and reading scales will definitely help in the maths classroom.
And, with a bit of luck, you’ll have something delicious to share afterwards that’s going to boost your children’s confidence.
There are many other activities you can do with your children: make a family yearbook together, do a shell-hunt at a beach, have a picnic, have a bonfire to bake marshmallows, be a vegetarian for a day, go fishing, learn how to collect vegetables from a farm… Even if these activities don’t seem to have anything to do with learning, these fun and educational activities can be a great way to help your child grow into a healthy, well-rounded person.
Do share with us what you did with your children this summer! We are very willing to discuss how to help children have fun during holidays with you!
Reference:
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/special-features/in-depth/summer-school-how-to-teach-your-child-to-have-fun-and-learn-during-the-holidays/news-story/a3703e1b0d7e7e14ec91639e9038743a
