We are reaching a rather exciting time as the Christmas holidays are approaching nearer! Even though it Is such a busy time, Christmas can still provide many opportunities for our children and young people to practice the skills they have been learning at school. No one wants to do extra homework, but when learning is hidden within Christmas preparations and family activities, it just seems part of the fun. Here are some suggestions to try – most can be adapted for different ages and learning stages.
Write Santa a Letter
Encourage your child to write a Christmas list, or letter to Santa. Asking Santa for gifts seems to motivate even the most reluctant writer. There are plenty of templates online to help if your child is in the early stages of writing.
Write Gift Tags and Christmas Cards
Write gift tags or Christmas cards together. This is great practice for children who have just learnt to write their names.
Have a Quiz Night
Make up a Christmas quiz and hold a family quiz evening to encourage learning.
Make Your Own Wrapping Paper
Get the silver pens out and encourage them to decorate their own wrapping paper.
Get Baking
Almost any cooking activity uses Maths skills. Weighing, measuring and timing is all apart of the learning fun. Plus, who doesn’t love some delicious treats over the Christmas holidays!
Play Games
Have a games evening. Using a dice, or two reinforces early counting skills for younger children. Games for older children often require concentration and reasoning.
Add Up Money
If your child has received money as a present, practise Maths skills by thinking about what to spend it on or how much to save. If you know who is planning to give money, ask if they can give it in coins or small notes so it is fun to sort and count.
Have an Advent Calendar
Encourage your child to carefully look at the numbers on their advent calendar to count down the days until Christmas. Nearer the time they can calculate how many hours or seconds left until the big day.
Create Your Own Decorations
Make some decorations, such as paper chains or crackers together. As well as developing creativity, cutting, sticking and drawing develops fine motor control skills.
Make New Year’s Resolutions
Write down all the New Year’s Resolutions from members of the household and keep in a prominent place as a reminder.