School holidays are a time for rest and, of course, lots of fun! But it’s not just in school that children learn new things. See some amazing tips on how to encourage your child to learn during summer break and even go back to school feeling ready!
Children start attending school from an early age, so they get used to the rhythm of attending classes and completing tasks during the week. For months, this is the routine! Going to school means being open to new things and learning every day.
But then summer break arrives and changes their routine entirely. Many teachers, parents, and guardians worry that this time away from school will make children lose some of the knowledge they have acquired in the recent months. Upon returning from vacation, it often takes a few weeks for the class to get back to the level they were at before the break.
That’s not to say, though, that kids don’t learn anything in those long weeks away from school. Quite the opposite! You can definitely introduce the kids to summer break activities that encourage psychological health and child development. But don’t fret…there are many ways to encourage informal learning which is also essential for children, such as getting out of the rut, visiting new places, and, above all, using their imagination while playing!
6 ways to learn on vacation
Whether at home or traveling, there are countless ways for your child to learn new things while on vacation. After all, little ones do it all the time! But you can take the opportunity to encourage some good habits during this period.
1. Help at home
During summer break, children have more free time to rest and play, as they do not spend part of the day at school. So it’s a great time to teach the little ones to help with some household chores.
According to the age of each child, including some chores in their routine is important to help them develop responsibility, organization, and teamwork, in addition to several other skills essential for their development.
The adult must be responsible for supervising and ensuring the safety of the child, and also encouraging the activity to be seen as a game. Cleaning the yard, organizing the room, making the bed, doing the laundry, and cooking are examples of chores that can become a lot of fun!
2. Explore museums
If the family is going to travel or even if you don’t go out of town on vacation, visiting museums is a great way to learn on vacation and spark the little ones’ curiosity for art. How about making it even more fun with a treasure hunt?
Before your visit, explore the museum’s website with your child and together select some items or attractions that you want to find once you get there. Look for a map of the museum at the entrance and encourage your little one to follow you to look around for each item you chose together until they complete the list! The final treasure could be a souvenir from the museum! You can even use a souvenir postcard where the child can write about the adventure, creating a unique memento. Another tip is to look for interactive exhibits with themes that the child is studying at school, making their learning more contextualized.
3. Collect special moments
Enjoying the summer break with the family is a perfect way to collect special moments that can become unforgettable. Encourage your little one to collect memories of each of them, so that at the end of the vacation they can put together a beautiful treasure chest of memories!
If you are going to travel, keep brochures, tickets, postcards, photos, everything you consider to be special. And even if you stay at home, help the child think about their favorite moments while on summer break and collect memories. It can be dry leaves from the park, photos, ice cream wrappers, or a drawing they made, for example. You can put together a notebook with your little one, cutting and pasting all kinds of memories, or even making a creative treasure chest with a shoe box! Encourage them to use lots of creativity to decorate their projects, and also practice their writing by describing in a piece of paper about their favorite moments. It will be a very special keepsake for the whole family!
4. Love the earth
Playing around with the earth can bring surprising benefits to children, it is no wonder that is even used as child therapy. A cool idea for the summer break is to create a mini vegetable garden with the little ones! It is possible to grow leaves and herbs even in small spaces, such as service areas, balconies, and planters.
With gardening, the child will learn while on vacation about the care needed for the development of plants and can relate to several concepts that they learned in the classroom. From land preparation, seed planting, irrigation, and frequent monitoring, the little ones are encouraged to develop a sense of responsibility as well as patience.
Watching a plant germinate and grow is an experience that will last a lifetime! Having a garden at home can also help adults to encourage kids to try new healthy foods.
5. Learn through play
In early childhood education, children often learn through play and games. However, these are usually targeted activities that take place with defined objectives. During summer break, it’s time to give more space to the so-called free play!
Children play freely when they don’t have learning objectives, like in school. There is no format or standard for free play, so the important thing is to let the child explore their creativity, in their own time and in their own way, creating games and make-believe worlds. This encourages the integral development of children, self-control, the perception of their limits, and, of course, develops imagination and creativity.
For more ideas of games and fun activities to do with the kids like how to make slime at home, click here!
6. Don’t stop reading!
Children’s reading level at the beginning of the holidays can be maintained and even improved during the long weeks away from school. For this, invest time to help the little one to create the habit of reading. Let them choose their books and read with them, encourage the kids to read alone if they already know how to. Keeping a daily routine helps to strengthen the habit, for example, reading a little every night before bed. Making reading fun is essential for the child to fall in love with books and learn even more from them!
Do you want more inspiration to entertain the kids and encourage them to learn on vacation? Check out incredible personalized books where your little one is part of the story!