I am totally against school homework on vacation. I think there are many much more interesting and intellectually enriching activities that carry out tasks to do during the summer and that will do keep learning a lot on vacation.
Children have the right to disconnect, just like adults, and they need it much more. They have already done and learned what they had to learn in school during the course and now, with the holidays, it is time to enjoy free time and freedom.
However, vacations are not a barren ground for learning, quite the opposite. There are many activities they can do that will enrich their minds and apply their knowledge and perspective. I leave some example in the form of Ten ideas for your children to continue learning on vacation.
Cook together
The kitchen is one of the activities we can do as a family and which children will enjoy the most. It will give us the opportunity to strengthen ties with them, in addition to doing fine motor exercises, arithmetic, volumes, shapes, weights and measures, even to work basic concepts of physics and chemistry.
Help us decorate muffins, put the ingredients of a pizza, stir a sauce or beat some eggs you will love, but there are no limits (in addition to the safety with knives and fires) that we will have.
Long walks in Nature
Stroll through the countryside, the beach or the mountain, even for a wooded park that is close to home, it is a great opportunity to introduce natural science and environmental knowledge topics into the conversation: plants, animals, type of crops, weather, clouds, the movement of the Sun and the Moon, the orography and the rocks, the sedimentation and the erosion are visible aspects, that can touch and that will fascinate them that we explain them of simple way.
And if we accompany the walk with a snack that has helped us prepare, the day will be complete. Of course, do not forget hats, plenty of water and sun protection, which will also invite us to talk about health care.
Make soap bubbles
Do you remember how fascinating it was make soap bubbles and watch them fly, chase them, crush them? That experience continues to make children enjoy greatly. You can do them to the traditional method, with a straw and doing the homemade preparation, or buy it already made, or even look for a tutorial on how to make giant bubbles. The fun is served on a hot afternoon.
Create musical instruments with everyday objects
Most children love to make music and also make crafts with their parents. You can make your own instruments and prepare until a concert. With rolls of paper towels, yogurt jars, boxes, gums, chickpeas and equally simple things you can do maracas, water sticks and even a simple guitar you can create musical instruments with everyday objects. And if you are tricky, even a homemade flute with reeds.
Ice cream in a bag
With a plastic bag, ice, salt and a basin you can prepare a delicious homemade ice cream, carrying out a scientific experiment that will show you practical concepts about the temperature and the transformations that the matter undergoes according to the heat and the mixture of products. And in addition, you can eat homemade and healthy ice cream.
Make a collection of minerals and rocks
In our walks we can collect stones that attract the attention of children or seem interesting because of their shape or composition and then try to identify them making our first collection of rocks and minerals. It is not necessary that the collection be very complete or that we get it right, but the choice of copies, their identification (you can buy a book, go to the library or search online), classify them, label them and put them in a small exhibition. The questions will come alone: how has each type of rock or mineral formed? Where is it most? What uses does it have?
Visit a Natural Park
Surely near your home or vacation spot there are some area of special interest like a Natural Park. Planning an excursion, looking for the characteristics of the area and investigating the fauna and flora or the most striking geographical elements will already be an educational activity in itself, but when we complete it with the real experience of the visit, it will become truly unforgettable and It will make children learn a lot from Nature and their own environment.
To fly kites
Fly a kite It is another of the recreational and educational experiences that no child should stop living. The wind and its strength are directly experienced, opening the mind to concepts of physics and engineering that will leave their mark on them. We can even make the kite ourselves helped by the children. They will love it. We still have what my son did with his grandfather. It is a treasure.
Make a poster with family photos
What better way to remember all these adventures and discoveries than to translate them into a poster full of family photos?
In addition to reviewing what we have learned, children will work their fine motor skills with scissors and glue, and also their artistic sense, choosing colors and shapes.
Take a photo safari
Now there are easy-to-use cameras designed for young children, very resistant and simple. And if not, with the phone, I'm sure they know how to handle it even better than us. We can plan a photo safari even in our city or town, walking its streets and photographing what they want: plants, shops, special corners, light, people. It will be another educational and exciting experience for them.
As you can see there are many activities that you can plan this holiday for your children to enjoy your company, have fun and also learn Many, many things. And there are many more things you can do and that I will tell you next week.
