9 Ways to Keep Kids Learning Over the School Holidays

The school holidays are fast approaching once again and we can’t wait for a break from school runs and the constant lack of time. Obviously, it’s important that kids get a break from schoolwork and learning, and have loads of time just to relax, play and enjoy the holidays.

But I also think it’s good to keep their minds active throughout the time they have off, especially if it’s for more than a couple of weeks – they often love to learn new things anyway (I know my daughter does) and feel so proud of themselves. So it doesn’t necessarily have to be anything too formal and can often just be incorporated into their daily activities.

Here are nine ways to keep the kids learning during the school holidays:

Keep up with reading

Spend lots of time each week reading some books together. Often during term time, we have very little time where we can sit with our child, with no time pressure and just flick through some different books, read them and discuss them and maybe learn some new words. Ava really loves to read, and I think she finds it really exciting that she is now capable of reading and can pick up a book from home that we’ve had for years, and start to read it herself! It’s also lovely to read some more grown-up, harder to read books together – she will read some and then I will read to her and she really gets into the stories and loves it. For her it’s not just about the reading, it’s about us spending quality time together, and in the holidays we can do that a lot more.

You can also visit your local library and spend some time there – I know Ava loves going there and choosing some new books to take home.

Get a tutor

If your child or children are struggling a bit with their school work, the holidays can be a good time for them to spend a bit of time doing some extra work, to keep their minds active as well as improve with their studies or catch up a bit if they seem to be falling behind. English tuition from Tavistock Tutors, for example, can be a great way for your kids to keep up with their learning whilst they are off school for quite a while over the holidays.

With online learning

There are so many different tools online that you can do with your children or that they can do on their own to keep their minds active. Education Quizzes, for example, are designed for all children, to help them be successful at school, with their easy and enjoyable quizzes for all key stages. The quizzes are written by teachers and you can get a monthly subscription which can be cancelled at any time – perfect for over the school holidays. The quizzes can be quick and the child is given an explanation of why their answer was right or wrong, so they can learn from it and you can discuss it together. Ava loves doing things like this, so I think they’ll be great for some learning time over the school holidays.

Before you break up for the school holidays you might like to ask your child’s teacher for any online learning advice they have. Over the last year or so, remote learning has become incredibly common. There are plenty of apps and platforms that can support your child to learn from home. It can be useful to learn a little about the key platforms and their features, for example casting vs mirroring on screens. The more knowledge that you have about online learning, the easier it is to support your child.

Go on a wildlife adventure outside

Make a list of some creatures on a piece of paper and then take it outside, perhaps with a magnifying glass, and go out into the garden if you have one, or to a park and get your child to see which creatures from the list they can spot in a certain amount of time. You could also have them write down how many legs each creature has for counting work!

Get them to cook with you

Do some baking together and get them to measure the ingredients out themselves to help with recognising numbers and counting. They’ll have loads of fun and won’t even realise they’re learning.

Everyday writing tasks

Get them to write any family birthday cards that are needed, as well as a shopping list for you to go and shop for together. They’ll love feeling grown up and helpful and will feel really satisfied finding all the things they have written down.

Play board games and do puzzles

Board games like Monopoly are great for exercising kids’ minds. They will be practising number recognition, counting, letters and reading and they’ll have lots of fun playing them with you. Ava would play Junior Monopoly every day if she could, unluckily for me.

Learn about a new country

If you are going on holiday over the break then it’s a perfect opportunity to learn about a new country or city. You can chat to them about where they are, any interesting facts about that place, like the colour and design of a country’s flag, and you can explore the area together.

But they can learn lots about the world at home too. Some of my fondest memories with my dad when I was young are sitting with him and a globe and him teaching me Capitals and telling me about places; I absolutely loved it and knew a lot of Capital Cities from a very young age!

Plant a garden and grow vegetables

Most kids love getting involved with gardening, especially if you grow some herbs or vegetables together that they’ll later get to eat. It’s a fun way for them to learn about where food comes from, and they will be so proud that they have grown something themselves.

Do you have any more ideas for fun ways to keep children’s mind’s active over the school holidays?

This is a collaborative post.