10 Days of Fun Winter-break Activities

In the spirit of giving, here are 10 days of fun and exciting Winter Break activities. When you're looking for activities to keep your child engaged over an extended amount of time, these educational activities will do the trick.

Create a story together Create a story by either writing it out, drawing it out or both. Depending on the age of your child, you can create a story together and have them draw the characters and/or write out the words to the story. If your child isn’t writing yet, have them verbally tell you a story while you record it. You can use that recording to identify words that they used. This can become a spelling exercise as well.

Attend a free event at your local library Reading together is fun. The library is always a great community staple for finding great books and having fun with reading. Going to your library for an event is in engaging way to turn the books you read together into an experience.

Go on a winter break scavenger hunt Discover new places and areas in your

city/neighborhood or right at home where it’s likely to be much warmer! Think of some items or places that would be fun to visit. Then turn those items into a part of the hunt with riddles. Your children will have to solve riddles or solve clues in order to find the answer.

Put together a puzzle. Puzzles are always a great activity for critical thinking, focus, and teamwork.

Make cookies or pancakes together - Putting something together that involves ingredients and proportions will allow your child to practice important measurement and problem solving skills. Work together to read the instructions for your recipes and give them opportunities to measure and familiarize themselves with units such as ounces and teaspoons.

Arts and Craft (with instructions) creating arts and crafts together is a great opportunity for children to practice reading and following directions to learn how to make something new. Creating holiday or winter themed activities will tie in well with their excitement for this time of year.

Scrap-booking Use real photos and items collected during the year to personalize the book. It's fun to reflect on what has happened so far and plan what you would like to happen during the reminder of the school year. Goal setting can be a fun conversation when there are plenty of memories to look back on. Disclaimer: This activity will be full of laughter and embarrassing moments.

Game Night Play fun engaging and educational games together. For example you can play games like Scrabble or practice those math facts with flashcards and games.

Research Volunteering and Charity Opportunities Conducting research is an incredibly important skill that has become much easier with the help of our friend, Google. Help your child practice research skills by identifying causes that are important to them. For example if they care a lot about helping less-fortunate children, have them research charities that donate toys and clothes. Encourage them to also find important information such as the location of the charity and the times that they are open. Lastly, support their desire to help others by donating time, money or items.

Saying Thank You Help your child write thank you cards or draw pictures for all the people who gave them gifts. This is the season for gift-giving and family gatherings. Encourage your child to practice their writing by having them design their own thank you cards. They can write these cards to family members, friends and teachers. Not only is this a teachable moment about gratitude but it is also an education activity that covers letter writing and reading.

These are just 10 of the many things that families can do together to ensure that a break from school does not result in a break from learning and educational experiences.

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