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STAYING SHARP ON HOLIDAYS
By R.N.Whitehead |
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It is important
for parents to allow students a chance to breathe, to
relax, to unwind over the holidays. We are entering that time
of year
where tests, final exams and report cards loom large and many
students
are beginning to accumulate a certain level of anxiety. Therefore,
make
sure that your student has fun over the holidays!!!
Having fun means activity. Lying in front of the TV or staying
at the
video game or computer terminal for days at a time does not qualify!
Make sure that life is balanced. Go for family walks to look at
the
holiday lights. Go skating. Sing carols in your neighbourhood.
Play in
the snow. Ski. Toboggan. In other words, get active!
The very worst thing we can do is to allow our kids to just drop
down
on a couch and veg for two weeks. By December, our children should
be in
full mental gear. They will have recovered from the summer holidays
and
will be alert and mentally active. The holiday should give them
a
breather but not cause them to become mentally passive again.
You can
prevent this by planning fun activities. The issue is to keep
our
students mentally active and focused. We can do this in a number
of
ways.
Grade 1 - 3:
Read, Write, Play! Read and play games that require concentration
and
memory. Make a family journal for the holiday and write in it
every day.
Talk about stories, books and TV shows. Don't just let them be
passively
absorbed. Discuss what happened. Why? What else might have happened?
Grades 4 - 6
Work on planning. It is often hard for kids to master the Day
Planner
while they are at school. Use it every day to plan family activities
such as feeding the cat, walking the dog, putting up the Christmas
tree,
buying a present for Aunt Millie, going skating and so on. Make
it part
of your life and make it fun!
Writing is often a problem for this age group. The family journal
is
often a hit here too. Write in it every day. Describe the holiday
fun
and activity.
Encourage reading by purchasing magazines, Choose specific activity
magazines that match the interests of your child - skiing, history,
cats, and so on. No pressure but lots of attention and encouragement.
Don't forget to plan activities and have fun!
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