Fun Ways Keep Learning in the Holidays

I would like to wish all our GEPS families a happy, safe, and healthy school holiday.

While your little ones really need these longer holidays to rest, play and explore, this is also a big break from their learning. To keep their skills sharp and have them ready to learn in 2025, here are some fun ideas for the holidays:

· Fun with turn taking- Play board games, active games, and pretend play that require them to take turns. It is important to practice that they can’t always be in, be the one that scores the goal, or be the one that has the purple teacup at the tea party. 

· Fun with letters and sounds- Play a game of eye spy looking for sounds: “Eye spy with my little eye something that starts with the sound ‘m’”.

Play the number plate game. Choose the letters of the first number plate that you see and make up a silly sentence using those letters as the first sound in the words. For example, a number plate CMB48S could be ‘Catch More Bug Smiles’ or ‘Clouds Move Below Sun’. The number plate game doesn’t have a winner, the aim is to have a laugh at the silly sentences that people come up with! 

· Fun with numbers- Give your child a small pile of beads, buttons, chocolate chips etc. For students that are just developing their number sense, you could have them count the items. To extend that you could ask if you give them a number more or take away a number how many would they have. If they are able, you could ask them to share them into a number of groups, or between a number of people equally, or for older kids you could ask them to divide by a number. If there are any that don’t fit evenly into the group, those left over are called the ‘remainder’. My kids like to play this best with Smartie chocolates, because they know that they get to eat them in the end. But they also know that if there is any remainder that it is Mum’s. 

Use a pack of cards and turn over one at a time. Have your child count a number of items to match the number on the card. You could also turn over two cards at a time and ask them to add this number together, firstly, by counting out the items and joining them together, and as they improve, by adding the two numbers in their head. Add an extra challenge by turning over 3, 4, or 5 cards! For more advanced students, you could turn over two cards and ask them to multiply (times) the numbers together. 

· Keep up the reading: Encourage your child to read a little each day. Maybe visit a local library to borrow a book that interests them, or just to have a read in the air conditioning. 

One of the most important parts of being a good learner is being curious. During these holidays, encourage your children to (safely) explore, experiment, experience and engage with the world around them.

During their school journey they will only have twelve of these summer holidays. Take some time to connect with your little ones, share experiences with them, and create some memories for both them and you.

I will be here in 2025, ready and excitedly waiting to hear all about the adventures that your children have over the summer break.