Family Reading

Creative ideas to keep those minds sharpened over the coming Winter Break #PTA4Kids @CaliforniaPTA

Families should read together during holiday break to help make a smooth and successful return to school, without forgetting important skills students have already learned so far this year. There are many ways to read without cracking open a book. Get creative this holiday!

Here are some fun ideas to help your kids remember important school skills like reading, writing and math:

• Ditch those school books and replace them with fun classic holiday books. Make sure even the big kids are included by taking turns reading. My oldest loves reading the Night Before Christmas for her little sisters and cousins.
• Get your kids involved with holiday cooking. Have them read the recipe while you all prepare the meal. It works great with cookie baking, too!
• Make your holiday cards this year, have the kids write them out and display their art work. Who doesn’t love a handmade card?
• If you’re driving this holiday break, then use signs and license plates to find hidden alphabet letters, or try and find all the states license plates on a map. Have them color in each state on a map!
• Grocery shopping is always a fun way to practice counting and reading with your kids without them even knowing! The bigger kids can learn math by helping you stick to your budget. Tell them what you want and how much you’d like to spend. The smaller ones can read and cross off the items on the list. You can even give each child a color and they have to find items for it, for example, yellow = bananas.
• Play games as a family that require reading, math and spelling. One of my 6-year-old’s favorite games is Yahtzee! It was so much fun—everyone was playing, grandpa, uncles and aunts! She was so happy! Little did she know it was reinforcing her math skills.
• To keep your kids up on their computer skills, ask the teacher for links to the websites they use at school for math, spelling and reading.

Use your imagination because reading can be so much fun!

(Source: PTA One Voice Blog)

---