5 Ways to Have Fun and Learn During Spring Break

  Chances are you've probably already made your plans for spring break. Maybe you're hitting the beach. Or perhaps you're doing a staycation at home and just enjoying some quiet time with the kids. Whatever your plans this break, don't forget to make learning part of the agenda. It doesn't have to be boring or overwhelming. There are plenty of ways to incorporate learning (gasp!) into your kids' time off. Here are some of our favorites:   1. Learn a new game - this can be outdoors or indoors. Think chess, checkers or even go fish for younger kids. The point is to introduce them to new concepts, strategies, and rules, all of which keeps their minds stimulated!   2. Keep a journal - the journal can be topic specific (i.e. a dream journal, a journal detailing your favorite spring break activities, or a journal writing short stories or poems) or it can be a run-of-the-mill-anything-I-want-to-write-about journal. The choice can be theirs!   3. Read a book - you can let your kids pick out a special book for the week (maybe even tie it in with your spring break destination if you’re going on vacation – a historical book about the town you’re visiting, or a book about the type of environment you’re in such as the beach or the snow).   4. Go for a walk together - or a run, jog, skip, hike, bike...you get the point. Get outside and look for learning opportunities. Ask younger children to sound out the names of street signs. Ask older children to find 5 different species of flower and then research their names when you get home. Opportunities for learning are everywhere in your neighborhood!   5. Sharpen those math skills – have a long road trip ahead of you? Quiz your kids on basic math facts while you're driving in the car and offer a reward (whoever wins picks dinner for the night) for whoever provides the most correct answers. Give older children a chance to flex time-telling and subtraction skills asking them to solve math problems such as, "we'll arrive at our destination around 5:30 pm (for example) and it is currently 5:15 pm, so many minutes of drive time do we have left?" Or let younger children help you with baking or cooking at home - there are ample opportunities to build their math skills through measurement, counting, and estimating.   Opportunities for learning and engaging your kids' minds are endless! Just keep your eyes and ears open for things that make it fun so you keep their interest. From all of us at Club Z!, have a safe, fun, and (hopefully!) educational spring break!