Holiday Break Learning Ideas That Don’t Feel Like Schoolwork
Last December, we talked about how it’s important to balance rest with learning and continued structure when supporting gifted students during the holidays. While other students may welcome a complete respite from the grind of the school year, gifted students may resist a period of total hibernation— their hunger for knowledge rarely rests.
This year, we want to revisit this topic by providing some ideas to keep gifted students learning and growing that feel as warm and easy as putting your feet up with a mug of hot cocoa.
Cooking and Baking
Gifted students are already learning science and math, why not get something delicious out of it? Baking and cooking are natural ways to teach children science, math, planning and life skills that can be scaled for different age groups. Examples:
- If they are learning about certain scientific processes in school e.g. convection, fermentation, let them see it first hand with a relevant recipe.
- Meal Manager - cooking a multi course meal? Give them the task of helping you plan the order in which the items go into the oven. This will teach them strategic thinking, time management and resourcefulness as they figure out how to get everything on the table at meal time.
- Give kids the task of measuring and portioning food, this will teach them precision and fractions. For older students, consider throwing in extra challenges like improper fractions or different measuring conversions (e.g. milliliters to ounces) and ask them to translate.
- Let them see the world through food– amazing cultural lessons can be learned at the dinner table. Ask them to plan a meal based on holiday traditions around the world.
Seeing the World in Winter
Holiday breaks are a great time to wonder about the winter wonderland right outside their doors. Examples:
- Winter and water - Use the colder months as an opportunity to show gifted students the water cycle. Have them observe and even measure (safely) the icicles forming outside their door, or look at a snowflake under a microscope.
- Let them teach you - ask your gifted kid why one might see their breath when they walk outside in the winter. This gives gifted students an opportunity to research and experiment for themselves and the satisfaction of teaching others.
- As the cold weather approaches, take gifted students on walks to observe unique behaviors of local wildlife as winter approaches.
These ideas are just a few ways to keep gifted students learning and growing without the rigor of a typical school day. If you have a current Rainard student at home or want more inspiration for winter activities, be sure to check out our curriculum here. From all of us at Rainard, we wish you a safe, relaxing and joyful holiday season.
