It is that time of the year where everybody is anticipating long weekends and shorter workdays. Slowly but surely, buildings around the country are setting up lights and diyas to hint at the upcoming excitement. Neighbours and relatives drop by with sweets and snacks every morning, accelerating all renovation activities.
The whole country has been in the festival mode for more than a month and once Diwali is over, Christmas and New Year are around the corner to keep the celebrations going. While this is all fun and festive, it is also a dreaded time for parents who have to make sure their children have some amount of facetime in front of their books.
Want your children to learn while also having fun? Read on to find out our top tips to engage children with their learning resources through the long holiday season.
1. Fix a schedule -
Entrust your child with a firm and compulsory schedule. Make sure they spend a fixed amount of time in front of their books and learning resources based on their attention span. Keep the schedule brief - it is unfair to expect them to sit for longer than 5 hours when everybody else is emulating the festival season. For instance, you can encourage your child to spend 2-3 hours revising and learning. It also helps if you encourage them to make their own plan of actions for the day.
2. Stock up on worksheets and question banks -
Engage your child productively with worksheets and question banks. If they find it difficult to sit and revise with all that’s going on around them, allow them to use this time to practise and test their knowledge.
3. Involve them in the festival prep work -
Most households in the country are doing DIY projects at home to make ornaments and decorations for the festival. This is time you can use to enlist your child’s imagination! It also helps children improve their focus, refine their fine motor skills and it also gives them an outlet to relax while also learning something new!
4. Give them a designated space to work out of-
This may be a fairly huge challenge since households get busy with tonnes of people and activities. If you don't encourage your child to maintain their learning routine, it becomes easier to cement them in a permanent festival mood. Give them a designated space and request the other members of your house to not enter that area during their study time.
5. Be flexible with what they’re learning -
It can be daunting for children to sit and study while everybody else is out there bringing in the festival season. It is not important that they sit and learn only their Maths-Science subjects. However, it is important for them to have a routine that festivals or celebrations do not easily disturb. Allow them to pick their learning material on their own. For instance, if your child wants to learn about the history and origins of festivals in India, encourage them to do that too!
The idea is not to make sure your child is constantly studying. However, it is to instil in them a keen sense of routine that becomes so entrenched that they grow not to be distracted by the various stimulating activities that are constantly a part of life in India and everywhere else.
Festivals are for fun and joy and children must experience that without having to compromise on their learning. It is also a time to show your children that festivals are also a lot of hard work along with a lot of fun.
If you have great tips on how to engage your children with learning activities during the holidays, please share the same!
