- Connecting to Nature & Questioning Skills Go for a walk and explore the environment. Talk about the things you see. Ask your children deep questions. Go beyond a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Ask “What if…?” or “Why?”.
- Vocabulary Building Start a “Word-of-the-Day” club. See who can find ways to use the new word that day.
- Supporting Evidence Model for them how to give an opinion and support it with evidence. Discuss your likes and dislikes, favourite book or movie, or favourite food.
- Language Building Have fun with riddles, jokes, tongue twisters, rhyming and word association.
- Reading and Memorizing Have a poetry night. Everyone challenges themselves to remember a poem and recite it to the family. Or decide to turn your favourite story into a play. You can create costumes, props and scenery. Organize a performance for extended family and friends.
- Scientific Method Have a paper airplane flying contest. Research designs and then experiment to see which one is the best flyer, the fastest, the best loop-de-looper. Science World has a great list of suggestions for a Family Science Night.
- Astronomy Learn to read the night sky together. The Vancouver Planetarium has a Sky Watch page to help you sort out the stars.
- Math and Life Skills Plan a picnic. Give your child a budget and teach them how to plan an event. Where will you spend the most money? Food? Decorations? Games? Transportation? How will we get there?
- Attention to Detail Create a scavenger hunt for your child. Perhaps an outdoor scavenger hunt, a plant hunt, an animal hunt… They can use a digital camera to capture their items.
- Writing Create a journal as a family or set aside a time when the whole family sits down and writes in their own personal journal.
Don’t forget to have FUN!
Play games. Emphasize taking turns and help them be a gracious winner or loser. Game suggestions include: Scrabble, Bananagrams, Boggle, Pictionary, Battleship, Mastermind, Monopoly, Dominoes, or Cribbage.