Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-December 15, 2010 Issue

December 15, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • Page 15 While your child may be ecstatic to have a nice, long hiatus from school this December, you may be feeling panicked about how to keep him or her entertained. How can you help your child use his or her brain and have fun at the same time? Try one of these six activities: Draw out your child’s inner artist. Art stimulates the imagination and encourages critical thinking. Invest in a paint set and an inexpensive easel, or even create your own by taping a large piece of cardboard onto a wall on which you can hang sheets of paper. Check out a book on origami paper folding at the library. Investigate craft centers in your area and call to find out if they have special programs for children. As always, follow your child’s lead. Is he or she more interested in drawing than building with clay? If painting doesn’t pique your child’s interest, how about jewelry making? Learn in the kitchen. For many families, the holidays involve a lot of time in the kitchen, from holiday cookies to big family dinners. What better time to teach your child about the art of cooking? Cooking teaches several important skills, such as planning ahead, time management, math, and science, and helps children increase their selfconfidence as they master a new talent. Together, spend a day searching through cookbooks or online for recipes and take a trip to the store to shop for ingredients. Let your child be in charge in the kitchen (if he or she is old enough). Write New Year’s resolutions for the coming year. With plenty of time for reflection, holiday break is a great opportunity for your child to think about his or her accomplishments and disappointments from the past year and set goals for next year. Setting goals teaches children to take responsibility for getting the things they want in life. It also encourages them to define clear plans of action and take pride in their successes. Be sure to let your child come up with his or her own list of things he or she wants to learn, accomplish, or change in the coming year. Not only is the goal-setting process beneficial, it is also good writing practice. Make writing fun. Make a night of creating a “2011 predictions list.” Write a family novel, where each person writes a chapter (or section of a shorter story) -- the sillier the better. During break, keep an open notebook on the kitchen counter where the whole family can record short, funny memories from holidays past; then, spend an eve- Six fun learning activities for your child’s holiday break around the house or the neighborhood. Want to get out of the house? Make it a library, art museum, or mall scavenger hunt. Instead of items to collect, the children could photograph items or answer relevant quiz questions. Hire your kids. Whether your child is nine or 15, he or she is likely to get excited about a little extra spending money. Hire your child to do chores that are outside the norm of his or her regular household responsibilities and pay him or her by the hour or the task. Not only will this keep your child occupied, chores teach children valuable life skills: organization, prioritization, responsibility, and more. Holiday vacation is a great time for children to wind down from the busy fall semester, but relaxing doesn’t have to mean endless hours of television or computer time. With a little creativity, you and your child can come up with many ideas to keep the whole family active and learning. This article was submitted by Dr. Raymond J. Huntington, founder of Huntington Learning Center. For more information, call the local Huntington Learning Center at (201) 447-1200. Holiday�� ning reading them aloud together. Go on a scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts are a fun way to get kids moving and thinking creatively. Have your child invite a few friends over and pass out lists of items to each child or team. 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