Maximise the holidays

We are now introducing The August Discovery Reading Challenge! We would love to see every Discovery student engaging with this fun activity!

Some Tips for a Fun-filled Holiday at Home:

A great way to spend healthy, quality time with your children this holiday would be to get outdoors as much as possible! Encourage exploration and have a theme each day; plants, the sky, weather patterns, protecting the environment, technology around us, what you can see/hear/smell and feel in the environment around you…

Get involved in physical activities every day. This can include both organised and free play. Try agility and stamina challenges with your children; dance together to your favourite tunes, go for walks and count your steps, use sports accessories if you have them such as balls, skipping ropes, hula hoops and bats/hockey sticks etc… The important thing is to burn off some energy in fun ways!

Why not try to complete a daily journal and fill it up with holiday memories and creative writing? Your children could summarise every day and develop their non-fiction writing skills in the process! Don’t forget to chat with your children as much as possible and help them to think through their writing before they put pen to paper. It would be fantastic to read your children’s poems, stories and journal entries when the new academic year starts.

If your children have access to a television and/or internet enabled devices please don’t forget to limit their screen time and monitor what they are accessing. Activate Parental Controls on all devices. Spend time explaining to your children why it’s a healthy and safe practice to limit screen time. Also, be a great role model! If you have employees at home who regularly interact with your children, make sure that they know your rules regarding screen time and internet access and that they also model the habits you want your children to develop.

Read, read, read with your child :) Discuss what you read and ask your children to share their ideas and opinions about what they’re reading. You’ll maybe be surprised to hear their views - they can often surprise and delight us!

You could make great use of the lockdown to teach your children new, age-appropriate skills; meal preparation, cooking, arts and crafts, household organisation, how to make their own bed, taking care of the pets, watering the plants, and many other essential life skills.

These are just a few ideas for engaging activities for the family to enjoy. Make amazing memories and don’t forget to take lots of photos and videos to capture them forever!

Note: You should have your child’s end-of-year report now. Please do spend some time reading the report through and identifying ways that you can support your child at home in the areas they find most challenging and encourage them to keep up the great work, building on their progress so far!