❄️☃️ The first official day of winter is upon on come Monday, December 21. Let’s start this season strong. Family bonding is an important part of everyone’s emotional development and intelligence. And let’s face it, kids having winter break are going to experience even more family time. Have you tried that family game night yet?
🧩 Today also happens to be National Crossword Puzzle Day. They are a great way to bond with your family AND to work on your student’s literacy. If you want to make it competitive, consider playing Scrabble, one of my favorite board games. This is very fitting for older children and it gives them a chance to show off their vocabulary.
🎉Depending on where you live and when you read this, we are smack in the middle of holiday festivities and vacation relaxation. While I think it is so important to enjoy this time with your families, school always feels like it’s around the corner. I know, I know, none of us want to think about returning to our busy lives after the holidays, but I want to help make that transition smoother by sharing some tips of maintaining structure during the holidays. Maintaining structure in your child’s every day routine will help them stay one track and organized when transitioning back into the school.
Here are a few tips:
Prioritize bedtime, playtime, and chore time. Keeping this schedule will maintain structure during your child’s day so that you can designate “school time” when school comes back.
Plan group activities in advance to implement into schedules.
Note: schedules do not have to be hard and fast, just a routine to keep some structure!
Credit: Pricelessparenting.com
✏️Additionally, as we near the end of 2020, I have an activity for you to do with your children. Last week, I challenged you to “reverse plan” for the new year. Reverse Plan means to write down your goals and the steps within those goals to accomplish them.
✏️This week, I want you to sit down with your children and help them plan for the new year. Talk to them about their goals, why they are important, and the steps that have to plan for to accomplish them. This will not only prepare them for 2021, but it will give them skills they can use in school, and throughout life. By the same token, I want to encourage you from here on to be cognizant of your children’s/student’s routines and habits. Where you see fit, see if you can implement improvements in routines and habits to improve their efficiency when working towards their goals. Consider using the template below I created!
Credit: Gennyofalltrades.org
📦Speaking of goals, if any of you are interested in awesome business/marketing tips to help you reach your small business and mindset goals, check out My Girlfriend Renee! I will be talking about her this week on my Instagram. She is a boss and can be found at mygirlfriendrenee.com.
🥳We have two big holidays coming this week! Christmas is on Friday, 12/25 and Saturday 12/26 marks the first day of Kwanzaa, which will end on January 1. Christmas is a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus. The earlier term for Christmas, Yule, is believed to have been derived from the Germanic jōl or the Anglo-Saxon geōl, which referred to the feast of the winter solstice- a pagan holiday. Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States that honors African heritage in African-American culture. Being aware and knowledgeable of all types of religions and traditions is an important aspect of being a well rounded person! I encourage you to talk to your children about different holidays, their origins, and how/why they are celebrated.
Stay focused this week, but also enjoy some family time. Happy holidays! I’ll see you in 2021!
~Genny
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