Engaged in a quest for new knowledge, stimulated Happy Brains naturally funnel behavior energy into curious questioning and solution-seeking. But Bored Brains? They manufacture “challenges,” turning formerly happy learners into fighting, screaming alley cats. How can you keep the peace during “no school” breaks? Today, tips and tricks to tame restless, wild, Bored Brains and keep the learning flow going, even during respites from your day-to-day schedule.
Load up on library books featuring holidays or seasons synced with your breaks. Learners can illustrate favorite stories or make 3-D shadow boxes depicting memorable scenes. Spread foam shapes, glue, glitter, construction paper, tape and yarn on a table, give each child a shoebox, and watch creative marvels appear before your eyes!
Turn off the TV and video games and turn on educational podcasts, audiobooks and music. Kids can listen and learn while helping around the house, doing yardwork or preparing for holidays. Play classical or seasonal music and practice singing new songs together. Plan a family holiday music show!
Cooking up special foods for the season? Enlist your learners’ mathematical assistance in shopping, measuring, whisking and baking. Teach them how to use a food processor or immersion blender. Impromptu lessons on unit pricing, measurement scales, the chemistry of ingredient interaction and transformation in baking processes all offer fascinating real-life math and science lessons!
How can your students serve other individuals in their families and communities during learning breaks? Even the youngest learners can help build shoeboxes of love with necessities for those in need. Challenge your older children to earn money by seeking out odd jobs. Practice “public speaking” and “interview skills” by contacting neighbors to see if they need handy assistance with raking leaves, wrapping gifts or keeping little ones occupied. Encourage learners to research local charities and donate a portion (or all) of their earnings to causes that resonate in their hearts.
If your academic break centers around holiday times, research how various cultures and countries celebrate differently. Find an ethnic food or tradition to weave into your own. Your learners might discover a new favorite treat!
Provide each of your learners with a special writing/drawing notebook to record and illustrate daily break activities. Older students can create a family break blog to share with friends and families. Ask your children to draw their own Happy Brain and Bored Brain, depicting the contents of each. Garner tidbits of what makes your learners tick from these renditions; brainstorm on adjustments for post-break learning that maximize each child’s Happy Brain.
Design a reading competition for your designated break time. Structure fun rewards for each age group or ability level.
Letting learners do whatever they want without any learning structure during non-school breaks can backfire, resulting in the mindset that learning is something to be avoided and idle leisure is to be prized. On the contrary, most children seem happiest when absorbing new knowledge and directly interacting with the world around them. If you need a bit of an unstructured break, remember the magical energy-burn of outside play (no matter the weather!) and toss your learners into the great outdoors.
As you look forward to exciting learning breaks this year, keep Bored Brains at bay by offering a stimulating menu of out-of-the-box creative challenges. A little advance planning goes a long way in banishing Bored Brains, encouraging Happy Brains and keeping the peace!
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