If your child likes and thrives on a regular schedule, wherever you are stick to some of the regular routines. I found this has worked best when traveling with kids of different needs and abilities. Some of the routines to keep could be rising in the morning, meal times and bed times.
That said, let's talk about opportunities for fun while learning during vacation time at home and traveling.
Because there may be new scenery to enjoy in the moment, help your child keep those memories by giving them the tools to make scrapbooks and collection boxes from their expeditions.
In addition to photos and postcards, collecting small items and storing them in shoe boxes or plastic containers is a sure way to preserve some memories to talk about later, and share for show and tell during the school year - providing yet another opportunity to practice verbal communication.
If your child uses a computer, research can be done online about items collected during vacation treks. And if they are able, the information can be written up in little booklets to keep with the items collected.
This exercise may sound like a school assignment, but if your child is enthusiastic about learning more about their collection it will seem like a fun project. And, I am one who does my best work when I perceive it as fun and stimulating. For the child who struggles to learn or keep up academically, the thought of finding out more information on a subject of their choice may become a fun project, rather than fraught with fear of failure. After all, it is not a school assignment with a timeline for completion or standards to live up to.
Another benefit of the long days of leisure during vacations is that as much time as wanted or needed can be spent pursuing projects and investigations. That time out in the sand pile can be extended as long as the child is interested in the activity, and all it can afford as a fairly blank canvas and tactile medium.
Just some examples: sand with water can be built into many shapes packing it into containers and many a store or castle is built in the sand. And, it can be sifted while the air currents carry it away from straight down to the ground - sort of like being able to "see" the air as wind.
In summary, much learning happens during vacations in a self-paced way, and the memories of fun times at home or away saved in collections, and investigations carried out, last far beyond the moment - enriching the child's life.
Article by Susan Kramer
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