Winter Break Reading Activities
Winter break is finally here! Although we all deserve a vacation from the homework load and daily obligations, we don’t want to completely let our reading and writing skills slip during this winter vacation. As a matter of fact, this is a great time to boost them a little. Here is a very family-friendly list of winter break reading activities you can try at home to keep those reading and writing skills sharp this winter.
Winter Break Reading Activities
- Read for Pleasure. You have heard about a summer reading list – well how about a winter break reading list? Now is the perfect time for your child to catch up on all those books and magazines that they didn’t have time to read during the school year. Reading for pleasure builds vocabulary, expands your child’s mind intellectually and also helps your child become a better writer. So take a trip to your local library and let your kids choose a huge stack of books for some of their winter break reading activities.
- Cook with your kids. Cooking is a great way for the family to spend fun and educational time together. Reading food labels and recipes can help your children improve their reading skills and learn the meanings of unfamiliar words.
- Write thank you letters. Encourage your child to write “thank you” letters for all of the holiday gifts they received from relatives and friends. Sit with your child and write your own notes at the same time. Writing letters is a heavy burden for children, so it might be a good idea to space the work and be supportive.
- Listen to audio books in the car while traveling. Spending time listening to books strengthens listening, concentration and imagination skills in children. It also gives them an opportunity to improve vocabulary and language skills. Take your child’s audio book along on car trips or while you are running errands for some awesome winter break reading activities.
- Go grocery shopping. Let your child carry the shopping list as you shop. They can read off the items you need. Label reading is also a great reading task for children. You can have them look up the ingredients on the labels or ask them to research which breakfast cereal has the least amount of sugar in it.
- Play board games. Here is your opportunity to expand your child’s mind while also having fun and spending time together. Games like Scrabble, Boggle and other word games are great for challenging the minds of kids. Some games require reading for clues or reading directions.
I hope that these winter reading activities work for your family. Enjoy the holidays and thank you for visiting us today!
Karina Richland, M.A., is the Executive Director of PRIDE Learning Centers, LLC, an educational company that works with children in special education and focuses on reading, writing and comprehension help. She is also the author of the PRIDE Reading Program, a multisensory Orton-Gillingham reading, writing and comprehension curriculum that is available worldwide for parents, tutors, teachers and homeschoolers of struggling readers.
Karina has an extensive background in working with students of all ages and various learning modalities. She has spent many years researching learning differences and differentiated teaching practices. You can reach her at info@pridelearningcenter.com