We are done with K-1! Now what? Our four-year-old son has ten weeks of school break on his hands. We thought we’d make the most of it (and keep our sanities) with a kid-and-parent-friendly schedule and Kid Starter.
If you have been a parent to a toddler for some time, you’d know that too much idle time is a bad idea. We had our share of this during our 14-day quarantine when we moved to Thailand, and we’re glad to have devised a plan to survive it and fight off cabin fever.
A School Break Plan Doesn’t Mean Designing a Hectic Schedule.
But before you overfill your child’s schedule, take a pause and try to evaluate what stage he’s in. You’d want him to enjoy his break with structure, not exasperate him with a million things to do or with activities that are not age-appropriate. Setting a reasonable expectation will do.
Allocate lots of time for independent play and rest. Our son’s school break plan is inspired by his K-1 school schedule, which has a lot of breaks, play times, and nap times. Our learning time, strictly speaking, is only an hour a day.
Assess the readiness of your kid. Our son is such an eager beaver for his learning time. He would remind Mark when it’s already 11 AM so they could start the “class.” If your kid doesn’t like to have a learning time from the get-go, respect that and find alternative ways for him to learn. When we started our learning material when he was three years old, sometimes it was a drag to have him sit and do the tasks. Now, he’s more than willing to help Mark prepare the materials on his desk.
Strategize ways to be able to work. Mark and I are working remotely on a few projects over the school break with chores here and there, so we dedicate blocks of time to attend to that while our son is having his independent play. We set his expectations during these–that mom and dad need to focus, and there is time for playing together.
Lastly, not all kids will like schedules and calendars, but if they do, we hope these tips will be of some help to you.
Kidstarter Curious Curriculum: Fun Activity-Based Learning Guide for Kids
If you need a hand in creating fun and active learning time with your child, try Kid Starter Curious Curriculum!
As parents, we are amazed by its nice graphics, and imaginative ideas to introduce concepts to kids. Plus, it also instills resourcefulness throughout, encouraging users to look through their recyclables first.
The Kid Starter curious curriculum is the first-ever Filipino preschool guide, designed by experts on homeschooling and progressive education. It’s an excellent introduction for parents dipping their toes into homeschooling and those who want to create practical and fun learning moments with their preschoolers. And we just have to add: it’s not intimidating and comes with parent guides too!
Read our full review here.
Mark x Abi 