Engaging your child's mind at home during the June holidays

Where did the scorching sun from earlier disappear to? With unpredictable weather going on these days, you’ll never know if you’re going to get a full day of sun or not. A full day of outdoor excursion plans may very well be soiled on days like this.

Well, fret not - there are still plenty of engaging and fun activities you and your child can dive into from the comfort of your home!

Brush up on languages with board games and Geniebook Chinese

Board games provide a wonderful opportunity for your child to enhance their English language skills while having a blast with family and friends. Games such as Scrabble, Boggle, and Bananagrams are not only enjoyable, but also enriching for language development!

By playing these games, students can work on building an exceptional vocabulary, develop better spelling abilities, and critical thinking skills. For instance, Scrabble promotes spelling words correctly, and silly penalties can be imposed for players when they spell words incorrectly!

They can also learn to strategise, adapt to changing circumstances, and communicate effectively. Moreover, board games foster healthy competition, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Encourage your child to engage in regular board game sessions during the holidays. They can create a simple schedule to play with their siblings, you, or even virtually with their friends!

On the other hand, practise Chinese in a fun manner through Geniebook Chinese, where your child can learn from engaging and immersive dual-teacher classes that are conducted in small group tutorials! Engaging dialogues are used in lessons to teach word usage and pronunciations which can help your child in mastering key concepts. Click here to find out more!

Scoring numbers with Sudoku

Sudoku is a puzzle game that involves filling a nine by nine grid with numbers from 1 to 9 without repeating any number in the same row, column, or 3 by 3 sub-grid. The aim is to fill the entire grid with correct numbers, which requires logic, reasoning, and critical thinking skills.

Sudoku is a popular puzzle game that stimulates logical thinking and mathematical reasoning, which is why it's an excellent activity for students to sharpen their problem-solving skills and enhance their numerical abilities! Solving these puzzles improves critical thinking, pattern recognition, and logical deduction. It also enhances concentration, patience, and perseverance, as students work towards finding the correct number combinations. You can read more about the benefits of playing Sudoku in our recent article here.

During the June holidays, students can set aside dedicated time to solve Sudoku puzzles. There are numerous online resources available that offer puzzles of varying difficulty levels, ensuring a challenge for every student. Try Sudoku.com for starters, where the difficulty levels range from ‘easy’ to ‘evil’!

Build a little greenhouse at home

Engaging in hands-on experiments and activities is a fantastic way for students to explore the wonders of science. One such example would be growing plants at home! Perhaps the first thing that comes to your mind when you read this are those little green bean plants many of us tried out when we were little…

Planting not only provides a great opportunity for students to learn about plant life cycles, but also teaches them responsibility, patience, and nurturing skills. Here are a few unique and easy-to-maintain plants that you and your child can grow at home, besides green beans!

• Cactus and succulents: These plants are hardy and require minimal care. They teach students about water conservation and adaptation to arid environments.
• Herbs: Growing herbs like basil, mint, or rosemary allows your child to witness the growth process up close. They can learn about the importance of sunlight, watering, and nutrition for plant growth.
• Air plants: These unique plants require no soil and can be mounted on various surfaces, such as on a wall. These plants can teach your child about different methods of obtaining nutrients and the fascinating concept of epiphytes!

Through nurturing plants, students can gain a deeper understanding of botany, the importance of the environment, and the interconnectedness of living organisms. They can document their observations in a journal and monitor the growth of their plants over time, which can further enhance their scientific inquiry skills!

Wrapping up

These fun and engaging activities not only provide valuable lessons for your child but also encourage creativity, critical thinking, and a love for lifelong learning. Try these activities out for yourself, be it rain or shine!