“What??!”
“These kids need a break from school!”
“The last thing I want to think about is making my kid do anything!”
“ No way! As a parent, I am tired too”
Before you dismiss this blog, read on for 5 different ways to practice executive functioning during the winter break.
- Cook and bake together. Recipes call for making lists of ingredients, attention to detail, following step by step directions, focus and impulse control. What a great way to practice real-life skills in a tasty way!
- Clean and organize the bedroom. Going through toys, clothes, and books is a great way IN ANTICIPATION and to make room for new gifts. Plus, items can be donated to those less fortunate. Just a reminder–do these organizing activities with your child in short amounts of time. For example, go through just drawers or the games.
- Replenish school supplies. By winter break, some school supplies are broken, used up or just lost. Cool pens, highlighters, post-its, or fidgets make great stocking stuffers or small gifts.
- Bond as a family through activities. Family book read, game night, or puzzle time are all great activities that not only bring members of a household together but allow for the building of many executive functioning skills such as planning next steps, anticipating the moves of others, seeing the big picture, accepting when things don’t go to plan and making connections between stories and life.
- New Year’s resolutions gone wild! Spend time having each person create 3-5 goals for the first part of 2022. Goal setting is an important aspect of executive functioning. But this is only the first part. The second part involves having an accountability feature so the goals don’t fall by the wayside. So, put a list of each person’s goals in a place where family members can see them, cheer each other on and help each person be accountable.
