Winter break offers a chance to keep children curious without turning activities into formal homework. Jim Egenrieder, director of the Virginia Tech Thinkabit Labs, recommends using everyday tasks to build real-world skills and independence.
He says exploring nature, visiting a hardware store, or planning a meal and involving kids in background research helps develop executive function skills, which are the planning and thinking skills children need. Parents can turn routine moments into short, hands-on STEM lessons.
Examples include measuring and timing when baking, tracking day length in winter, creating simple budgets for shopping, identifying trees by winter features, estimating fuel for a road trip, and switching clocks to 24-hour time.
Difficult words
- curious — Wanting to learn and know new things
- recommend — Say that something is a good idearecommends
- executive function skill — Planning and thinking ability for everyday tasksexecutive function skills
- hands-on — Learning by doing practical activities
- background research — Simple information before starting a project
- budget — A plan for how to spend moneybudgets
- measure — Find size, amount, or time with toolsmeasuring
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Which everyday task from the article would you try with a child and why?
- How could you involve a child in planning a meal or a short trip this winter?
Related articles
Why Rechargeable Batteries Lose Performance
Researchers found that repeated charging and discharging makes batteries expand and contract, causing tiny shape changes and stress. This “chemomechanical degradation” and spreading strain reduce performance and shorten battery life, and imaging revealed how it happens.
Shared social media and changing networks in rural families
A study of rural students and one of their parents finds that university often increases who young people meet, while social media usually broadens networks. Sharing platforms between parents and children has mixed effects on network diversity and tolerance.
