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?
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