Parents, instead of you doing all the thinking, planning and organising these holidays, why not have your children prepare for a family outing? A picnic or a day-trip are fun and decision making rich activities that will keep your children occupied for days making lists, selecting and even making some food to eat, deciding upon locations and keeping costs to a budget. This will take the pressure off of you to keep them occupied and the children will love the opportunity to lead, plan and be involved. They will learn heaps of life skills in the process!
Parents you can teach your children some real life skills like how to plan, how be organised, how to make decisions, how to prioritise, negotiate and collaborate and how to solve problems by giving them a holiday project these holidays.
If you would like your children to plan a picnic for the whole family or a day trip or an outing of some kind, then here are some questions to help you, help them, take some control and leadership and contribute to the family fun:
- When is the best time for all of us to go on a fun day trip?
- Where can we go on Saturday? Use google to research a good local destination or two from which to choose.
- Use google maps to find out the distance and time it will take to travel there and back; list out how many kilometres and estimated travel times.
- Decide upon the most suitable and cost effective mode of transport to use. How much petrol will be used if we go by car as compared with taking a bus or train? What are the overall comparative costs of getting there? After this analysis, choose the final mode of transport.
- What do we need to take to eat? Can we make some food to take or should we buy the food? Make a list, get out the eskie, buy the things and ice on the day from the shop?
- What other things might we need to take considering how we are travelling – chairs, rug, soccer ball, insect repellent, sunscreen, hats, clothes, water, plates & serviettes?
- What to wear?
- How long to go for?
- What has to be done when we return home? Make a list of the jobs to do and who will do each task like unpacking, washing out eskie, putting scraps in the bin, wrapping and storing any leftover foods.
Research indicates that when parents become involved with a child’s learning, the child experiences greater results. Parents can initiate learning at home for their children and facilitate a cooperative effort.
A holiday project like a day trip or picnic gives children the opportunity to take some responsibilities, rather than just sitting back and watching the adults do all the preparation!
We would love to receive your stories and experiences. Please leave your comments below and should you wish to email us some photos to share in our next eNews, then email: sherrin@fruition.com.au