Fun Activities for the Winter Break: Suggestions for Elementary School Parents

• Write a story: The whole family can write a story together on a theme of their choosing. Everyone can contribute to developing the characters, the setting, the protagonist’s mission, and the story’s resolution. This Alloprof tool on writing different types of stories offers guidance and inspiration.

• Browse and discuss books: Books and hot chocolate are two winter essentials. Parents can cultivate their child’s love of reading in many ways, such as by encouraging them to borrow books from the library, setting up a cozy reading nook at home, and asking their child about what they are reading.

• Practise vocabulary words: Parents can challenge their child to write words or phrases in the snow with a stick or tree branch. They can also suggest practising French vocabulary and spelling using our interactive exercise. We have created a special winter vocabulary list that students can access using this code: 7zpmJMaEhjnAiuCBpo4XNT.

• Read stories and collect little monsters: While enjoying the magic of winter, kids can practise their reading comprehension with Alloprof’s reading game, Book of Spells. The game involves hatching adorable little creatures and helping them grow.

• Cook: Family meals are an ideal opportunity to introduce kids to math concepts such as measurement, ratios, geometry, and time.

• Tackle our math operations puzzles: These are a great warm-up for the brain!

• Play grocery store: Our Allomarket game helps kids learn to count money as they fill up their shopping cart.

• Play math bingo: This classic game promises fun for the whole family.

• Practise geometry: Parents can encourage their kids to draw shapes or build geometric solids in the snow. Back inside, they can colour in our geometry mosaics.

• Take walks in nature or around the city: Outdoor activities provide a change of scenery and allow kids to explore their environment and observe how things change with the seasons. They can create a logbook or photo album to keep track of what they see and learn on their walks.

• Turn the kitchen into a lab: The kitchen can be a fantastic playground for budding scientists! This Alloprof Parents article offers 10 science activities to do at home.

• Stargaze: Long winter nights are an incredible opportunity for children to discover the wonders of the sky. This Alloprof article offers ideas on astronomy-related activities for parents to try with their kids at wintertime.

Hands-on activities like painting, sculpting, and crafts help children strengthen their dexterity while nourishing their creativity and imagination. The winter break allows time for family art projects such as the following:

• Painting landscapes

• Creating mosaics or stained-glass windows

• Making sculptures out of clay or modelling clay

• Learning to knit, crochet, or do embroidery

• Etc.

These activities encourage kids to express themselves, learn new skills, and develop their aesthetic sensibilities. Parents can check out this article for more ideas on sparking their child’s interest in art. In terms of culture, winter is also a perfect time to visit museums.

• Research New Year’s celebrations from around the world: This is a great activity for developing cultural awareness—not to mention practising geography! Parents can choose countries several time zones removed from the province of Quebec.

• Learn about international traditions: Using this calendar, parents can talk to their kids about various cultural traditions celebrated at this time of year.

• Learn winter-related French vocabulary in Nehlueun: This page includes illustrations and audio to help with learning pronunciation.