Tip #121 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKInley & Trombly): Holidays

 

Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.

                                                           

#121

Holidays

 

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
 ~Chinese Proverb

 

So many children complain about not having anything to write about. The trick is to offer them real reasons to write, and then it will most likely be fun and easy for them to do. Holidays are perfect days to try this. From major holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah to fun ones like April Fool’s Day, special days provide special opportunities for writing. Try the ideas below to get your child writing today for all the fun reasons!

 

●      New Year’s: Encourage everyone in your family to write down New Year’s Resolutions and post them somewhere like the message center (Idea #6) where seeing them often will help encourage completing them.

●      Valentine’s Day: Write a love letter to your child. Ask him to write one to someone. If he’s at an age where that does not particularly appeal to him, he can write one to the family pet or a favorite toy!

●      St. Patrick’s Day: Ask him to write about what he would do if suddenly he became magical like a Leprechaun just for one day.

●      Easter: Write out clues to an Easter egg hunt. Hide clues in a plastic egg. Each egg found contains another clue that all lead to a special prize.

●      Passover: Think about the meaning of Passover and write about what it means to your family.

●      April Fool’s Day: Write a joke book. Ask friends and family for help and ideas.

●      President’s Day: Write a letter to the President.

●      Memorial Day: Write a letter to a Veteran. Writing to a Veteran can be an authentic learning experience for your child and allow him to connect with history.

●      Mother’s Day: Write a letter to Mom telling her all the things you love about her.

●      Father’s Day: Write a letter to Dad telling him all the things you love about him.

●      Flag Day: Invent a flag for your family. What would it look like? Write a small paragraph to go with the picture to explain what each symbol or color represents. Is there something for everyone?

●      4th of July: Use the letters in AMERICA to create a poem or write a Haiku about the USA (Idea #132).

●      Labor Day: Write a letter to his future self, describing the job he thinks he will have when he grows up. Save it for him and give it to him years from now. Was he right?

●      Halloween: Write a scary story.

●      Thanksgiving: Encourage the whole family to make a list of things you are all grateful for. Can you collectively get to 100?

●      Christmas: Write letters to Santa, send thank you notes, or create a poem or short story to give as a gift.

●      Hanukkah: Write about a favorite holiday tradition.

 

If a holiday your family celebrates isn’t on here, go ahead and add it.

   

     Cindy McKinley Alder                                            Patti Trombly

 

For more posts about the authors and their books (this is not the only one), click HERE.

For excerpts from more books, click HERE. 

For more excerpts from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents, click HERE.

          For more posts about books about parenting, click HERE. 

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