Aaah Christmas, a wonderful time of year when kids are off school, the family gather together, and the year draws to a festive close.  However, as soon as the 25th has passed, it can suddenly dawn on us that there’s a rather peculiar limbo until New Year’s rolls on in, with no work or plans to fill the void…

At Manning’s, we think this is a fantastic opportunity to learn some skills that aren’t universally taught in school.  Here’s our day by day breakdown for filling the Christmas to New Year’s limbo.

26th – Boxing Day – Nutritional Education

While many schools will run some form of Food Technology course (previously known as Home Economics) it is still well worth seizing on a real life opportunity to discuss healthy approaches to eating.  

Use Boxing Day to think back to what was consumed for Christmas and consider the following:

• Did I eat the 5 food groups in the right proportions?  See this NHS guidance for more info
• How many calories did I consume?  (This handy online tool can add them up for you)
• How much exercise would those calories fuel?  The BHF foundation have this tool to help you explore

27th – Financial Management

Many pupils leave school with very low financial skills.  At the same time, they’ll suddenly be in a position where they’ll have access to loans and credit cards.  Understanding proper money management will be essential to ensuring that they treat money with respect.  Possible activities will depend on your child’s age, but could include:

• Setting a savings goal for the year ahead, and helping them create a plan to achieve it.
• Send them to the store with £10 and ask them to provide dinner for the whole family – tell them they can keep the change!  Hopefully they’ll reflect on the nutritional advice from yesterday and bring home a healthy feast (and possibly realise that it will usually be cheaper than the processed alternative)
• Set up their own parent-controlled child-bank account with goHenry, suitable for children from 8 years upwards
• Discuss household finances with your child, explaining to them all the monthly outgoings that parents have to manage

28th – Coding

If you’ve been paying attention in recent years, you’ve probably heard that the machines are coming for our jobs!  A rise in automation is going to replace many traditional professions, however humans will still be required to programme these machines.  

A basic knowledge of coding should be viewed as equally important to literacy and numeracy for today’s children.  The great news is there’s a wealth of games and apps to help pupils learn.  Scratch is a brilliant free starting place for younger children, while Treehouse offers a more comprehensive (paid) platform for those wishing to take their skills further.  If apps are more your thing, our friends at The Educational App Store list their favourite 5 here.

29th – No technology day

Generation Z (children born in the late 90’s onwards) are the first generation to grow up with technology literally everywhere.  Mobile phones permanently ensconced in trouser pockets (or more likely in their palms), powerful mobile internet signal covering the country, and an immense amount of peer pressure to maintain a constant presence on Social Media.

So following on from our coding day, we thought it would be a great idea to have a technology free day.  Put the mobile phone in the bedside drawer, unplug the television and enjoy a day like no-other this year.  (These rules apply to parents as well as children!) The National Unplugging Day is a great website for handy hints and tips on digital detoxing and the benefits it can have on your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

At dinner time, have a discussion about how the day made you feel:

• Was your attention span affected?
• Did you realise any bad habits?
• Did you find other activities to fill the time?
• Would you like to make any changes for the year ahead?

30th – Reflect and plan

As adults we can all feel guilty about becoming swept up in the general flow of life, and not taking a moment to sit back, reflect and plan.  Yearcompass.com offer a fantastic free workbook that guides readers through personal reflection on the past year, and helps set goals for the year ahead.  This might be something you want to do with your child, or something you would prefer to do individually and share afterwards.

31st – New Year’s Eve

Aaaand relax.  It’s time to celebrate the end of the year and the start of a new one.  We hope you enjoyed the break – and would love to hear any positive experiences you may have had – go ahead and drop us an email at info@manningstutors.co.uk  Happy New Year!