Reading and Literacy
Read Up on Current Events
Have your child read a newspaper or go online to a news site each day and find an event that interests him. If your child cannot read on his own, read have a family member read it to him. Talk about it with your child and include other family members or friends. Then help your child create a news notebook, taping the article into the notebook, stating why he chose it, what he learned from it, and what everyone’s views were about it.
Use Sophisticated Vocabulary
Before dinner, choose an article from the newspaper that every member of your family will read. During dinner conversation discusses what each of you learned from the article and what you think about the ideas or facts. Ask a few questions as well. As you converse be sure to use the sophisticated vocabulary of the article. You might elevate this work by exploring multiple sections of the newspaper.
Be a Questioner
When your child reads something, especially something interesting or challenging, help her develop some questions about it. Have her use the five Ws: who, what, when, where, why—and how. You and your child can do this with things you read and also with things you watch on television or online.
Daily Reading
Choose one or two pleasure books that your child can read just for fun. Choose a book you are looking forward to reading as well. Find a warm, quite place for both of you to curl up and read for 45 minutes each day. ENJOY! If you can talk to each other about the books, that’s great, but the most important thing is to read.
Family Book Club
Choose a book that the whole family reads. Set a date for when you will all be finished reading the book and then come together to discuss!
Write On!
Write a poem, essay, or story and submit it to TeenInk.
Reader's Theatre
Your child can create a script from a book he or she is reading and practice it with family, friends, and neighbors. Or, use a script that someone else has created for practice building fluency, speaking, and listening skills. Here are some prepared scripts you and your child can can use for free:
ReadWriteThink
Teaching Heart
More Activities
Check out several books from your school library or classroom library to take home and read over the break.
Create a bookmark of your favorite book (a 6”x2” bookmark is the perfect size).
Read a book to a family member or a pet.
Visit your favorite author’s website and learn more about the author and his or her books.
Make a craft, create a delicious treat, or build something unique from a how-to book.
Write a new ending to your favorite book.
Write a letter to the author of a book that made an impression on you.
Read a book and then watch the movie. Compare and contrast.
Create a comic strip of your winter break.
Interview and photograph family members to make a book.
If traveling, find books (fiction and nonfiction) about that place in your school library to read before and during your trip.
Read books about your favorite places in New York City and visit them during winter recess.
Web Sites for Reading and Literacy Activities
Guys Read a web-based literacy program for boys.
Teen Ink an on-line magazine written by teens.
Reading is Fundamental Reading Planet to get literacy suport for ages 0-15.
Storyline Online features books read alound by some of your favoite stars.
International Children's Digital Library allows you to acces books from around the world.
Reading Rockets has parent resources, and access to materials, author interviews and more.
PBS Kids offers games, and vidoes to promote learning.
Scholastic has reading clubs, games and interactive learning fun.
ReadWriteThink has parent and afterschool resources for gredes K-12.
Math
Cooking
Sequencing, fractions, ratios, and measurement are just a few of the skills required in following even the most basic recipes, and you get to create delicious food with your child.
Shopping
As you shop, challenge your child to estimate or count the number of items you are purchasing or the cost of the items. Challenge your child to figure out how much money to expect back in change, helping him or her to practice mental calculations. Other opportunities during shopping include comparing two or more items and determining the relative values based on ratio of size to cost. Encourage your children to compare sizes, weights, capacity, and liquid measurement. Ask your child to find the largest container of milk and explain why it holds more than the other containers.
Numbers and Shapes
Numbers and shapes are all around us! Look for numbers and shapes in the environment (addresses, sports statistics, weather forecasts, license plates, prices, signs) and talk about what they mean and how they are used.
How Long Does it Take?
Explore time by asking your child to estimate and then time how long it takes to complete different activities. Which of your child’s estimates were close to the actual time? Which were farthest away? Can you name an activity that you think will take less than five minutes? Try it and see how close you were. Don’t forget to notice the time you start and end an activity so that you can see how long it lasted; this will help children understand the passage of time.
Puzzles and Origami
Puzzles help develop spatial skills. Being able to notice shapes and patterns in puzzles will allow your child to easily pick up geometry concepts taught in school. Origami (the Japanese art of paper folding) strengthens awareness of shape and symmetry, and also requires children to follow directions in sequential order.
Play Games
Board games like Monopoly, Clue, Chutes and Ladders, and so many others all provide math skills practice, computation, and logical reasoning. Card games like Twenty-One or Hearts will provide your child with basic fact computations.
Everyday Life and Math
Have conversations that relate to everyday life and incorporate math questions. When traveling in a car or a bus, children invariably ask, “When will we get there?” Use the question as an opportunity to do some math. Count the number of exits and/or stops before you get to your destination; talk about miles to your destination and how fast you are driving so that your child can answer the question. Pose “wonder” questions, such as: How tall is that tree? How many seats are in this room? How many people are in front of us on this line? Figure out the answers to these questions together. Ask your child to tell you what he or she thought about when answering the questions.
Science
New York Hall of Science
In the newly created Design Labs at the New York Hall of Science, parents and children can engage in activities, experiments, and challenges that provide a deeper understanding of engineering and the design process. Design Labs is a space for tinkering and creative problem-solving for families. Using simple tools and everyday materials, the open-ended problems invite kids to wrestle with STEM topics and come up with their own creative solutions.
Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Gardens
Children can enjoy the Holiday Train Show as they explore the engineering and design that was used to create over 150 New York City miniature landscapes. Nuts, bark, leaves, and other plant parts can be identified as the children explore the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty, and many more.
Kinetic City – A Touch of Class
Science is all around you at Kinetic City. Your backyard, kitchen, and other areas around the home provide natural "laboratories" for children. Children are curious; exploring with science can be lots of fun while also teaching them a great deal about themselves and their world. In the interactive science story game, children can learn many interesting facts about different plants and animals. Each question asks the child to select the plants or animals that have certain characteristics. Your child will learn science through play.
The Science of Cooking
Discover how a pinch of curiosity can improve your cooking at the Exploratorium website. Explore recipes and activities, and Webcasts that will enhance your understanding of the science behind food and cooking. Find out how different candy is made and then make your own. Or try making a “naked egg.” Children and adults can work together to understand the science behind the food they eat.
Bio-Interactive
Adolescent children and their parents can share the wonders of scientific inquiry through virtual labs, such as the Bacterial ID lab and the Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab. Created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, these virtual labs are both enjoyable and educational for the entire family.
Science Buddies
Any time can be the right time to explore science. Visit Science Buddies for fun science activities that take favorite experiments and demonstrations and let you explore them at home. Materials are easy to find. Most activities take an hour or less, and the science learning is limitless.
More Home Experiments
Enjoy a variety of explorations – from floating soap bubbles to making raisins dance at SciFun. The activities found here are both entertaining and educational. Children and adults can learn about the nature of materials together.
Outdoor Bonanza
Have your child design a garden or park where he or she can attract native animals. Design the type of plants and trees that will be in the park or garden. Then show the native animals that will be attracted to this space because of the food sources you added to your design. Make a food web showing all of the organisms in your yard or park. Remember to draw or take photos of the space you have created.
What’s for Dinner?
Children and adults can discover the benefits of the types of food that they eat for dinner. Chart the food that you eat for dinner as a family for one week. Then find out where the type of food came from; for instance, if you have salmon for dinner one night, search the Internet and learn where salmon is produced and how it is shipped to New York City. Do the same for all of the food products that you eat for dinner and then create a chart of the cost of the food and the distance it travels. See if you can find any trends in the data that you have collected.
The Tail Wagging the Dog
Many people who have dogs know that dogs wag their tails because they are happy. Or do they? As a family, try to design an experiment that will either support this theory or not. Start by seeing what makes a dog happy and see if there is a connection with the happiness factor and the wagging of the dog’s tail. Make several observations before coming to a conclusion.
Back to Top
Social Studies
Family Photos
Show your child family photographs and talk about your own childhood and how it was similar to or different from your child’s experiences.
Explore Holidays and Traditions
Visit the library to read books about different holidays and ways to celebrate and discuss with your child.
Create a Family Tree
Encourage children to interview other family members to learn about different cultural and historical events that took place and were witnessed by the family members.
Learn your Neighborhood History
Take a tour and look for historic sites, monuments, and markers. Write down the names of the streets, look them up online, and build connections to today.
Create a Timeline
You and your child can create a timeline of your child’s personal life with major milestones along with historic events. At your local library, look up the front pages of newspapers and magazines of the day, month, and year when your child was born. Read the articles together and share how life was the same and different during that time period. What surprised your child about the life and world on his or her birthdate? What connections do the articles make to today?
Write a Letter
Write a letter or postcard (not an email) to a friend or family member
and then take a walk to your local post office to have it delivered. At the local library, research the history of the U.S. Mail. What role does it play in our lives? How is communication today changing the role of the post office? How do you think the way we communicate will change in the future?
Find a Route
Use a train or bus map to trace the route to a destination or family trip. What information does the map provide? How does it help us travel?
Oral History
Record a conversation with a grandparent or a family member about a particular historical event they were a part of. Find out why the event mattered to the family member. What role did he or she play? How does she or he want the event remembered? Transcribe the recording and research the event at local library, looking for points of connection and recording new information about the event.
Sharing Memories
Share the meaning of a souvenir, heirloom or emblem that is treasured by your family. Encourage your child to photograph the artifact and write a story about it.
Flags and Monuments
Explore the significance of buildings with flags and monuments in your neighborhood.
Walk five blocks each way from the entrance of your home and draw a map of your local neighborhood. Write down names and draw symbols for what you see.
Street Names and NYC History
Notice the names of the streets in your neighborhood and explore their meanings.
Take a free tour with a city park ranger or visit a national park. For moreinfoprmation about our parks visist:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/programs/rangers
http://www.nps.gov/npnh/index.htm
Historical Fiction
Choose a historical fiction novel and read it together each day and discuss key elements together. Your local librarian can provide recommendations based on grade level.
The Stock Market
Play The Stock Market Game.Show children the stock pages and have them choose one stock and track its ups and downs each day.
Travel Map
Using a map or globe, pick out places that you have traveled to or would like to visit. Mark them and create an annotated list that describes the highlights of each place. Involve your child in planning a family trip. Ask her to plot the family's itinerary on a map, and find out what type(s) of food, music and art the family will encounter along the way.
Where Did it Come From?
Reinforce concepts like global economic inter-dependence by helping your child find imported items in your home. They can be items of furnishing, food, and clothing. On a map mark or pin each location of origin. Connect the locations by drawing lines or using yarn.
Movie Night and Discussion
Watch a historical film together and discuss, then learn more about the event at your local library.
Music from the Past
Listen to music from the parent’s or grandparent’s time period with the parent or grandparent and discuss the songs or dances from that time period and place.
The Brooklyn Bridge
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge together and discuss the architecture and geography you observe. At your local library, research the history of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Staten Island Ferry
Take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry together; discuss the architecture and geography of New York Harbor.
Back to Top
Family Activities for Young Children
WNET Holiday Happenings in NYC
Kid Fun in Grown-Up Museums
Holiday Celebrations at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan through December 31
Rockefeller Center Tree through January 7
City Harvest Gingerbread Extravaganza at Le Parker Meridien hotel through January 6
New York City Transit Museum Holiday Train Show (Grand Central Terminal) through February 23
Super Sabado Super Holidays at El Museo del Barrio
Fractured Fables Puppet Theatre at Bank St. Bookstore through February 23
More Opportunities in NYC
New York City is home to more than 1,200 cultural venues, including more than 500 galleries, 375 nonprofit theater companies, 330 dance companies, 150 museums, 96 orchestras, and 40 Broadway theaters. Many offer free hours or suggested admission. During the winter break, make time to go to a museum or performance.
The Department of Cultural Affairs has an online guide that allows you to search for free and kid-friendly events. Find events on the NYCulture Calendar.
Read the Parent Guide: Tips for a Successful Visit to an Art Museum for a useful tool to make the most of your visit to a NYC museum
For students, see the Questions to Ask guides to make the most of your visit to a performance or museum by asking questions about what you expect to see and how the experience meets your expectations.
Read Up on Current Events
Have your child read a newspaper or go online to a news site each day and find an event that interests him. If your child cannot read on his own, read have a family member read it to him. Talk about it with your child and include other family members or friends. Then help your child create a news notebook, taping the article into the notebook, stating why he chose it, what he learned from it, and what everyone’s views were about it.
Use Sophisticated Vocabulary
Before dinner, choose an article from the newspaper that every member of your family will read. During dinner conversation discusses what each of you learned from the article and what you think about the ideas or facts. Ask a few questions as well. As you converse be sure to use the sophisticated vocabulary of the article. You might elevate this work by exploring multiple sections of the newspaper.
Be a Questioner
When your child reads something, especially something interesting or challenging, help her develop some questions about it. Have her use the five Ws: who, what, when, where, why—and how. You and your child can do this with things you read and also with things you watch on television or online.
Daily Reading
Choose one or two pleasure books that your child can read just for fun. Choose a book you are looking forward to reading as well. Find a warm, quite place for both of you to curl up and read for 45 minutes each day. ENJOY! If you can talk to each other about the books, that’s great, but the most important thing is to read.
Family Book Club
Choose a book that the whole family reads. Set a date for when you will all be finished reading the book and then come together to discuss!
Write On!
Write a poem, essay, or story and submit it to TeenInk.
Reader's Theatre
Your child can create a script from a book he or she is reading and practice it with family, friends, and neighbors. Or, use a script that someone else has created for practice building fluency, speaking, and listening skills. Here are some prepared scripts you and your child can can use for free:
ReadWriteThink
Teaching Heart
More Activities
Check out several books from your school library or classroom library to take home and read over the break.
Create a bookmark of your favorite book (a 6”x2” bookmark is the perfect size).
Read a book to a family member or a pet.
Visit your favorite author’s website and learn more about the author and his or her books.
Make a craft, create a delicious treat, or build something unique from a how-to book.
Write a new ending to your favorite book.
Write a letter to the author of a book that made an impression on you.
Read a book and then watch the movie. Compare and contrast.
Create a comic strip of your winter break.
Interview and photograph family members to make a book.
If traveling, find books (fiction and nonfiction) about that place in your school library to read before and during your trip.
Read books about your favorite places in New York City and visit them during winter recess.
Web Sites for Reading and Literacy Activities
Guys Read a web-based literacy program for boys.
Teen Ink an on-line magazine written by teens.
Reading is Fundamental Reading Planet to get literacy suport for ages 0-15.
Storyline Online features books read alound by some of your favoite stars.
International Children's Digital Library allows you to acces books from around the world.
Reading Rockets has parent resources, and access to materials, author interviews and more.
PBS Kids offers games, and vidoes to promote learning.
Scholastic has reading clubs, games and interactive learning fun.
ReadWriteThink has parent and afterschool resources for gredes K-12.
Math
Cooking
Sequencing, fractions, ratios, and measurement are just a few of the skills required in following even the most basic recipes, and you get to create delicious food with your child.
Shopping
As you shop, challenge your child to estimate or count the number of items you are purchasing or the cost of the items. Challenge your child to figure out how much money to expect back in change, helping him or her to practice mental calculations. Other opportunities during shopping include comparing two or more items and determining the relative values based on ratio of size to cost. Encourage your children to compare sizes, weights, capacity, and liquid measurement. Ask your child to find the largest container of milk and explain why it holds more than the other containers.
Numbers and Shapes
Numbers and shapes are all around us! Look for numbers and shapes in the environment (addresses, sports statistics, weather forecasts, license plates, prices, signs) and talk about what they mean and how they are used.
How Long Does it Take?
Explore time by asking your child to estimate and then time how long it takes to complete different activities. Which of your child’s estimates were close to the actual time? Which were farthest away? Can you name an activity that you think will take less than five minutes? Try it and see how close you were. Don’t forget to notice the time you start and end an activity so that you can see how long it lasted; this will help children understand the passage of time.
Puzzles and Origami
Puzzles help develop spatial skills. Being able to notice shapes and patterns in puzzles will allow your child to easily pick up geometry concepts taught in school. Origami (the Japanese art of paper folding) strengthens awareness of shape and symmetry, and also requires children to follow directions in sequential order.
Play Games
Board games like Monopoly, Clue, Chutes and Ladders, and so many others all provide math skills practice, computation, and logical reasoning. Card games like Twenty-One or Hearts will provide your child with basic fact computations.
Everyday Life and Math
Have conversations that relate to everyday life and incorporate math questions. When traveling in a car or a bus, children invariably ask, “When will we get there?” Use the question as an opportunity to do some math. Count the number of exits and/or stops before you get to your destination; talk about miles to your destination and how fast you are driving so that your child can answer the question. Pose “wonder” questions, such as: How tall is that tree? How many seats are in this room? How many people are in front of us on this line? Figure out the answers to these questions together. Ask your child to tell you what he or she thought about when answering the questions.
Science
New York Hall of Science
In the newly created Design Labs at the New York Hall of Science, parents and children can engage in activities, experiments, and challenges that provide a deeper understanding of engineering and the design process. Design Labs is a space for tinkering and creative problem-solving for families. Using simple tools and everyday materials, the open-ended problems invite kids to wrestle with STEM topics and come up with their own creative solutions.
Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Gardens
Children can enjoy the Holiday Train Show as they explore the engineering and design that was used to create over 150 New York City miniature landscapes. Nuts, bark, leaves, and other plant parts can be identified as the children explore the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty, and many more.
Kinetic City – A Touch of Class
Science is all around you at Kinetic City. Your backyard, kitchen, and other areas around the home provide natural "laboratories" for children. Children are curious; exploring with science can be lots of fun while also teaching them a great deal about themselves and their world. In the interactive science story game, children can learn many interesting facts about different plants and animals. Each question asks the child to select the plants or animals that have certain characteristics. Your child will learn science through play.
The Science of Cooking
Discover how a pinch of curiosity can improve your cooking at the Exploratorium website. Explore recipes and activities, and Webcasts that will enhance your understanding of the science behind food and cooking. Find out how different candy is made and then make your own. Or try making a “naked egg.” Children and adults can work together to understand the science behind the food they eat.
Bio-Interactive
Adolescent children and their parents can share the wonders of scientific inquiry through virtual labs, such as the Bacterial ID lab and the Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab. Created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, these virtual labs are both enjoyable and educational for the entire family.
Science Buddies
Any time can be the right time to explore science. Visit Science Buddies for fun science activities that take favorite experiments and demonstrations and let you explore them at home. Materials are easy to find. Most activities take an hour or less, and the science learning is limitless.
More Home Experiments
Enjoy a variety of explorations – from floating soap bubbles to making raisins dance at SciFun. The activities found here are both entertaining and educational. Children and adults can learn about the nature of materials together.
Outdoor Bonanza
Have your child design a garden or park where he or she can attract native animals. Design the type of plants and trees that will be in the park or garden. Then show the native animals that will be attracted to this space because of the food sources you added to your design. Make a food web showing all of the organisms in your yard or park. Remember to draw or take photos of the space you have created.
What’s for Dinner?
Children and adults can discover the benefits of the types of food that they eat for dinner. Chart the food that you eat for dinner as a family for one week. Then find out where the type of food came from; for instance, if you have salmon for dinner one night, search the Internet and learn where salmon is produced and how it is shipped to New York City. Do the same for all of the food products that you eat for dinner and then create a chart of the cost of the food and the distance it travels. See if you can find any trends in the data that you have collected.
The Tail Wagging the Dog
Many people who have dogs know that dogs wag their tails because they are happy. Or do they? As a family, try to design an experiment that will either support this theory or not. Start by seeing what makes a dog happy and see if there is a connection with the happiness factor and the wagging of the dog’s tail. Make several observations before coming to a conclusion.
Back to Top
Social Studies
Family Photos
Show your child family photographs and talk about your own childhood and how it was similar to or different from your child’s experiences.
Explore Holidays and Traditions
Visit the library to read books about different holidays and ways to celebrate and discuss with your child.
Create a Family Tree
Encourage children to interview other family members to learn about different cultural and historical events that took place and were witnessed by the family members.
Learn your Neighborhood History
Take a tour and look for historic sites, monuments, and markers. Write down the names of the streets, look them up online, and build connections to today.
Create a Timeline
You and your child can create a timeline of your child’s personal life with major milestones along with historic events. At your local library, look up the front pages of newspapers and magazines of the day, month, and year when your child was born. Read the articles together and share how life was the same and different during that time period. What surprised your child about the life and world on his or her birthdate? What connections do the articles make to today?
Write a Letter
Write a letter or postcard (not an email) to a friend or family member
and then take a walk to your local post office to have it delivered. At the local library, research the history of the U.S. Mail. What role does it play in our lives? How is communication today changing the role of the post office? How do you think the way we communicate will change in the future?
Find a Route
Use a train or bus map to trace the route to a destination or family trip. What information does the map provide? How does it help us travel?
Oral History
Record a conversation with a grandparent or a family member about a particular historical event they were a part of. Find out why the event mattered to the family member. What role did he or she play? How does she or he want the event remembered? Transcribe the recording and research the event at local library, looking for points of connection and recording new information about the event.
Sharing Memories
Share the meaning of a souvenir, heirloom or emblem that is treasured by your family. Encourage your child to photograph the artifact and write a story about it.
Flags and Monuments
Explore the significance of buildings with flags and monuments in your neighborhood.
Walk five blocks each way from the entrance of your home and draw a map of your local neighborhood. Write down names and draw symbols for what you see.
Street Names and NYC History
Notice the names of the streets in your neighborhood and explore their meanings.
Take a free tour with a city park ranger or visit a national park. For moreinfoprmation about our parks visist:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/programs/rangers
http://www.nps.gov/npnh/index.htm
Historical Fiction
Choose a historical fiction novel and read it together each day and discuss key elements together. Your local librarian can provide recommendations based on grade level.
The Stock Market
Play The Stock Market Game.Show children the stock pages and have them choose one stock and track its ups and downs each day.
Travel Map
Using a map or globe, pick out places that you have traveled to or would like to visit. Mark them and create an annotated list that describes the highlights of each place. Involve your child in planning a family trip. Ask her to plot the family's itinerary on a map, and find out what type(s) of food, music and art the family will encounter along the way.
Where Did it Come From?
Reinforce concepts like global economic inter-dependence by helping your child find imported items in your home. They can be items of furnishing, food, and clothing. On a map mark or pin each location of origin. Connect the locations by drawing lines or using yarn.
Movie Night and Discussion
Watch a historical film together and discuss, then learn more about the event at your local library.
Music from the Past
Listen to music from the parent’s or grandparent’s time period with the parent or grandparent and discuss the songs or dances from that time period and place.
The Brooklyn Bridge
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge together and discuss the architecture and geography you observe. At your local library, research the history of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Staten Island Ferry
Take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry together; discuss the architecture and geography of New York Harbor.
Back to Top
Family Activities for Young Children
WNET Holiday Happenings in NYC
Kid Fun in Grown-Up Museums
Holiday Celebrations at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan through December 31
Rockefeller Center Tree through January 7
City Harvest Gingerbread Extravaganza at Le Parker Meridien hotel through January 6
New York City Transit Museum Holiday Train Show (Grand Central Terminal) through February 23
Super Sabado Super Holidays at El Museo del Barrio
Fractured Fables Puppet Theatre at Bank St. Bookstore through February 23
More Opportunities in NYC
New York City is home to more than 1,200 cultural venues, including more than 500 galleries, 375 nonprofit theater companies, 330 dance companies, 150 museums, 96 orchestras, and 40 Broadway theaters. Many offer free hours or suggested admission. During the winter break, make time to go to a museum or performance.
The Department of Cultural Affairs has an online guide that allows you to search for free and kid-friendly events. Find events on the NYCulture Calendar.
Read the Parent Guide: Tips for a Successful Visit to an Art Museum for a useful tool to make the most of your visit to a NYC museum
For students, see the Questions to Ask guides to make the most of your visit to a performance or museum by asking questions about what you expect to see and how the experience meets your expectations.
http://schools.nyc.gov/ParentsFamilies/Welcome/Winter%20Break%20Activities%20for%20Families
Source: NYC DOE