Holiday Learning Hacks for Busy Families
Elementary School Age
Learning through play.
It’s all about learning through play.
1. Become the Holiday Chef
Turn cooking into an adventure! Let your child in on every step! They can:
Read recipe steps in silly voices
Handle the measuring cups
Write the grocery list
Doubling or halving recipes sneaks in math practice, while reading ingredient lists gives them a natural reason to build fluency.
2. Create a “Holiday Store”
Grab some canned goods, toys, or even wrapped gifts and let your child set up a pretend store. They can write price tags, create signs, and “ring up” purchases. Without realizing it, they’re practicing reading, writing, adding, subtracting, and money sense.
3. Have a Treasure Hunt!
Write a series of simple clues or riddles leading to a hidden treat. Kids must read carefully, solve problems, and follow directions. For extra fun (and extra learning), let them design the next treasure hunt for you.
4. Board Game Boosts
Classic games like Uno, Connect 4, Guess Who, or Blokus build logic, reasoning, and pattern recognition. Rotate game choices throughout the break to strengthen a variety of thinking skills.
5. Special “Holiday Helpers”
Turn small tasks into BIG learning opportunities. Let kids sort ornaments by size or color, arrange decorations into patterns, or write gift labels. These mini-missions boost math, organization, and writing without feeling too much like school.
Middle School Age
Teens at Christmas
(Sneaky Learning for Big Kids 🤫 )
1. Create-a-Holiday Video
Challenge your tween or teen to script, film, and edit a short video about a family tradition. They’ll naturally practice writing, sequencing, tech skills, and creativity—and they’ll love sharing the final product.
2. Holiday Budget Challenge
Give them a small budget for selecting a gift or planning part of a meal. They can compare prices, research options, and create a mini spending plan.
3. Host a Family Debate
Our pre-teens and teens are always honing those argument skills! Choose fun topics like:
Which cookie is superior?
Should hot chocolate require marshmallows?
When is the right time for the Christmas tree to go up?
Give your kids some time to prepare a couple of arguments and then schedule a time to present them. It’s lighthearted but builds speaking skills, confidence, and reasoning. Bonus points for slides!
4. Build a DIY Escape Room
Love escape rooms or solving puzzles? Use riddles, simple math problems, or hidden clues to create an escape-room-style challenge at home or let your child design one for the family to solve! Critical thinking and problem-solving become part of the fun, and everyone can be involved.
5. The Real-World Problem Solver
Give your middle schooler a real question to investigate, like:
Which grocery store has the best prices for our holiday menu?
Why do our holiday lights flicker sometimes?
How many strands of lights are needed to cover the perimeter of our roof?
Give them time to conduct quick research and report back—building digital literacy, reasoning, and confidence.
Final Thoughts 💭
Holiday learning doesn’t have to feel like homework. When kids are invited to explore, help, and play, they keep their minds sharp and return to school ready to jump right back in. Even small, simple activities can make a big difference—and they fit right into the joy and magic of the season.
