Its’ spring break! We know you are excited to sit back, relax, and soak up the sun, but sitting back and unwinding the entire time can lead to some serious setbacks in school. You don’t want to waste all those hours of hard work this year for a couple hours of TV time. So shut off that TV, go outside and keep enhancing your skills in the most fun way possible!
Books Please!
The easiest way to stay sharp is to read a book. Read something interesting, learn something, and let your imagination run wild. It’s amazing that there are so many great books out there and most of them are free! Just head over to your public library, library cards are free too.
Write out your masterpiece
Don’t like to read? You should definitely try to get into it considering developing reading skills as a child is important for the rest of your life, but if this isn’t your cup of tea why not try writing instead? Don’t worry about writer’s block, try starting out with how you’re feeling, what’s going on in your life, or what your plans are for today. It helps you get into deep thought, allows you to express yourself and relieve some stress at the same time. Think of a fun subject and let the words unfold.
Kickball anyone?
What could be more fun than playing outside? Exercise is a great way to, well, exercise your brain. It keeps you on your toes, and helps your reflexes if you’re playing sports. You have to think quickly about your next move and this helps develop good decision skills.
Games, games and more games
More of an indoor type of person? Instead of lying around and staring at the computer, how about a family game night? It helps you bond together and also helps work on your brain. Playing simple board games or cards helps stimulation and allows practice and enhancement of faster processing for your brain. Plus, if you play games like trivia or Apples to Apples you can learn a lot of new things! Trivia helps you get up to date on the world around us and Apples to Apples mainly helps build vocabulary.
Blow your mind with experiments
Another great and fun way to keep that brainpower over spring break is to participate in hands on activities. Kids LOVE experiments at home, and you will too.
Try this experiment with everyday household items:
Take milk and pour it onto a plate. Next, add a couple drops of different food coloring. Now, take a q-tip with a drop of dish soap on it and hold it down on top of the food coloring in the plate. What happens? You’ll have to find out, but I can guarantee it will absolutely blow everyone’s mind.
Work hard, sleep hard
Lastly, and probably the most important step to staying bright is sleep. If you are tired, none of these activities will do much. Your mind will be focusing on other things and those yawns might get in the way of learning.
To reap all the benefits and stay absolutely healthy, children should sleep around 9-11 hours per night. Make sure to sleep at a decent time each night so your circadian rhythm won’t be inconsistent. This way, waking up for school again will be a breeze. It’s okay to catch up on sleep the first few days because your body may need it, but don’t make this a pattern. Your body should be on a set schedule for sleep. This is a very healthy habit to stick with for the rest of your life and it is extremely beneficial in the future.
So get up, get out, and put your body to use for a healthy, happy, and sharp brain, for life!
