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Dear Mandel JDS Families,
This week’s Torah portion, Miketz, teaches the power of planning ahead and staying calm during uncertainty. Joseph helped Egypt prepare for famine by organizing food and thinking step by step. Winter break is a perfect time to gently nurture these same skills at home: planning, breaking tasks into chunks, and adjusting when things change.
As we head into winter break, the most important message is this: prioritize rest, joy, and time with family. This time is meant to be a pause for both children and adults. However, many parents ask me what we can do to support our child’s growth while being out of school. My view is that academic practice should support your family time, not take away from it. There are many fun, low-stress ways to keep skills fresh while enjoying the season together.
Here is a list of real-life activities to do with your children to help their school skills stay fresh without stress or pressure.
Everyday Math Activities
- Cooking & Baking: Measure ingredients, look at the fractions. Double recipes and estimate amounts.
- Grocery Shopping: Work within a small budget, compare prices.
- Setting the Table: Count items for the number of guests, adjust for additional friends.
- Travel & Daily Routines: Discuss distances with travel, estimate travel times, track how long tasks take, or plan schedules. Use an analogue clock!
- Games: Play Yahtzee, Rummikub, Uno, Monopoly, or any dice/card games with counting and strategy.
- Money Practice: Sort coins and track savings. Give them an opportunity to earn more allowance if they do some tasks that are outside of their usual chores. Do games that require them to make change.
Everyday Reading and Writing Activities
- Read Aloud Together: Take turns or listen while someone reads.
- Audiobooks: Follow along with print versions for extra engagement.
- Daily Print: Read signs, labels, menus, and instructions.
- Shopping Lists & Notes: Let kids read aloud items or instructions.
- Word Games: Play Scrabble, Boggle, and Bananagrams.
- Journaling: Encourage brief daily reflections on activities or feelings.
- Letters & Cards: Write to family or friends.
Opportunities for Hebrew & Judaics Learning
- Torah & Holiday Stories: Read or retell Torah stories or holiday tales; ask questions like “What did this person learn?” or “What would you do?”
- Family Conversations: Discuss values from Torah stories—kindness, patience, honesty—and notice examples in everyday life.
- Prayer Practice: Review key Channukah or Shabbat prayers together; say them aloud in short, joyful sessions.
- Hebrew Reading: Encourage children to read short passages, labels, or books in Hebrew. Even a few words a day help fluency.
Everyday Social-Emotional Skill Building
The most important lessons children learn over break aren’t just academic—they are social-emotional. Model the following skills:
- Planning and adjusting: Make a plan for your day with lists and timelines, and then adjust it as needed with flexibility and open-mindedness.
- Time management: Talk with students about their long-term school projects and extracurriculars, and talk about prioritization.
- Problem-solving: When there are conflicts or problems, use the opportunity to be present with your kids and connect with them to address problem-solving with their siblings and other family members.
- Compromise, turn-taking, and fair play during games and activities: When doing activities mentioned above, make an effort to show compromise and fair play, alongside competition.
I want to acknowledge that winter break time can also be challenging in that, without the routine of school, many of our children struggle, and we are reminded of losses and hardships when we are more focused at home. Laughter, play, connection, and rest are what children remember. Love, kindness, and patience, even during challenges. These activities might provide more opportunities for meaningful connection in a low-tech and low-stakes way. When you model calm, caring, flexible thinking, your child absorbs executive functioning and life skills naturally, just like Joseph planning for Egypt in Miketz. A few minutes a day of light, playful practice woven into daily life is enough to keep skills fresh, without taking away from family joy.
Wishing you a joyful and restful winter break,
Gussie Singer, MA, IS
Director of Intervention Services
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