With the holiday season upon us, it’s the perfect time for families to bond, relax, and celebrate. But why not make the holidays a chance for some friendly family competition too? Setting up a holiday challenge can be a fun, engaging way to keep minds active while enjoying quality time together.
Whether it’s learning a new word each day, completing a tricky puzzle, or creating a craft masterpiece, these daily challenges encourage everyone in the family to learn something new—and have a great time doing it!
Why Set Up a Holiday Challenge?
Challenges can spark motivation, creativity, and a love for learning, helping students stay engaged even outside of school. By incorporating small, achievable goals each day, children and adults alike can discover the joy of learning new things in a relaxed setting. Plus, adding a bit of friendly competition can keep everyone excited and invested.
Challenge Ideas to Get Started
1. Word of the Day
- Choose a new word each day for the family to learn and use in a sentence. Keep a score of who uses the word the most throughout the day—perhaps the winner gets to choose the next family activity! Building vocabulary in this way keeps language skills sharp and boosts confidence in communication.
2. Daily Puzzle or Brain Teaser
- Start each day with a riddle, logic puzzle, or Sudoku challenge. Puzzles help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills while offering a fun way to start the day. You could even keep a puzzle leaderboard for those who solve them the fastest!
3. Create-a-Craft Challenge
- Gather some craft supplies—paper, markers, glue, and anything you have around the house—and set a theme for the day’s project. From creating holiday cards to designing simple decorations, crafts inspire creativity and provide a break from screen time. Each day, select the most imaginative craft as a ‘daily winner.’
4. Math Minutes Challenge
- Set up quick math exercises, suitable for different ages, and encourage a timed challenge. It could be a 10-minute mental maths drill or a short set of fun maths problems. This challenge reinforces numeracy skills and shows that maths can be enjoyable and rewarding.
5. Cooking and Measuring
- Turn cooking into a fun learning activity by asking children to help measure ingredients, follow recipes, and explore food science. Cooking fosters patience, attention to detail, and an understanding of measurements. You could challenge everyone to find a new recipe, or let kids invent their own snack creations.
6. Exercise Challenge
- Staying active is vital, especially during the holidays. Set simple fitness goals for the family, like 10 push-ups or a 20-minute walk each day. Make it fun by turning it into a competition where everyone logs their activities to see who can complete the most by the end of the holidays.
How to Make It Fun
To keep everyone motivated, consider small rewards, like letting the daily challenge winner choose a family movie or dinner menu. Display a “Holiday Challenge Leaderboard” where family members can track their progress. By the end of the holiday, celebrate everyone’s participation with a small ‘Holiday Challenge Champion’ prize for the top scorer or simply enjoy a family night to wrap up all the fun learning.
Learning Together, Growing Together
Setting up a holiday challenge can create cherished family memories while reinforcing valuable skills. At Hubert Ogunde Memorial School, we believe that learning doesn’t have to stop during the holidays. Through simple, fun activities, students can continue developing skills while creating joyful experiences with family. So why not take on a challenge together this holiday season? You may be surprised at how much fun learning can be!