Ideas for eliminating the January blues and banishing ‘Blue Monday’

Themed Film Nights

We always watch a lot of Christmas films in December, but after Boxing Day that’s it! To fill the void in January, pick a theme for each weekend, such as 1980s classics (I’m really enjoying re-visiting these with my kids) or comedies, and watch a series of films together. Don’t forget the popcorn and cozy blankets!

Plan a Future Trip

Research and plan a big day out, weekend away or even a family holiday. It’s something to look forward to and the anticipation and excitement of planning gives everyone a boost. We had a wonderful time plotting our route and stop offs for a European road trip. Not quite as far afield, but we’re excited about going on the City of London Mystery Adventure, which I got as a family present at Christmas. My mother-in-law coincidentally got me a voucher for another Mystery Guide so we’re thinking that we may head to Oxford for our next adventure and make a weekend of it.

January bakeoff

Get the cookbooks out and try out new recipes as a family. Bake some biscuits, make homemade pizzas or sausage rolls, be adventurous with an unfamiliar country’s cuisine or create a delicious dessert. Cooking together is a great activity plus you get to enjoy the results. I cherished our bake-alongs on Zoom with friends during lockdown.

Arts and Crafts

Gather some art supplies and bits and pieces from around the house – think spare buttons, bits of wrapping paper, ribbon, old cards – and get creative. You can paint, make crafts or even create a family scrapbook with photos and memories.

Games, Cards and Puzzles

Break out the games and cards and have a family games night. It’s something we do regularly. We have lots of favourite board games and play a variety of card games – including poker – but also like more active games.

The surprise hit of 2023/2024 is Chicken vs Hotdog. It’s a silly game, but so much fun, and kids and adults love it equally; it went down a storm at the New Year’s Eve party!

We’re also fans of jigsaws. It’s a great collaborative experience and actually very relaxing.

Home Spa Day

Relax together with a home spa day. Chill out, put your feet up, put on face masks and have some calming music in the background. You could add in some yoga, give massages and have an all round pamper. It’s also a good opportunity to pay attention to those winter chapped hands and lips.

Walks in January

There’s nothing nicer when it’s cold and crisp (and sunny if you’re lucky) than to rug up and head out for a nature walk. Exploring the winter landscape can be really refreshing. There’s still plenty to see even if it seems a barren time of year on the surface; if there’s snow so much the better. Our National Trust membership comes into its own.

Learn Something New in January Hobby Month

My eldest daughter started learning a bit of Italian with Duolingo last year. I want to get the rest of the family doing this too. Knitting is seeing a huge resurgence, and a lot of this could be down to its dopamine-releasing effect. Similarly crochet has become very popular. You could keep it even simpler and learn a new card game together.

Indoor Gardening

Start a windowsill garden with herbs or small vegetables. We did well with our Eden Greens Microgreen Grow Kit. It’s a great way to bring some green inside and maybe sprout an interest in gardening. You could get even more creative and make a miniature terrarium.

Become a Twitcher

The birds really need a helping hand at this time of year. Leaving food out will attract lots of feathered friends, which are fascinating to watch. The Big Garden Birdwatch, which is taking place the 26th to the 28th of January, is a great activity to take part in. As well as helping collect vital data about the UK’s bird population, it’s the perfect opportunity to take an hour out and get closer to nature.

Would love to hear your ideas; please share below!

The post 10 Ways to Beat the January Blues appeared first on The Parent Social.

Let’s take a look at some tools and tips that can transform a ho-hum study session into a super productive one.

Tech that Enhances Learning

In today’s digital age, the right technology can enhance learning incredibly. A reliable laptop or desktop computer is essential, but don’t stop there. Consider software that blocks distracting websites during study times. Tablets can also be a great tool, especially for reading digital textbooks or using educational apps.

High-Quality Revision Materials

Nothing replaces good study materials. Expert-written GCSE revision notes from resources like Save My Exams can offer concise summaries and highlight essential information, making revision more focused and effective. They provide a structured way to review, which is especially helpful when exam time is on the horizon.

Setting Up the Perfect Space

The physical space where your child studies matters. It should be comfortable enough to spend hours in without becoming a distraction. A good desk and supportive chair are must-haves. Ensure the area is well-lit to avoid eye strain, preferably with natural light. If that’s not possible, a good-quality desk lamp will do the trick.

Organisation Tools for Home Study

Keeping track of assignments, revision sessions and exams can become overwhelming. Tools like planners, calendars or digital apps can help your child stay organised. Visual aids like wall planners or colour-coded timetables can also be incredibly helpful in visualising their week at a glance.

Sound Control

Noise can be a huge distraction. If your home isn’t naturally quiet, consider noise-cancelling headphones to block out background noise. Alternatively, some students find that playing certain types of music or ambient sounds can help them concentrate better.

Home Study Break Time Essentials

Taking regular breaks is crucial for maintaining concentration over longer periods. Equip the study space with a few comforts for break times – perhaps a comfy chair or bean bag, and a small stash of healthy snacks and water to keep hydration and energy levels up.

Motivational Touches

A little motivation goes a long way. Having inspirational quotes, a board with goals or even progress rewards visible in the study space can help keep spirits up and the drive alive, especially during tougher study sessions.

Adequate Backup Supplies

There’s nothing more frustrating than starting to study or tackle a project and finding out you’re out of printer ink, don’t have enough paper or your calculator is missing in action. Keeping a small stock of essential supplies on hand can prevent these minor crises.

A Supportive Family Environment

Lastly, the support from the family environment is crucial. Make sure everyone in the household respects study time, keeping noise and interruptions to a minimum. Encouraging words and a genuine interest in what your child is learning can also boost their motivation.

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With these tools and adjustments, you can help create an optimised study environment at home that promotes learning and productivity. It’s all about creating a space that supports focus and minimises stress, enabling your child to achieve their best academic performance.

The post Optimising Home Study Sessions – Tools That Make a Difference appeared first on The Parent Social.

In this article, Chatty Garrate explains why coding is one of the best hobbies your child can have, and shares what you can do to help them learn how to code today. 

Why Teach Children How to Code?

When you teach your child how to code, you don’t simply set them up for a future as a computer programmer. Here’s why you should encourage your child to learn how to code:

1. Coding boosts children’s problem-solving abilities

As parents, we want our children to be able to solve real-world problems using the best possible method. That way, they can expertly tackle complex situations confidently. 

In the field of programming, coders constantly write and rewrite thousands of lines of code to get the program to work. When kids take on a coding challenge, they need to figure out the right strategy to use — if that strategy fails, they need to try again until they get it right. This, in turn, challenges their logic and boosts their problem-solving abilities.

2. Coding enhances children’s computational skills

Kids with learning disabilities are often intimidated by maths because they can struggle to grasp abstract concepts. However, when they write code, they can visualize how certain computations work. The numbers will no longer look like mere symbols but will start to make sense. This is because they see the real-world applications of certain computational concepts.

Children who know how to code will be able to understand maths better, and in turn, this will boost their confidence and academic performance.

3. Coding teaches children how to persevere 

For professional coders, it’s perfectly fine to fail. That’s precisely why coders need to have perseverance — when the program doesn’t work, they need to keep going, even if it’ll take them weeks to figure out what went wrong. It can be frustrating, but they will not give up even though they’re met with failure multiple times. 

Debugging isn’t fun, but it shows your kid that they can try again if they fail. It teaches them that they can bounce back from their mistakes and that bugs are just temporary setbacks they can get through. 

4. Coding encourages children to think

By teaching kids to code, you can encourage them to think — really think. 

Computer programmers don’t write code for the sake of getting a program to work. They need to figure out how to write clean code — this is code that’s easy to read and easy to maintain. To do that, they need to be able to use logic to break a problem down. 

Children who learn how to code will need to find the ideal solution to the problems they will encounter. If a solution works but it’s not the best solution, they need to come up with new code. 

Help! I Don’t Know How to Code

Teaching a child how to code when you don’t know anything about coding can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources that offer free source code. These were designed to be understood by school children, so don’t worry — you will be able to wrap your head around basic concepts. 

If possible, gain a general understanding of programming languages. You don’t need to become a real programmer, but it would help to understand the basics. This will help you guide your child through the more complicated parts of programming. Here are a couple of free resources to check out:

• Scratch
• Code.org
• Khan Academy
• Codeacademy
• W3Schools

Tips on Teaching Children to Code

Now that you know why your kids should learn to code, let’s take a look at how they can learn to code. 

1. Use Scratch for first-time coders

You don’t need to be a programmer to teach your child how to code. You can even write code without actually writing it! With MIT’s Scratch, children can create programs, games, and more through its drag-and-drop interface. The program then writes the corresponding source code in real-time and puts it side-by-side with what your child created.  In this way, you and your child can picture what real-world programs would look like if they were written in code. 

2. Let your kids figure it out on their own

When your kid does their homework, you don’t tell them how to do it — you allow them to do it on their own. The same goes for coding. It can be tempting to grab the keyboard, but you should give your child the chance to break down the problem by themselves. You can guide them through the concepts, but they should be able to solve the problems, even if that means they’ll have to fail at times.

3. Don’t force your kid to learn a specific language

When teaching your child to code, allow them to choose the coding language that they want to learn. For instance, if your child wants to build a game, they might be good at JavaScript. On the other hand, if they want to create animations, art, and music, start with the programming language Scratch. 

4. Don’t tell your kids how code works — show it to them

Your children can’t learn to code if they can’t see it in action. If you’re telling them about the basics of the “if-then” function, don’t describe it — instead, show them a sample of the source code (W3Schools has plenty of these). 

Again, use Scratch if coding isn’t your forte. As kids create programs using its drag-and-drop interface, Scratch shows you what its source code would look like. Go through the code line-by-line and encourage your child to tweak it to see how it will change the program. 

5. Consider gamification 

Professional programming isn’t fun, so if you want your child to get into coding, choose an engaging way to do it such as gamification. Games reward your children whenever they complete a code, that way, they won’t feel like they’re doing additional homework. It’ll feel more like after-school activities that they look forward to every day. 

Wrapping Up

Coding is one of the best hobbies your child can adopt. It teaches them how to problem-solve, how to persevere, and even boosts their confidence and academic performance. Plus, who knows? Maybe your child is a computer programming prodigy who’s waiting for the perfect opportunity to show off their skills!

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