Prepping for the Gifted & Talented Test During the Holidays

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - December 24th, 2014

It’s welcome news to any parent preparing for a Gifted & Talented test that it’s officially holiday season! The holidays allow us to spend time with family and friends and remember what’s really important in our hectic lives. For parents, the holidays also give us a break from the seemingly endless schoolwork and extracurricular activities that take up our days.

But the holidays can also introduce new stress into the gifted & talented test process. That’s because, during this down time, our kids aren’t getting the same level of test prep and educational rigor that they get during the rest of the school year. Add to that the fact that we’re spending time tending to guests and wrapping presents, and it doesn’t take much for us to feel like we have lots to do and not enough time to do it.

A few days ago, we mentioned that it’s easy to get your child ready for the gifted & talented test even as you prepare your home for the holidays.

Here are just a few ways to make learning fun during the holiday season:

• Accept that you’re short on time. If you try to cram in everything that your child normally does, you’re bound to wind up frustrated. The sooner you realize and make peace with the fact that you’re pressed for time, the less needless anxiety you’ll have and the more focused you’ll be on actually using your time wisely.
• Work educational activities into your holiday activities. There are countless ways to make the holidays educational. When baking cookies, have your child measure out the ingredients and estimate what time the cookies should come out of the oven. When wrapping presents, have your child count the number of presents that everyone will get and make sure the gifts are positioned in an organized fashion. There are so many ways to build the skills your child needs for the gifted & talented test and for school while giving them an opportunity to enjoy the holiday.
• Enjoy yourself. The holidays only come once a year, so make sure your child has a chance to enjoy it. Don’t stress your child out or build up anxiety about the test. If they have a chance to relax they’ll be that much more ready to hit the ground running when school starts up again.

Have a great holiday with your family and friends!