School holidays can be a great time for both children and their parents to take time to recharge and relax. Sometimes children’s development seems to consolidate/progress better at holiday time.
John Medina’s just updated 2014 edition of “Brain Rules” notes the crucial importance of sleep to consolidate memories. Catching up on any sleep debt is important for everyone! Also he notes that sensory integration is also a key element in learning and that multisensory input enhances memory formation and retrieval – the smells, sights, touch, and movement activities in nature eg the beach, the park or the bush are great multisensory experiences!
As Jo Jackson King reflects in her 2010 book “Raising the best possible child”, building attention, concentration and perceptual skills – all part of developing self-regulation – can be best fostered by “low tech” play such as with blocks, and in the sand pit. Your child can be making really important progress in building their capacity to concentrate though a long involved imaginative game (and their parents get some peaceful time too!)
These are general concepts – for your child’s specific needs, and for specific activities, consult your occupational therapist