How to spend family night without technology

Family nights are a great way for parents and children to bond and enjoy one another’s company. You grab a cozy blanket, play a favorite movie, share a bowl of popcorn, and debate whether you’re Elsa or Anna. However, want an even greater experience connecting with your loved ones? Put away the TV or any other digital screen and bring out your family’s creativity! There are many fun and educational activities you can do with your child for a night to remember—or several nights, as some of these activities are projects that may take longer. These are awesome ways to not only connect but also practice lifelong learning with your child. Let’s see what you can do together this weekend! Original Game Night Instead of watching TV, you could host a game night at home with the traditional charade, Pictionary, trivia, and Monopoly. There are many benefits to playing games, such as developing critical thinking and social skills and supporting a healthy competitive spirit. For a creative learning experience and an added challenge, make a whole new game together! Decide on the rules, create a point system, craft a colourful board and pieces, and so on. Perfecting this game could make up a whole month’s worth of family nights. You can adjust the rules and game as necessary while trying it out. This seems like an awesome way to bond without technology, just you, your family, and your imaginations!   Themed Restaurant Night Opt for a family dinner, but put a fun, maybe cultural, twist by having a themed restaurant night! One activity to do together is cooking, which is also an important life skill. First, decide on a theme and menu for the night. Should the family enjoy Italian? Indian? Go fusion or classic American? After deciding what to put on the menu, give everybody a task so they feel like they’re contributing, whether it’s measuring ingredients or washing the dishes.   Setting up the ambiance will be very important, too. Go all out with the decorations and style! Play some retro 50s music for a classic American diner theme. Pull out a red-and-white checkered tablecloth for Italian night. Plate the meal for aesthetic perfection. Light some candles. Dress up to enjoy the fancy meal. Make it feel like you’re dining abroad but from the comfort of your own home. Poetry/Performance Night Reach out to your muses and dive deep with poetry night (black turtlenecks and berets optional). Have everyone write a poem to perform on family night! If you want, jazz up the space with candles and mood lighting. Definitely make it mandatory to replace applause with snaps. This is awesome for exploring each individual’s style of poetry, self-expression, writing skills, and artistic eye. You can also decide on one theme (like nature) or a style (like haikus). Alternatively, consider a performance night! Everyone can get involved. You could write a play or pick the soundtrack for a musical. Your partner could create some DIY costumes and set design. Your child can choose what they’d like to do, as well, whether it’s on stage or behind the scene. Invite extended family over (or invite them through Zoom) to watch the final result of all your hard work! Scavenger Hunt Get active! Plan a scavenger hunt for family night. It’s fun to run around and explore everything both inside and outside of the house in the hunt for items. You can place a time limit and even make this a themed scavenger hunt, like one related to your favorite books, class subjects like math, or a season.   For example, you can write Dr. Seuss-like rhymes that your child needs to use their reading skills to figure out. You can drop scientific hints, like “8 oz H20” for a cup of water. You can ask your child to collect specific autumn-themed nature objects, like a yellow maple leaf and a pine cone, then create an art collage afterwards. Encourage your child to work both mentally and physically for this hunt! Reading Event Gather around for a family reading! Books were a great source of entertainment that also fed the mind, so next time, don’t save the storytelling for bedtime. Let the whole family in on it. Everyone can pick the book and either take turns reading or nominate one reader for the night. Each person could even take on a character, almost similar to performance night. A perfectly cozy alternative to movie night, reading will spark your child’s imagination and open their minds to many different worlds and genres. If your child is a reluctant reader, this is an especially effective way to help them grow more interested in books and improve reading techniques. As a bonus, follow up with a discussion! — At JEI Learning Centre, we know there are many benefits to technology, but sometimes, it’s nice to put it away for more personal interactions. These innovative ways to spend time together will make you forget all about your TV, computers, and phones for the night, especially during a period of remote learning and working. Truly unwind by giving your eyes a rest and creating something together in a collaborative spirit. Craft unique memories with your loved ones through imaginative, educational activities. And make sure to let us know how everything goes! Does your child really enjoy the special family nights? Then continue your child’s lifelong learning experiences by enrolling them today in our programmes. We are scientifically proven to be more effective than tutoring because, rather than tackling immediate problems temporarily, we build a strong foundation for educational excellence for life. We also know the importance of creative, hands-on learning!   Find a personalized learning centre near you to learn more about how we can help or call us at (09 444 6284) JEI-Math today.

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JEI Learning Centre Named Among Top Low-Cost Franchise Concepts of 2020

We are proud once again to be named among the Top 100 Franchises for Less Than $100,000 in 2020 by the industry-leading publication, Entrepreneur. Based on the scores received in Entrepreneur's 2020 Franchise 500 ranking, this is the seventh consecutive year we have been chosen from thousands of concepts in the overall franchising universe. At JEI, we provide students individualized, supplemental education that specializes in self-learning through skill mastery in small steps. Help the kids of your community get back on track with our language arts, math, and critical thinking programmes geared toward Kindergarten through Year 10 students. If you are interested in helping the kids of your community achieve “A Better Life Through Better Education” and learning more about becoming a JEI Franchisee, email jeinz@jei.com. *This is not an offer to sell or solicit an offer to buy a JEI Learning Centre franchise.

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Must-have skill #7: learning from gameplay

Children love to play games, whether they are playing tag outside with their friends or are active in an online gaming community. Because they love to play games more than they might like to read or study, some parents are understandably concerned. Children are constantly attached to their phones. They play Fortnite in the darkness of their room late into the night. They beg for money to buy in-game goodies. Some parents might be dragging them out of line for the newest game in the hopes they throw themselves into meaningful work instead! But you might want to reconsider... Of course, moderation is key for everything, but parents might worry less when they realize that playing games can actually be a great skill boost for your child! Can their improved skills in-game be applicable to real life? Surprisingly, yes. There are many different games out there that can enhance the quality of life and improve the mind. For example, chess can promote critical thinking; dodgeball can teach them collaboration; Mario Party can enhance social skills. These skills, in turn, can have many practical uses but it all depends on how your child learns and grows from games to evolve in real life to a better them. There are so many possibilities for who they could become with these skills! They could become... The strategist of the century Strategy is key for games, particularly ones based on battlefields, like chess and League of Legends. Even if your child will never step foot on a battlefield, strategizing involves critical thinking, analyzing, long-term planning, improvising, and problem-solving. All of these are amazing skills to hone! Chess has a simple goal: put the opponent’s king in checkmate. However, getting to that point is not easy. Your child has to analyze the board, predict the opponent’s movements, and think many steps ahead. Then, your child spends the next chunk of time adjusting, waiting, and analyzing in a state of heightened focus. Even Tetris involves some strategizing but at a much quicker pace. Your child’s strategizing and recognition of patterns will get better with practice, and they can use these skills in real life.   Practical uses: strategize a way to get into their dream college, prepare to ask for a promotion, negotiate and make calculated investments. A detective that rivals Sherlock Holmes There are strategy games like the ones mentioned above, and then there are deductive-reasoning games that force players to use the process of elimination and logic to reach a conclusion. There are physical games like Clue, Battleship, and Guess Who? and digital games like Nancy Drew or the Agatha Christie series which involve many in-game puzzles. All of these require your child to use their analytical thinking and deductive reasoning to answer a question or solve a mystery. These games help your child visualize a scene in their head, put together literal and figurative puzzle pieces, and think outside of the box. Creativity, observation, and analysis are key here! It is a mega boost to their common sense and ability to read situations and people. Practical uses: figure out what their parents got them for Christmas and who keeps eating the last slice of pizza. The one everyone wants on their team Games can vastly improve people skills. As mentioned before, they increase the ability to read the other person, which can be useful when arguing or negotiating. However, these people skills do not only apply to opponents. Many games involve team play, so they highlight the ability to collaborate. This involves good communication, efficient leader-follower dynamics, and awareness of what weaknesses or strengths other players have.   A professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, Katherine M. Keyes, Ph.D., stated, “Video game playing is often a collaborative leisure time activity for school-aged children. These results indicate that children who frequently play video games may be socially cohesive with peers and integrated into the school community.” It is also a way for your child to bond with their friends, socialize, and create memories. The School Children Mental Health Europe project released its study on the effects of video game playing on children’s mental health. The study found that the frequent use of video games led to fewer peer relationship problems. Practical uses: complete group projects, make friends, create strong bonds with mentors. The genius goal chaser If you want your child to be a focused go-getter, this is how video games can help. In the same study by the School Children Mental Health Europe project, it was found that the frequent use of video games led to not only 1.75 times the odds of high intellectual functioning but also the 1.88 odds of high overall school competence.   With that ability to focus and longer attention span come the persistent mindset and patience to run steadily towards a goal. Many games, particularly digital ones nowadays, set up a reward system that can parallel goal setting in practical application. It will be deeply ingrained in your child that resilience and diligence eventually lead to rewards. Practical uses: study for tests with visual aids, set up plans to reach a goal, take a brilliant basketball shot. — Board, card, computer, phone, and video games can all help your child excel in life in ways that you may not have considered before. As a disclaimer, it is important that you regulate the time your child spends on games and what kind of games they play. It also helps if your child is aware of how they can benefit from the games. However, you may worry less now that you know the full benefits your child can reap from doing something they enjoy. To further help your child learn from games, feel free to analogize their challenges to their games. For example, when they are studying a battle for history class, you can help them visualize the historic battle based on their gameplay. When they seem unmotivated, you can liken good grades to achievements on a game they need to reach in order to get a reward. You can host Wii parties for your child’s friends and see their confidence rise from positive social interactions. What are some of your child’s favorite games to play? Let us know on our Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, and stay tuned for our next post on a Must-Have Skill for children!

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