Learnership: Learning Through the Holidays
Helping our children practise the Habits of Mind and use feedback at home
As we head into the two-week school holidays, it is worth remembering that learning does not stop when the classroom closes. It simply changes setting.
Family time, sport, jobs around the house, cooking, travel, play, conflict, boredom, decision-making, and new experiences all provide opportunities for young people to practise Learnership. These moments may not look like schoolwork, but they often ask children to persist, think flexibly, manage impulsivity, ask questions, reflect, and respond to feedback.
Over the past few newsletters, we have shared our focus on the Habits of Mind and feedback. These two ideas connect strongly. The Habits of Mind help learners know how to respond when something becomes difficult. Feedback gives learners information about what is working, what needs strengthening, and what action to take next.
The holidays are a great time to practise both in everyday family life.
When a child is learning a new recipe, building something, helping with a job, managing screen time, playing sport, or working through a disagreement, they are often in the Learning Zone. Things may not go perfectly the first time. They may rush, give up, blame someone else, or want an adult to step in and fix it. These are useful moments to slow the learning down and help them notice what is happening.
Instead of focusing only on the outcome, we can ask:
What Habit of Mind would help here?
What information are you getting from this mistake?
What feedback have you been given?
What advice would help you take the next step?
What will you change in your next attempt?
This keeps the child active in the learning process. It also helps them understand that feedback is not criticism. Feedback is information they can use. Advice is not someone else taking over. Advice helps them choose a better next action.
At home, whānau can support this by noticing the learning behaviour, not just the result.
Instead of: “Good job.”
Try: “You kept going when that became frustrating. What helped you persist?”
Instead of: “Don’t worry, I’ll do it.”
Try: “Which part is tricky, and what advice would help you keep going?”
Instead of: “You need to listen better.”
Try: “What feedback were you given, and how could you use it?”
Instead of: “Stop rushing.”
Try: “Which Habit of Mind would help here: managing impulsivity or striving for accuracy?”
Instead of: “That didn’t work.”
Try: “What did that attempt teach you, and what’s your next step?”
A helpful holiday conversation might sound like this:
What are you trying to do?
What is working so far?
Where is the stretch point?
What feedback or advice could help?
What will you do differently next time?
These questions do not need to turn family time into school time. They simply help children recognise that learning is happening all around them. The aim is not to make every moment a lesson. The aim is to build young people who can pause, think, reflect, adjust, and grow from the situations they meet.
During the holidays, we encourage families to keep using the language of Learnership in small, natural ways. When children face challenge, help them name the Habit of Mind they are practising. When they receive feedback, help them decide what action to take. When something does not go to plan, help them treat it as information for growth.
Over time, these small conversations build something powerful: learners who understand that capability is not revealed by getting everything right the first time. Capability is built through the way we respond, reflect, seek advice, and try again with a better plan.
How learning gets done around here:
We practise the Habits of Mind in everyday life.
We use feedback as information, not judgement.
We seek advice that helps us take the next step.
We pause, reflect, and adjust our approach.
We build learners who know how to grow, at school and beyond.
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