School holidays are a wonderful opportunity for children to rest, recharge and enjoy a break from the classroom.
For parents of children who are developing their reading and writing skills, however, it's also common to wonder: "Will my child lose progress if we take a break?"
The good news is that supporting literacy during the holidays doesn't have to mean worksheets or long study sessions. Some of the best literacy learning happens through everyday activities, play and conversation.
By weaving reading, writing and language into your family's daily routines, you can help your child maintain their skills while still enjoying a well-earned holiday.
Keep Literacy Fun
Children are far more likely to engage with literacy when it feels enjoyable rather than like extra schoolwork.
Short, playful activities completed throughout the week are often much more effective than asking children to sit down for long practice sessions.
The aim is to keep your child thinking about letters, sounds, words and language in natural, meaningful ways.
Turn Your Home into a Letter-Sound Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are an easy way to reinforce letter-sound knowledge while keeping children active.
You might ask your child to:
- find something that starts with the /m/ sound
- collect five objects beginning with /s/
- look for items that contain the /sh/ sound
- sort objects by their beginning sounds
For older children, you can increase the challenge by searching for particular spelling patterns or syllables.
These activities strengthen phonological awareness and letter-sound knowledge without children even realising they're practising.
Cook Together
Cooking is packed with literacy opportunities.
As you prepare a recipe together, encourage your child to:
- read ingredients
- identify letters and words
- follow written instructions
- measure quantities
- learn new vocabulary
- sequence the steps in order
For younger children, simply talking through each step builds important oral language skills that support later reading comprehension.
For older children, reading the recipe independently provides valuable real-world reading practice.
Write Shopping Lists Together
A shopping list is one of the simplest writing activities you can do at home.
Depending on your child's age, they might:
- help write the list
- sound out unfamiliar words
- read the list while shopping
- cross off items as you find them
This gives writing a real purpose and helps children see that literacy is part of everyday life, not just something that happens at school.
Listen to Audiobooks
Reading isn't the only way to build literacy.
Audiobooks expose children to rich vocabulary, more complex sentence structures and engaging stories that they may not yet be able to read independently.
Listening together also creates opportunities to:
- discuss characters
- predict what might happen next
- explain new vocabulary
- ask comprehension questions
- encourage storytelling
Audiobooks are especially valuable for children who find reading physically tiring, allowing them to enjoy age-appropriate stories while continuing to develop language and comprehension skills.
Read Decodable Books
If your child is learning to read, decodable books remain one of the most effective ways to reinforce the skills they're learning in therapy.
Unlike predictable readers, decodable books are carefully matched to the letter-sound correspondences a child has already been taught, allowing them to apply their decoding skills successfully.
Reading just one or two decodable books several times throughout the week can help build:
- decoding accuracy
- reading fluency
- confidence
- independence
The goal isn't to race through lots of books, it's to practise reading accurately using the skills your child is developing.
Get Messy with Sensory Play
Many children learn best when they can move, touch and explore.
Sensory play provides a fun way to practise letters and sounds while engaging multiple senses.
Some simple ideas include:
- writing letters in shaving foam
- tracing letter patterns in sand
- making letters with playdough or slime
- matching magnetic letters to pictures
- hiding letters in sensory bins for children to find and name.
These activities are particularly engaging for younger children and can make literacy practice feel like play rather than work.
Keep Attending Therapy If You Can
While holidays provide a break from school, literacy difficulties don't take a holiday.
Continuing therapy during the school holidays helps children maintain the momentum they've built during the school term.
Regular sessions allow therapists to:
- reinforce recently learned skills
- introduce new concepts
- prevent children from forgetting strategies they've worked hard to develop
- ensure progress continues without long interruptions.
For many children, maintaining therapy over the holidays means they return to school feeling more confident and ready to build on their learning.
Remember That Every Little Bit Counts
Supporting literacy doesn't require hours of structured learning each day.
Reading a recipe, writing a shopping list, listening to an audiobook during a car trip or playing a quick letter-sound game can all contribute to your child's literacy development.
These small moments add up over time and help children see that reading and writing are valuable skills used every day, not just subjects at school.
Making the Most of the Holidays
School holidays are about making memories together, and literacy can naturally be part of those experiences.
Whether you're baking biscuits, visiting the supermarket, listening to stories on a road trip or hunting for objects around the house, you're creating opportunities for your child to continue developing their literacy skills in enjoyable, meaningful ways.
With a little consistency, children can return to school feeling confident, capable and ready to keep learning.