This break is usually the longest, yearly, where students and pupils prepare to move into a promotional stage. This is also a period parents feel they have a lot more to deal with, but then it is a time to ensure that you get the best from your kids and help them to grow into independent responsible adults.
There are a whole lot of activities to develop a child during this period. For the Centre Director Xtraokids, Anu Akinola, this period usually lasts for about two months and poses a dilemma for many parents.
“The holiday should be planned effectively to cover both the academic and social aspects of the child. During this period, learning should not stop. The holiday should not comprise of wide gaps; time should not just be spent unplanned at home watching TV and playing video games. However, it should be a mix and match of various fun activities that will enhance learning and growth of a total child,” she said.
Akinola said the summer break is an opportunity where wonderful memories could be formed as parents and children find time to bond while travelling together or engaging in some special activities.
“It is also a good opportunity for children to take on new skills and reinforce old ones,” she added.
On activities children can be involved in, Akinola said: “There are various activities to engage children during the summer break. In planning, parents can make a list of activities to be done within and outside the home. They could create a-to-do list of different things to do daily like art and crafts, cooking at home, starting a vegetable garden, reading challenge, learning dancing, flying a kite, visiting historical sites together, among others.”
The educationist also said that outside the home, there are also many activities during the summer break to engage children, like the summer camps, which could be resident or daily camps.
She added: “These camps create opportunities for children to build resilience and a perfect opportunity to optimise children’s psychosocial development. They get the opportunity to boost their coping strategies with the simple and sometimes complex activities done at camps. Working in groups with new peers and taking controllable amount of risks without a parent’s following up is a good way to spend the summer.
“Other activities could include learning a new skill like riding a bike, swimming, learning a new computer programme and tailoring. This provides openings for children to develop areas of interest.
“Your children may not be able to discover and develop inherent skills if they are not exposed to various activities. The summer period provides an opportunity for this. Parents should take the decision of how to engage their children with their age and interest in mind.”
She emphasised that bearing in mind that school would be resuming in September, parents should be careful to mix and match all the activities and be sure to include academic work.
“The holiday is a good opportunity for improving or reinforcing academic skills of the previous term and also preparing them for the new session. If the academic and social skills are not carefully blended, some children find it difficult settling down back to school after the very long holiday,” she warned.
