Summer vacations are soon to arrive!! Have
you planned your kids’ vacations yet?
How are you going to spend the coming 60
days with your beautiful children? No, do not think of let them spend all the
time at home, watching TV, surfing internet or eating junk food, doing nothing
at all as that is the most common way how average students spend their summer holidays
time.
Rather, it is a good idea to engage your
kids in activities that will help enhance their skill sets for future
learnings. Even two hours a day in some
productive work will turn out beneficial for your children in the longer run.
In his book ‘foetus to fifth grade’Dr. David V Schapira, an internationally
known physician who has written and researched extensively on parenting issues,
emphasizes that parents should learn and imply the right way to engage with their
children, no matter what their age. This becomes extremely important when kids are
on summer vacations or when they remain at the home with parents for a longest
period.
Why should let them indulge into watching
TV or playing indoor games or having junk food during those days? Instead, it
is advisable to go out and let them play while using their own imaginations.
This can happen only when you keep your kids involved in some activity of their
interests.
For example, some kids may be very good in
sports and show keen interest in playing badminton, tennis or cricket or
hockey, while some would like to explore swimming, some would be interested in
the arts and crafts. Those who do not want to do any activity must keep reading
books on daily basis.
It is believed that when summer learning is
missed out, it becomes harmful for children’s physical and academic health as
they tend to forget whatever they have learnt during the course or less likely
to be physically active.
Some
known facts -
1.
According to an American
research studies, young students have been witnessed a loss in learning if not
engaged in some educational activities during the summers.
|Research
spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized
tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the
beginning of the summer.|
2.
Children count at high risk of
obesity—gain weight more rapidly when they are out of school during summer
break.
There are various factors that can
determine whether the summer learning program is of the high quality or not. While
choosing summer activities, consider these six elements.
1.
Activity that exposes your kid
to new adventures, skills or ideas. That could be a nature walk, learning new
skills in computer, visiting places of historical significance, attending live
events etc. Travelling to a new place will add to their learning experience by
exposing them to a new culture, a different language and new cuisines. This can
get educative for them. You could also ask your kids to have a look on the map
and direct you all.
2. Choose programmes that will help the kid
in developing skills like reading, writing, science in a fun and engaging way.
|
According to a University of Tennessee study, reading is important to the
summer learning equation. Children who do not read in the vacation months lose
two-to-three months of reading development. This creates a three-to-four month
learning gap annually and causes the non-readers to fall behind.|
3. Find out what your kid loves doing or is
showing passion towards. Then, enrol him or her in the course that will allow
your kid to explore his or her area of interest. This activity could be
anything from cooking to playing guitar or games etc.
4. You could also choose programs that will
involve your kid in some group activity. This could be a social development program
such as visiting orphanage and bonding with the underprivileged kids, or cleaning
routine in your society where kids can participate etc.
5. Activity that may encourage your kid to
inculcate healthy habits in order to achieve his or her goals. Make him or her
involve in some outdoor activity.
6. High school kids can choose to do
internshipsin some area of their interests like film projects, advertising,
hospitality etc. to add to their learning experience on the grounds. Inspire your
children to take the summer jobs.
|According to www.expandlearning.org, a research shows that kids who aren’t
academically engaged during the summer start the school year behind where they
ended the previous year. |
7. Those who are academically behind should
chose these period of two months to improve on their weakest subject and reach
the same level as of the other merit students. It is very important to keep the
kids intellectually active during vacations too. For example, if they are weak
in Mathematics or Grammar, they can pay attention to learning these subjects’
basics or tricks and practice.
Children are full of energy! After a few
days of relaxations, they will be ready to take on the new challenge, which
they can share with their buddies post summer vacations. Let them earn a story
out of their vacations.
Hope, now you are clear why you should not
let those two months of vacations go waste in gaining nothing in terms of
learning and experiences!
Happy Parenting! :-)
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