By Navneeta Talukdar
In the competitive world of today, schedule of the students is packed with activities that barely give them the time to explore anything out of their regular curricular and co-curricular engagements.
But a refreshing break from the unvarying routine comes every year in the form of our much-awaited summer vacations providing a chance to the children to recharge themselves by learning new things and exploring untouched aspects of life. This also is a time to unwind and spend time with their families.
And, finally, as parents get some time with their children away from the regular school routine, they try to bond better with them and teach them new things. Undoubtedly, the fondest memories of the summer vacations that the parents hold are the ones filled with fun and excitement. Therefore, it just is self-evident that they would want to pass on the same experience to their children to cherish for their lifetime.
So, here are a few engaging ways to create beautiful summer vacation memories for the children.
Nature presents the most conducive and fascinating learning environment.Moreover, there are unending physical and psychological benefits for all ages that come from bonding with nature.
It is said that “Nature is a tool to get children to experience not just the wider world, but themselves.” So, creating opportunities for children to get closer to nature helps them to understand and develop an admiration for the world around them and comprehend their role within it.
Activities like gardening, bird watching and making birdfeeder, weather observation and making weather journal, watching the night sky, making a flower scrapbook, etc. give them ample scope for knowing their surroundings better while reinventing themselves.
The outdoors present limitless potential to the young minds while refreshing them. Places outside the confines of the home or school walls. Outdoor places serve as the source of unending inspiration for innovation and creativity. Going outdoors also enables students to develop important life skills and constructive coping methods. Outdoor physical activity is also an important part through which children get the flexibility to increase their strength, stamina, and motor abilities. Travelling to different places, meeting distant relatives, exploring new areas around, visiting a market/farm/industry, etc are enriching outdoor activities that educate and entertain.
Bringing the brain to play
Several types of brain teasers and conceptual puzzles provide countless possibilities to think over a solution and help them develop the foundations of problem-solving and critical thinking. This will eventually increase their learning, focus, and memory. Children can be engaged in mental puzzles that require strong reasoning skills and logical thinking so that the abilities they develop for a game will also be helpful to them in future.
Art and craft are excellent ways to foster imagination and creativity. Children who are exposed to art and craft think effectively and develop creative problem-solving abilities. Children develop self-confidence and self-expression skills by making their own, independent decisions about how to convey what they are thinking and feeling through the medium of art and craft. It nurtures curiosity in the children and enhances their attention span as well.
Usually, children love to be around food. Kitchen and its related activities develop knowledge regarding different kinds of foods, culture and also enhance their tender culinary skills and provide them with exposure to the cooking environment.
As cooking does involve measurements and transformation of food substances, children develop mathematical skills and an understanding of the science of food, diet and health. It also helps to improve the habit of the picky eaters. Cooking has many long-term benefits for children including increased confidence, collaboration, time management and enhanced self-esteem.
Summer Camps
Getting children enrolled in summer camps is one of the best ways to engage them productively during their vacation. There is a whole lot of fun and things to learn in these camps that enrich them with a different and unique experience and they learn to manage many things independently. In the company of many other children of their own age, and guided by the expert coaches, they learn in a fun-way and better in a stress-free environment. Such camps offer most of the engaging activities that children and their parents eagerly look forward to doing during the vacations. They save a lot of time and energy too as the parents are not required to send their wards to different locations for different activities.
If the summer-camp is organized by their school, the comfort of the familiar environment, friends and teachers do accelerate the learning process, and also give them a scope to know more about the people they meet daily at school. A welcome change from the daily curriculum of the school, such camps go a long way when it comes to resuming the normal schooling after the vacations as they bond well and understand each other more after spending some quality time at the summer camp.
Summer vacations can be made very engaging and fun for children through inclusion of multiple thoughtful, yet interesting activities. It is the best opportunity for parents to get involved with their children and make wonderful memories with them.
So, what are you waiting for?
Enjoy this precious time with your kids and let them explore and discover their interests.
