Summer vacations are approaching when children will be away from their active school routine. During this time, children tend to sleep excessively, watch TV all through the day or simply sit idle, as they have ample time to spare. This makes them lazy, inactive and unhealthy. So, it is the responsibility of parents to channelize their children’s time and energy towards the activities that can make them energetic, active and healthy. One of the best ways to ensure that children utilise their free time in a productive way, is to enroll them into short-term summer courses. Various specialised short-term courses for summer vacations are conducted by different schools, institutions and NGOs. Such courses are designed to provide a safe environment wherein children can develop their self-confidence & social skills and also nurture their hidden talents, in a fun and engaging way.

Parental Role

Therefore, as a parent, enroll your child into summer courses that will help her to explore a wide variety of activities. Through these summer courses, your child will be benefitted physically, psychologically and socially. Moreover, you will get a wonderful opportunity to evaluate your child’s interests & capabilities in the non-academic activities. However, before enrolling your child into a course, you need to ensure that the course you choose is perfectly appropriate for her age, level of development, interests and preferences. Also, make sure that your child always performs certain tasks under an adult’s supervision.

What can be done?

Arts & crafts workshop

Enroll your child into art & craft workshop, wherein she will get exposure to a wide variety of activities such as making Origami paper crafts, making cartoon sketches, painting on different surfaces such as canvas, glass etc., gift-wrapping (trousseau packing), making collage by using newspaper & magazine cut-outs, making scrapbook of photographs etc. Through such activities, your child will be able to nurture her artistic talent.

Music & dance classes

To bring out the singer & dancer in your child, enroll her into music & dance classes during the vacation. You may ask your child about the style of dance and the genre of music she wants to learn and enroll her accordingly. Through music & dance classes, your child will be able to develop her motor skills, cognitive skills, social skills and the ability to express herself, as she will learn how to make different bodily movements, follow directions and interact in groups.

Computer course

Make your child tech savvy by encouraging her to attend short-term computer course. During the course, your child will acquire the basic knowledge of computers, learn mouse control skills, explore about the latest types of software systems and also indulge in age-appropriate e-learning activities. The computer classes will make your child tech-savvy, which is very important for the present technology-oriented world.Further,your child will easily adapt to the technological changes that she may encounter in future

English speaking course

Improve your child’s ability to speak in English fluently and confidently, by enrolling her into English speaking course. This course will enrich your child’s vocabulary with new words. Moreover, she will learn the correct pronunciation of different words in the language. After the completion of the course, your child will have good command over English, which will further boost her confidence to communicate in the language.

Foreign Language course

Enroll your child to foreign language courses to help her overcome language barriers and become proficient in different languages besides Hindi & English. Further, knowing a foreign language apart from the mother tongue can distinguish your child from the crowd. So, search for the most popular foreign languages like Mandarin, French, German, Spanish etc. that are in demand and enroll your child in the particular language course to develop multilingual skills in your child. Once your child develops proficiency in a particular foreign language, she will be able to communicate freely without any language barrier, which she may encounter during the later stages of her life i.e. while studying or working abroad.

Creative writing classes

Improve your child’s writing skills by enrolling her into poetry, story writing or essay writing classes wherein she will be able to enhance her creative writing skills. Attending the creative writing classes will improve her literary abilities, promote creative thinking in her and will also build her confidence to take part in writing competitions in school.

Personality development course

Groom the personality of your child by enrolling her into personality development classes during the summer vacation. By attending the course, your child will be able to nurture her ability to present herself confidently in front of a large number of people, especially at debates, speeches etc. in school. The course will enhance your child’s oratory skills and also help her to learn the basic social etiquettes. Altogether, personality development course will make your child well-groomed and smart. This will help her to interact with new people and face large audience confidently i.e. while giving presentations, attending meetings & seminars etc. in future.

Photography Workshops

Enhance your child’s creativity by encouraging her to attend photography classes. Tell your child that through photography, she can capture the best moments of life, build her creative skills and look at things from different perspectives which will ultimately build confidence in her.

Culinary classes

Motivate your child to explore her ability to cook creatively, by enrolling her into cooking classes. There, she will learn how to make different recipes without the use of gas, such as sandwiches, fruit juices, milk shakes, etc. Further, your child will be trained to present the food in attractive ways. Moreover, by making healthy recipes, your child will know the benefits of nutritious food. Apart from enrolling your child into cooking classes, you may also encourage her to join chocolate making classes.

Carpentry Classes

Enroll your child to Carpentry classes to help her learn a wide range of valuable carpentry skills such as measuring, fractions, sawing, drilling, fastening, shaping, assembly and painting. Further, besides the practical skills, she will learn a wide variety of other concepts such as abstract reasoning, applied mathematics, problem solving, craftsmanship, fine motor skills, respect for tools and patience.

Plumbing Classes

To develop “do-it-yourself” skills in your child, enroll her to plumbing classes where she will learn how to do some of the basic plumbing jobs such as fixing the taps, water pipes etc. Further, she will learn about the types of tools that are used in plumbing like pipe wrench, screwdriver, pliers etc. and which tool is used for a particular job.

Physical development classes

Enroll your child into physical development classes to learn exercise for fitness, such as aerobics & yoga and self-defensive techniques such as Karate, Taekwondo, Judo etc. Through such classes, your child will be able to enhance her concentration power and develop her peace of mind. Also, motivate your child to continue going to such classes even after the summer vacations are over, so that she stays fit and healthy.

Summer Science camp

Let your child get acquainted with Science subject in a fun way, at a Science camp. The camp will be a wonderful educational experience for your child, as she will have unique hands-on experience of doing exciting & engaging experiments and Science projects. Also, she will be indulged in brain-teasing activities such as science quizzes, solving jigsaw puzzles etc., which will further enhance her thinking skills.

‘Go Green’ workshop

Motivate your child to join ‘Go Green’ classes that will teach her environment-friendly activities, such as creating ‘best out of waste’ products, planting trees, recycling paper, producing compost using bio-degradable kitchen wastes, etc. Such classes will not only educate your child about the importance of preserving the natural resources but also encourage her to use the non-renewable resources in a judicious way.

In the end

Remember that your role as a parent is not limited to sending your child to the aforesaid summer classes. You also need to spend quality time with her, so that she does not feel neglected when she has ample time to stay with you. Therefore, amidst your busy schedule, take some time at the end of the day and ask your child about how the day was at the summer classes. Also, reinforce your love for your child, by showing that you appreciate her efforts and her zeal to learn new things. With your positive reinforcement, acknowledgement, appreciation and motivation, your child will be able to make the most of the summer vacations, which will help her to join back school with refreshed mind and rejuvenated energy.

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