How to keep kids busy during summer break?

The school year is over in some areas of the country and some are counting down the last few days of school. This year had been the most challenging year for all of us. Be it any part of the world, be it a teacher or parent and of course if you are a student! It taught us many things that we wouldn’t care to learn if it had not been online schooling. In my case, my son learned to tidy up his room before his morning class meeting…. every day!!! I was beyond my wildest imagination!

This pandemic has made entire world gloomy and stand still, but I always choose to look at the brighter side.. not easy all the time but still….

Even though this year is over, the pandemic is still hovering and our movements are still restricted. The next challenge is right now to keep kids busy during this summertime. With online learning all year long, this summertime is more interesting because more and more people are getting vaccinated, having in-person school next year seems possible and this opens up a whole new set of challenges considering this academic year.

This summer is the perfect time to bridge the gaps kids might have while learning online or practicing areas where they need more effort. Here are some of the ideas, where kids can remain busy and still don’t lose touch with their studies.

Gardening:

how to keep kids busy during summer vacation?

Gardening is a great way to instill a sense of appreciation and love for nature in them. Kids can experience life cycles and observe and taking care of something they planted is very valuable. Growing microgreens like mint or basil is a good way to introduce healthy eating too. Apart from growing herb, Growing succulents, painting existing pots, transforming baskets into planters and basic terrarium making are some other popular tasks to keep children engaged constructively.

Stay fit:

stay fit during summer vacation

This pandemic showed us the importance of health but on the other hand, it made us limit our moves too! A walk in nature or going hiking is refreshing. Sometimes, when kids are too busy with their online learning and games (let’s face the reality!) a stroll in nature is a simple and easy way to get a break from screen time and keeping them moving. If you want some help, there are some awesome sites that are fun and helpful to make exercising interesting and enjoyable for kids.

Go noodle is one such app. To keep kids physically active, this is the best app to use. Good Energy at Home with GoNoodle is a FREE online resource that provides tons of ways for kids and families to be active, stay mindful, and keep on learning! They offer;

  • Movement, yoga, and mindfulness videos
  • Downloadable curricular activities
  • Recommended off-screen home activities

Cooking:

cook together during summer vacation.

A great way to bond with children during this period is to involve them in your daily kitchen activities. From the simple tasks of meal planning to vegetable sorting to teaching the basics of cutting and peeling, kids can be engaged in several ways. Learning how to cook is very essential for them as it can be useful in the future. Listening to instructions will help them to improve listening skills and improve memory. Get children to unleash their creativity by teaching them simple, flameless recipes like milkshakes, fruit salads, sandwiches, etc. Cooking also makes them aware of how food is important and about not wasting food. Such activities will be useful in their lifetime.

Reading:

Reading is one such habit that is rewarding throughout one’s life and summertime is the best time to indulge as well as cultivate such habit in kids. this is the perfect time to introduce different classic books. Spending just an hour a day helps improve their reading skills, gain vocabulary, and develop the skill of visualizing what they read. In every aspect, reading is beneficial for students as it enriches their language on the go.

Writing:

Like reading an hour helps a lot, writing even thirty minutes a day will help them to brush up their writing skill. Kids can be encouraged to maintain and write daily journals where they could write summaries of how they spent their day. They can even write the recollection or summary of the book they read today and can write the prediction of what will happen next. This way it can help to improve their self-reflection.

Family Time:

During this summertime, plan some time to spend with your family together. Moments spent together with families and grandparents together are always priceless and memorable. You can also plan a movie night which can be enjoyed with the entire family and have a good time together.

Summer Learning:

Summer vacations are also the best time to catch up on studies where one needs a little more practice if not it is the perfect time to prepare for the next grade level. Sometimes kids don’t understand few things properly or sometimes they need a little more practice to get a good grip on certain topics, which we couldn’t do during the regular school year. Summer vacations are perfect to catch up on those things like brushing up on handwriting, practicing addition, or solving math worksheets. A little bit every day helps a lot to see the improvement next grade level.

To sum up:

To sum up, we all need a break especially after this super challenging year we all experienced and came out of it bright and shining. all schools were mostly online and it had a whole new set of challenges. But currently, when the nation is getting vaccinated, in-person schooling is looking like a possible option for the next academic year. As we sent the entire last year in online learning, kids might need a little boost before the next academic year starts. This time is perfect to catch up on all those missed out things but while doing so we can use this time to bond as a family considering the stress we all experienced last year on every level.

Relax, recharge, and refresh. Have a great summer!

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