By: M Ahmad
Nearly every student eagerly awaits the wonderful winter break, which grants both teachers and students a few days to unwind and prepare for the upcoming new academic session. It may sometimes be equally important to catch up on pending work and to meet the goals we have been chasing for a long time. At the same time, the long winter break offers a world of opportunities to school students to boost their knowledge by doing productive things. Parents, who find the winter holiday period harrowing as they’re completely at a loss on how to keep their children engaged, should support their wards to explore new opportunities.
In addition to the completion of school syllabus, there are a number of activities that will not only keep children entertained but also promote their education. Encourage the little ones to take part in socially useful productive projects. Make them aware about the values of compassion by asking them to donate their creations to the poor and needy. Take your little one to a carnival or book fair. Have a whale of a time to help your kid with an outdoor or indoor activity that will keep him or her gainfully occupied. For instance, show him or her how to create a snowman or ice candles.
The winter vacation is the perfect time to take the little ones to the numerous art galleries and museums in the city. You can teach your kids a skill that they’ll be able to take advantage of for a lifetime like cooking, sketching or gardening. Help your child with reselling old textbooks and unused notebooks –Over the years, your kids may have accumulated a large number of textbooks and notebooks from their previous classes.
Evidently enough, these books are of no use to your children as they have moved on to the subsequent stages of education. This huge stock of books might be lying idle and gathering dust. Let the kids visit their grandparents, if they are not with and other relatives –as kids have a natural and instinctive affinity towards their grandparents.
Let the kid visit an older sibling who’s studying or working in another city –Plan a trip to the town or city where your kid’s sibling stays so that the siblings can reconnect with each other. Pick up a new skill for the children that will come in handy in your academic career like drawing, computer programming or public speaking.
Take good care of your physical and mental health of your wards by providing eating nutritious meals, exercising regularly, and sleeping soundly. You can open a savings banks account and learn money-management skills for your children. Encourage your child in practicing a hobby like photography, gardening, hiking or stargazing
Take stock of the school work of present academic session of your ward –Take time out to reflect on how well he/she fared in the last academic session and think deeply about the areas where your ward faltered and carefully consider on how he/she can improve on those areas. Also, give due consideration to how to get going in your new session with a bang.
Make your ward habitual to read offline or online daily newspapers to remain updated with the day to day happenings. Your ward should improve general knowledge – During this winter vacation, allocate at least one hour everyday to read as many books as possible to update yourself on current affairs. Read books on general knowledge, history, geography, science and various other subjects. The knowledge that you gain will stand you in good stead in the future. Besides, students have had a lot of time confined in their homes where all they can do is play online games, chat with their friends, and watch TV.
To improve the credibility of your ward, you can speak with his/her teachers to develop a study plan or request additional assignments. If your ward prepare early, it would be easier to excel in that particular area of study. Most schools administer exams shortly after the winter break, so the timing couldn’t be better. Teachers can organize virtual sessions with the students, it would be better. Teachers understand children better than their parents.
Depending on how well you know your students, what they love, and their experiences, set out to engage each of them at least once a week. Reach out to them to see how they are doing. Find out how they are enjoying the winter break and what keeps them busy. Give them ideas to keep them busy and productive until schools reopen. When there is a strong relationship between teachers and students, communication becomes easy. Students will trust their teachers with secrets, sometimes including domestic issues that could derail their academic performance in school.
Learn your wards how to be in service to others. There is something about giving and bringing joy, and it is no different for your children. Teach your ward how to consider acts of kindness for a needy person or family in your community. Children can also be a habit tracker to start a new daily routine like complete a weekly journal, purge their wardrobe, re-organize the room, learn a new language, join a local or virtual book club, help parents with household projects, start a vegetable garden, attend a festival, make a donation to a good cause, go skiing or hiking and set new goals for the upcoming school year.
Winter vacations are a much-needed break from the daily routine, and they offer respite in terms of less work and more playtime for the children.
(M Ahmad is a regular writer for this newspaper and can be reached at specialachivers78@gmail.com)
