The summer holidays are here at last! In this month’s column it seems a good moment to say thank you to all the people who work in our schools. We have many friends who are teachers and we know how hard they work to give children the best start in life…so thank you.
(And we also know how hard parents work, too, so well done to all of you, as well!)
And so, to the children. They work their socks off at school every day, increasing their learning and understanding that it is effort that leads to achievement.
Well done everyone: another year of education to celebrate and reflect on!
Summer holidays
The summer holidays now provide a wonderful time for education in the widest possible sense. Children will benefit from rich and varied opportunities which build their thinking skills, creativity, resilience, interests and social skills as they discover the joy of learning new things and having new experiences. Children always seem to love the change in pace of the summer holidays and with it, the freedom to become involved in different things.
So, here are a few thoughts and ideas for ensuring your child gets the most out of these sunny weeks:
Meeting new friends
Holidays and holiday clubs give children many opportunities to meet people and make new friends. They can really enjoy friendships with children of different ages and who go to different schools. This will develop and strengthen their social skills.
Reading
The holiday period offers more time for your child to read and be read to. Remember that reading your child books beyond those they are able to read independently will have a significant impact on their thinking skills, comprehension and vocabulary. This will also foster a love of books that will stay with them all their lives.
Being active
Being active is good for the body but also the soul and the mind. It helps children keep healthy and will also help them feel good on the inside. By encouraging lots of activity, you are helping them develop lifelong healthy habits.
Learning life skills
Children of all ages, even the very young, will benefit from beginning to develop independence skills. Being able to do things for yourself has a very positive impact on self-esteem. The holidays provide a great time to teach them:
- How to cook – from sandwiches and fruit salads to a whole meal
- How to change a bed
- Simple cleaning tasks around the house
- Gardening and growing things
- Clearing the table, stacking the dishwasher and washing up
Planning their own day
Life in the school term can be very packed full of activity and parents and children seem to be always on the go. Have days where your child has to amuse themselves whilst you are busy doing other things at home. This is really good for them. Creative thought often happens when we have time on our hands.
Young children will love playing with their toys for extended periods, reading books, making and building things. Encourage older children to plan their own day too – technology is always a pull so maybe help them to plan other things that they like doing at home too – encourage interests in cooking, reading, making models, growing plants etc.
The holidays can also provide a bit of time to help your child with any learning that they have found hard and where they need a little extra nurturing to enable them to feel confident. Our website has lots of resources for this so please have a look or contact us directly and we can chat about how we can help.
Enjoy your summer everyone and we hope the sunshine and change of pace provide time and space for the things you love to do.
Sue and Maryanne x
Please contact us if you would like more information about how to help your child: enquiries@tutoryourchild.co.uk
