Kids have spent so much time at home over the past two years that you can’t wait to send them out in the outdoors again. ‘Back to school’ brings a lot more emotions this time as kids get to finally live a more normal life.
However, let’s not forget that kids were already finding comfort indoors even before the pandemic happened, thanks to the internet. It’s only that they weren’t forced to do so. However, the Covid-19-related restrictions have changed that and kids are more likely to spend time indoors now.
That doesn’t mean they need to limit themselves to indoor games and academics. In fact, even during the holidays, you should enrol your child in some activity in order to keep their mind engaged.
This, leads to the foundation of their future skills, right from reasoning, leadership, public speaking and negotiation. While some kids have a natural talent, others may need some shaping up to do.
Either way, exposing them to different interests certainly makes them better at life, which is way better than just lazing around. Are you nodding your head in agreement? We thought so too.
So, this holiday season, don’t let your child waste their time. Instead, here are five school holiday activities at home that you must try.
5 School Holiday Activities Kids Can Try At Home
1. Learn Coding
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Given the importance of technology and artificial intelligence in our today’s world, you can imagine how powerful it will be as a tool in the future. And kids can hone themselves early on by taking coding classes. From YouTube tutorials to online programming classes, there’s something to learn about coding for kids of all age groups.
This will be particularly interesting for kids who have an affinity for tech-related roles and enjoy their time around drones, robots, automation and more. Several courses also combine coding with STEM learning, which further boosts their academic skills.
2. Risk-Taking
Sometimes learning life skills needs to come from courses if not the playground. And given that kids are spending less and less time outdoors, we aren’t exactly surprised.
Risk-taking is an important part of being an adult and can be the reason behind some life-changing decisions in life. That’s exactly why kids need to develop and hone their skills in this space. And you could look to enrol your child on different courses such as tree climbing and ninja courses.
These courses help kids overcome their fears and develop the skill to navigate obstacles safely. These help kids to take an educated risk whenever the need arises and learn to evaluate their decisions better in life.
Ninja courses also help your child to develop themselves physically, which gives them a greater sense of accomplishment.
3. Critical Thinking & Solving Complex Problems
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Remember going to an escape room back in college or your early 20s? Well, you can now find escape rooms for kids. Yes, that’s actually a thing and one of the school holiday activities at home we’d recommend.
An escape room essentially prepares your kids to work with others, solve puzzles, accomplish tasks and achieve a goal in a set amount of time. It’s also a great place to apply critical thinking and solve complex problems, both of which are necessary as kids grow and evolve over time.
Encourage your kids to attempt games that encourage critical thinking and complex problem solving, be it in person or online.
4. Volunteering
Kids grow up to be a part of society and the earlier they understand this, the more responsible they will be as citizens. It’s necessary that kids feel like they are a part of something larger and are involved in social issues.
It helps children develop empathy towards those in need and also shape their own moral compass. As an adult, this is a vital skill when leading a team or when you are responsible for another individual’s well-being.
It’s about showing the bigger picture to your little one. So, enrol your child in volunteering activities for kids. There are communities for the environment, clean-up, and more.
5. Managing Money & Budgeting
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When it comes to school holiday activities at home, try and talk to your children about money. We don’t talk to kids about money enough. There seems to be an unsaid rule that kids and money don’t go hand-in-hand.
But you know very well that money is an essential part of life and the earlier you get kids to identify and handle finances responsibly, the better they will do it as adults.
It’s a basic life skill after all. Get them to manage their expenses from the pocket money you give them. You can also get them to open a bank account in the holidays and start saving there.
Teach them about compounding and consistent saving, and how it all adds up in the end. It’s a discipline that works with life as well.
Your child wants those new kicks, let them learn to budget their expenses better so they can buy them on their own. You can also add a reward at the end to further encourage them to set goals and save that amount.
Source: Kidspot
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