By the end of this week or next, many children (and their parents) in schools across Kwazulu-Natal will be breathing a sigh of grateful relief: exams will be over, assessments all wrapped up and schools will be closed for the lovely, long, sunny, Christmas holidays.
Even if you and your child have been worried about school performance, try to embrace the holidays and their value to you and your family. School is tiring. It's tiring for teachers, who need to be inspiring every lesson. It's tiring for parents, who have to micro-manage their children's activities, regardless of their age. And it's especially exhausting for students because it's a pressure cooker of socialising, learning, stimulation and social conditioning. Tired teachers struggle to teach well and tired students simply can't learn. School holidays give everyone some emotional space to reboot.
But if you're worried about what UK parents call "summer slide", why not plan to prevent it? "Summer slide" means when students, particularly those of primary school age and those who have experienced learning challenges, lose skills, knowledge and motivation because of the long period away from school. Essentially, it's an access to reading problem. Try some of these ideas to include fun but meaningful activities in your kids' Christmas break:
• Reading is the key, at any age. Your older children will appreciate trips to the local library, or the chance to choose books to buy (and don't forget there are many bargain book stores out there). If your high school kids are stumped for choice, log onto www.goodreads.com. Sign them up (it's free) and have them do the simple reading preference test. Good Reads will then suggest titles that match their tastes. If there are film versions of the books your young adults and teens are reading, hire or download the DVDs – viewing can make for meaningful discussions.
• Younger children will love to read with you. Plan some fun activities once the book is done. How about them making a collage of significant scenes in the plot? (And it'll save you carting magazines to the recycling depot...) What about acting out scenes from the book? If you have a dress-up box, that can add to their enjoyment. Drawing pictures and making puzzles are all good ways to make reading a learning experience.
• Introduce your teens to journaling and diary-keeping. The former is an opportunity for more reflective, thoughtful writing and needn't be every day. The latter is usually daily and is a record of a particular time. Both can be very satisfying – but neither should be read without the author's permission! If your teens are keen to write for an audience, set up a blog for family and friends to enjoy, especially if you're going away on a holiday. Encourage them to illustrate it with photos; so easy with smart phones or digital cameras. (And have the conversation about digital boundaries and privacy at the same time.)
• Google local activities for children of all ages. Lots of art galleries, museums and places of local interest – including shopping malls – go all out to attract visitors at this time of year. And some of those activities add real value.
Article submitted by ASP Tutoring.