The summer holidays are here and kids and parents need to find meaningful ways to make the best of their time. Kids need to part from mobiles and laptops and try find a balance between outdoor and indoor activities which are fun and engaging. Parents, usually spend more money, and far too little time, in finding things for kids to do! It doesn’t always have to be tennis lessons and dance classes. There’s a lot that can be done right at home or on vacation with family and friends.

My Holiday Homework
Finish the holiday homework early so that they enjoy the rest of the vacation. ‘Back-to-school’, shopping with parents, buying new school bags, lunch boxes and water bottles is something every kid looks forward to. Finish this early!

My Travelogue
Travel is a great means of learning. A visit to a farm or village and especially if they have grandparents or family living there, would be additional bonus. They can collect warm eggs from chickens, watch cows being milked, roll in the hay, feed goats, take a dip in the river or pond and get themselves messy and muddy. A trip to the seaside to collect shells, make sandcastles or make mud pies using coconut shells. Hill stations are also perfect for cooling the summer heat. Away from the city, there’s a great opportunity to bond with nature! Ask kids to keep a journal or diary where they draw pictures or pen a few lines about places they see and people they meet.

My Den
Kids love building their own den or fort using sticks or chairs, bed sheets, cardboard boxes or newspapers or pillows and create their make belief camps or fairy houses.

My Kitchen Rules
They would love to learn to climb trees and pluck fruit. Then watch grandparents use fruit to make jams and pickles. A lot is learnt by watching. Let them make their own pizza and enjoy some junk food once a way. Teach kids to be entrepreneurs. Let them learn to make lemonade and sell it to family and friends. A visit to a neighbourhood fair or carnival in a village will let them have an insight into local customs and handicrafts. Learning how to grow vegetables and eat them is the best way to get them to eat veggies! Not everyone goes on a vacation. Stay right at home and bake a cake with mum or dad. Kids love learning to crack an egg, whisk the butter and enjoy the cake straight out of the oven. Making meals with friends, cooking without fire, supervised by adults.

My Games
Make your own board game with a friend, using stickers, sketch pens and a piece of card and a dice. Make rules for the game and teach others. Play football in your backyard or apartment; learn to ride a bike. Do a hundred piece family puzzle or a lego project. Kids enjoy playing with clay and making their own creations. Teach kids to make their own soap bubbles and blow them or play treasure hunt with friends. Teach kids to make paper airplanes and see whose goes the farthest. Fly a kite.

My Environment
Go for early morning walks to see birds. Let them decorate the sidewalk together with chalk drawings. Kids also love to go on picnics. Pack a picnic basket together and have the picnic in your own backyard or nearby park. Put out a bird feeder and watch the birds from your window. Kids love to play in the rain and should be allowed to splash in puddles. If there’s no rain they can play with the garden hose and enjoy some water play.

My Home
Change the layout of the furniture. Let them rearrange their own room. Ask them to draw out a plan to do it. If they have a tent, try out camping at night on the terrace or backyard and looking at the stars. Read a story together at bedtime or let them read whenever they wish!

Is A Happy Child a Better Student?