Hobby Classes In Summer Vacation
Summer is coming to an end, the weather is getting colder. You are probably going to need a couple of hobby courses or extracurricular activities for your spare time. Before choosing what you would like to learn, take a look at these suggestions of popular classes that children can join during their summer vacation.
It’s summer vacation, we are happy that vacations are coming. Here comes the time of the year to enjoy outdoor activities with your friends and family. But you need to be well prepared before going on vacations. So Master Amit Patel gives you details of hobby classes in Pune.
Have you ever wondered where all the fun in summer vacations goes? For kids, summer vacation is supposed to be a blast full of dreams and adventures. It can be. If you know where to look, that is. Sometimes it’s as easy as signing your kids up for one of these hobbies classes over the summer.
Summertime in India is typically characterized by the onset of structured camps and hobby classes. In an effort to provide structure and meaningful engagement, children are deprived of playtime. Hobby classes and summer camps, while useful for learning new skills, stifle collaboration and limit creative thinking.
Hobby Classes In Summer Vacation
Children are born thinkers driven by curiosity and imagination. Playtime unleashes this potential and harnesses the executive function skills and social emotional skills. During playtime, children make their own meaning of the world around them. They can learn a myriad of ideas ranging from, what it means to include everyone during a game, to more complex problems, how can we ensure fair play? Through this process children both create and understand the language for communication as well. More importantly, in a world where the need for movement has been eliminated by technological advancements, playtime promotes physical development in an accelerated manner.
So what does play look like?
Play does not always have to be with other children or outside. Children can play with a family member, with a group of friends, or independently. They can play with materials such as LEGOs, clay, manipulative and they can play with zero resources. What is happening during playtime is essential in differentiating whether it is beneficial or not. According to the Pedagogy of Play, a working paper by Project Zero at Harvard University, productive playtime is indicated by aspects of choice, wonder, and delight.
- Choice: Children can choose who they want to play with, what games they would like to play, how long they would want to play it, and what rules must they follow. A sense of ownership or a child saying ¨I want to play with…” drives choice making. However, choice-making by itself is not enough. Empowering children to negotiate (rules, teams, play time, wins and losses), share ideas (role play, cooking, and obstacle courses) and collaborate with at least one other person is extremely important. Group play facilitates most of these skills naturally. During independent play or guided play, family members can ensure they are asking questions and challenging children adequately by asking questions (why do you want to play with…/ when will you want to play another game…/ can you tell me how you will do this…).
- Wonder: Having an element of surprise or fascination is a huge aspect of playtime. Have you ever thought about why hide and go seek was such a thrilling experience during childhood? During play, children often begin to create their own imaginary worlds. They will often be seen talking to themselves which helps them develop the inner voice of reason and reassurance. Children who engage with play filled with wonder, develop far more resilience than ones who dabble only in structured playtime. By creating unanticipated challenges (I wonder what to do next…) and waiting for the child to figure out how to solve the problem you can unlock the essential skills of persistence and critical thinking.
- Delight: A joyful child will derive far more out of playtime than a child who feels isolated. Embedding the child’s interest in the games we play can go a long way in making children feel appreciated. This allows the child to feel relaxed and safe which are also key to enabling choice and wonder. You might be able to notice delightful play when a child is singing, celebrating or being extremely attentive. Allowing children to drop an activity or change the rules of the game mid-way might be a small way to ensure they are seeking joy from it. Being attuned to their emotions is important and providing opportunities of choice or wonder at the inception of negative emotions might just do the trick!
Making time for play
Yes, camps and classes also allow children to learn new skills and meet new people. That does not mean we can replace playtime with such pursuits. Provide spaces to children to engage in playtime independently and with others. Play along with them and model how unstructured time can be spent imaginatively. Make it a habit to move to play spaces when you begin to notice signs of boredom. This will eventually be replicated by children even when others are not around. More than anything, use the opportunity of play to know your children better and foster deeper relationships with them.
Few days back I saw a meme doing rounds on most mothers group I am a part of on Facebook. It read, Summer vacations is the only time we realise that teachers are underpaid. It made sense with tinge of humour packed in those words. Just think of it, if you can t keep your child occupied and make her listen to you, how difficult it might be for the teachers. Well, that isn t your little one s fault Children have an active mind and are a storehouse of energy that leads them to explore everything around them. So, if you keep them idle, they are bound to be restless which we translate as being naughty. One way to keep your child engaged during summer vacation is to enroll her in some or the other activity or hobby class. No, don t burden her with too many activities but pick one (or maybe two) which will interest her and also enhance her creativity and help her learn something new. Here are few activities that you can give a thought to:
Calligraphy: This is a form of art that helps your child to write in more than one style in an artistic manner. You might be wondering if it is worth to enroll your child in such a class in an age where computers and iPads rule their world. Well, I suggest you consider two things before ruling out this option. First, the importance of handwriting cannot be replaced with the convenience of typing. Writing is not only a form of art or a chore, but also helps to develop personality and helps in relieving stress and anxiety. This is the reason why many therapists offer journal writing as a therapy to improve mental health. Second, it contributes towards building concentration and enhances creativity and brings out the artist in your child. However, it also depends on the interest and nature of your child.
Speech and drama: Many people prefer a crash course on speech and drama during vacations, especially for kids who are shy, have stage fright or are introvert. It is a guided course where children are taught to speak out loud through various activities like poetry learning, elocution, etc. If your child is an introvert, it might take some time for him to adjust to the class and she might be reluctant to attend it. But with time, you will be able to see a change in her personality and conquer her fear of public speaking.
Also Read
- How Can Graphology Be An Effective Tool For Positive Parenting?
- What Is Feeding Therapy, And Who Needs It?
- Summer Special Skincare Routine For Glowing And Flawless Skin
Gardening: This is an easy activity in which you can involve your kid. You don t even need to send her to any classes. Buy some pots, pans and saplings and you both can indulge in this activity. However, you might have to brush up on your knowledge of gardening or read little about it on how to introduce your child to gardening. This is an excellent way to help your kid get closer to nature and respect it.
Art and Craft: Painting, drawing, clay modelling, origami — there is a variety of art and craft classes where you can enrol your kid. All these activities help to open new paths of creativity, relieve stress and keep them occupied in a creative way.
Sports: Ideally, this should not be just a pastime for vacation, it is better you involve your child in sports throughout the year. This activity helps to keep your little one s brain, body and soul in sync, apart from building muscle. However, to use the pent up energy within your little one, enrol her in some sports activity that she can learn during her vacation like skating, table tennis, swimming, martial arts or whatever appeals to her.
