T
he summer holidays are
here – the time for your
children to throw off their
school uniforms and not
give learning another thought until
the new school year. Or is it?
The school holidays should
always be fun and a way for kids to
relax and refresh after a long year of
studying. But, like a muscle, the more
you use your brain, the stronger it
gets. It needs constant exercising to
stay in shape. As tutors, we often find
that our students come back after the
long summer holidays with flabbier
brains and it can then take some time
to rebuild the strength.
But, fear not: We don’t need
daily maths drills or to memorise the
complete works of Shakespeare to stay
brain-fit over the summer. Instead,
there are lots of wonderful, fun ways
to keep the brain active that won’t
even feel like work!
Activities for every brain
There are plenty of activities and
exercises that we hope every child is
doing over the summer, no matter
what age. Top of this list is to continue
reading. Whether here or overseas,
find out about your local library, if
you haven’t already, and make time
to visit it, explore the books that are
on offer and discover new genres of
writing. Encourage your children
to read independently, but also try
to read some more advanced books
together. Remember that a huge
part of reading is talking about what
you are discovering, enjoying or
questioning in the book. Engage your
children by asking questions about
the characters and story, and guide
them to look at the style of writing
and to think about deeper meanings.
We Hongkongers are so media-
saturated that sitting down quietly
with a book and then discussing it is a
great way to unplug.
Board games are brilliant at
building skills like strategising,
cooperating and interpreting
instructions, so bring out the
Monopoly, Scrabble and Articulate!
and play with your children over
the holidays. Or, for the more
adventurous gamers, building your
own board game as a family can
be lots of fun. Get the children to
work together leading the strategy
for developing the rules, name and
purpose of the game and designing
how it is going to look and work.
Writing letters and postcards
over the long holidays not only keeps
your children writing and their
penmanship in check, but will also
be a wonderful relative-pleaser! Even
if you aren’t travelling abroad this
summer, your children can keep in
touch with their school friends and
family by writing from Hong Kong
and sending postcards that they can
design themselves.
Remember to make the most of
situations. If you are going on holiday
abroad, encourage your children to
research the culture, food, language
and history of your destination. They
can even put together a presentation
to give to the family before you leave.
If you are going to a museum or an
exhibition, they can read a book
Keeping your brain fit over the summer
break doesn’t have to be a bore or a chore,
write
Olivia Hungerford
and
Eleanor Smallwood
.
sharp
Stay
this
summer
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