5 Ways to Keep Your Children’s Minds Active Over the Summer 16

There’s no denying that over the long summer holidays children lose the momentum they’ve had for learning over the previous year at school. Key concepts might be forgotten and they could simply get out of the habit of applying their brain on a regular basis. It is beneficial to your children to keep their brains active over the summer holidays, especially if they are returning to exams, a particularly challenging year or even starting a new school.

Excursions and Holidays

Take children out of their everyday environment or routine and they are likely to be stimulated and to learn something. Explore options for day trips near you. Plan an excursion to another town or city, a zoo, art gallery, museum or park. The possibilities really are endless but day trips can be expensive and holidays certainly are so plan carefully. There are plenty of free or cheap excursions you can make that will have no less of an impact when it comes to stimulating children’s imaginations.

Books and Apps

If your child enjoys reading books the long summer holiday offers the perfect opportunity to get a serious amount of reading done. Your child’s teacher may be able to recommend some books before term ends or you could even talk to their next teacher about the best reading matter to prepare your child for the following year at school. Regular trips to the local library will ensure an endless supply of reading matter. For those children more into what’s happening on their tablet or phone there are plenty of apps available to give your child’s brain a regular workout over the holidays. Do your research and even have a go before you give it to your child to make sure it’s suitable.

Relaxation

As much as it’s important to keep your children’s brains ticking during the summer holidays it’s equally important to let them have some down-time after all their hard work at school over the year. How does your child like to relax? Build some time into the schedule to spend time doing what they love. Playing sport is a great way to relax and a sport they can do in a group or a couple will get them out having fun with their friends. Maybe learning a new sport would be a possibility. This would be a fantastic way for them to learn something over the holidays in an enjoyable way. Remember to book any courses or classes in advance of the holidays in case everything gets booked up.

Hire a Private Tutor

Arranging for some private tuition over the holidays is the perfect way to keep your child’s learning on the right track. This is particularly important if your child will sit an exam on their return to school, such as the 11+ exam, or if they have fallen behind a little in the previous school year. Even a weekly session of an hour or two will keep your child in the habit of learning. A private tutor will quickly be able to see where the gaps in learning are and which areas need focus. If you need help finding a tutor in your area contact Fleet Tutors. They have teams of experienced tutors around the UK who are ready to help your child achieve their potential.

Let Your Child Lead the Way

This one really depends on the age and maturity of your child. If you think of how you learn best and the knowledge you retain most easily you’ll realise that it’s the things you are interested in and enjoy doing that you learn about with ease and retain knowledge about. Think of what your child is really passionate about and incorporate this into the summer holiday routine, trying to think of an educational aspect to it or some way to stretch them a little if necessary.

Children should remember their summer holidays fondly for all the fun things they’ve done, new places they’ve seen and new things they’ve learnt. If you can find some fun ways to keep up their learning over the holidays and keep their minds active then the summer holidays can be a productive time too.

Boy lying in grass reading a book in a summer field