I don’t have children yet, but I have nephews and lots of them. Every vacation, I find their parents pondering over what to do to entertain them. How to distract them from the devices that are practically destroying their childhood and disrupting their creative line of thought.
As a remedy, I decided to do my research and help my relatives out. And obviously also help all the parents who are dreading the long summer vacations with no means of entertainment for their children.
Here are the seven activities you can do:
1) Workshops
Check out the events in your city and enrol your child in workshops that offer a plethora of entertainment options, with learning. For instance the workshop organised by Katha promises to offer theatre, origami, classic modelling, story telling, writing workshop and much more! These workshops more often involve the parent with the child so that the fun is doubled. Here is one you can take your child to- Katha Story Telling Workshop
2) Mini Safari
There are lots of outdoor parks and treks in every city where you can just trek with your kid. A little drive, a picnic lunch and an educational walk will make it an exciting day for both of you. Identify plants, flowers and bugs and try to encourage your child to draw his/her favourite sighting. Refrigerator pin up material and a learning experience, rolled into one!
3) Cooking together
Cooking together can be a lot of fun. Let your child, irrespective of the gender, step into the kitchen. This will also bring in a sense of inclusiveness. How a family behaves around a child leaves a lasting impression. If your child has always seen the mother cook, and the father sit back, he (or she) will grow up to believe it as the natural order of things. Start with a fun activity, like baking and move on to the big guns. Remember, your child is there to help so it will be easy to supervise and teach at the same time.
4) Gardening
If you have a small patch or a big lawn, this is where the outdoor fun is. Let your child help you grow a plant and watch it nurture. The first sight of the leaf on his/her project will bring in an excitement that nothing can. A little bit of getting dirty can be followed by washing with the help of the garden hose and playing with water! Do I need to add how big a respite that would be in summer?
5) Story Pedagogies
To inculcate reading habits in a child has become more of a necessity in this day and age. In this impatient world where everything is done by the press of a button, there is a need to stop and smell the daisies, just so you can write about them. One of the easiest ways to make your child pick a book is the idea of story pedagogy, where you can draw and cut up characters of a story together and tell the story to the entire family. Katha, an NGO, brings children living in poverty into reading and quality education with this very concept. If you are unsure how to start, just get in touch with them!
6) Indoor games
Lot f board games foster not just creative thinking but the analytical thinking too. Find time to purchase and play such games with your child. I for one have grown up on Scotland Yard and Monopoly, and to this date the family gets together and plays them when time permits!
7) Craft work
Crafts are always a great way to engage your child and foster creative thinking. It also helps the child become more enterprising and appreciate things that they more often might deem frivolous. Pick up a few projects and make a parent-kid collection this vacation, and display it on the nice looking shelf in all its glory. It will not only help your child create masterpieces but also make for a wonderful memory for life. Click here for some awesome projects!
We hope you got enough ideas to let your child have the best vacation till date. It can be fun, games, travel and learning! If you want your child to develop a skill like learning a language, leaning guitar or dance classes, book UrbanClap!