Summer plan

The holidays are here again and it’s eight weeks of no traffic and boisterous children looking to dispel their energy wherever and whenever available. As long as your children are still in school, one prevailing question that is being asked everywhere is: “What do we do with the children over the holidays?” I however try to counter this question with one of my own: “What is your plan for your children for this holiday?” This is a question that every parent must ask, because it is our responsibility to ensure that the holidays are not only fun but also educative.

Of course, there is the summer camp a number of parents will take their children to, but it’s unlikely they’ll be gone for eight weeks. Even if they do, what is your plan for them? For those that are not travelling, what’s the plan to engage your children?

My resolve therefore is to take responsibility for my children’s holidays and make the best of it. This led me to begin to draw up a plan of what the next eight weeks will entail. These are a few suggestions:

Summer school: Thank God for that. This provides an opportunity to get involved in more extracurricular activities. It is also a way of ensuring that your child’s brain is put to work even during the holidays.

Brush up school work: By now, most parents would have seen the children’s report sheets. This is the time to work on weak areas and also improve on strong areas. For a few hours a week, it’s okay to bring in a teacher to help strengthen the problem areas that were not totally grasped during the school year or work out those problem areas yourself with your children.

Learn something new: This is a good time to introduce something new. It could be to learn a language or a skill; Chinese, Spanish and French are now the order of the day. It would be fun to have your children learn those languages. It might be fun to visit new places in Nigeria and learn about what Nigeria has to offer. It might be to learn a new sport or a new instrument, it can be musical.

Vacation jobs: For older children, vacation jobs are a great idea. They provide them with the opportunity to learn new skills, think about other things besides themselves and also provide extra cash for some of the treats that they want, thereby saving you some money in the process.

Upgrade information: I applaud the schools for teaching our children and exposing them to the world, but there’s so much you don’t learn at school. Encourage your children to read, not just fiction, but biographies, history and world events. If you have younger children, introduce them to this information in a way that they understand.

Visit family: This is also a good time to visit grandparents, aunties, cousins and family friends. No man is an island and family is a very essential part of who we are.

Have fun: Please, make sure these children have fun. During the school year, they had to go to bed on time, do without some of their best shows. Now, it’s holiday time, so cut them some healthy slack, not to be irresponsible, but to let down their hair. Make plans to visit fun places, eat out, order pizza and ice cream, visit the mall and sleep late.

Bond: The most important thing to achieve this holiday season is to take time to bond. Take some time off work and spend time with them. Take time to watch their programmes and create special bonding moments with each of your children. You will be shocked at how much you would learn and how pleased they would be to find out that you are genuinely interested in what they are doing.

It’s not too late to get to work. Pick up a pen and start planning. As you put all these together, you might be shocked that you don’t have enough time to do all I’ve outlined. Make this holiday the best your children have had.

Email: sola_agudah@yahoo.com

Blog: mummysheart.org