Children need their vacation just as much as adults do our vacation. If we don’t plan through this free time, it can lead to wonderful surprises. The somewhat different homework for the holidays.
The best recipe for the holidays: Just let go and have fun | © moerschy / pixabay.com
28.07.2015, column by Béa Beste and Daniel Bialecki
Summer camps, music schools, sports competitions, day trips to museums and zoos, exchange programs, language schools, children’s holiday programs. There are an infinite number of ways in which children can make good use of their summer vacation and spend a lot of the time.
But the point of vacation is not really that there is none?
When children get bored, they are forced to take responsibility for their time and looking for activities that interest them – and computer and mobile games should only play a small role. This gives children the chance to get to know their real interests, to discover talents.
Of course there are many good leisure activities, Hobbies that children enjoy, excursions that weld the family together. This should by no means be canceled. It is about not overdoing the children, not about transferring the timetable to the holidays. Or do we parents want to pack our well-deserved vacation with appointments?
Here we have put together our best summer learning experiences! We also remembered what we liked to do as children, but also thought about what is good for our own children.
Top 10 homework for summer
1. Explore an area with friends, down to the smallest detail …
Understand what is going on on a square kilometer of our earth: whether on the beach, in the forest, garden or in the city. It’s best to go out and look with a magnifying glass, smartphone and camera, what one discovered like this: animals? Nature? Culture? Treasures? Important: hold on somehow.
Playing is not only fun, it also promotes children’s intellectual development © Sunny studio / Fotolia.com
2. … also at night: Take a night walk with the parents
Don’t be alone! But with the parents and a flashlight in your luggage, a night exploration is awesome. And if it takes a little longer – not bad! You can sleep in during the holidays.
3. Find at least 10 ways to splash into the water
Butt bomb and twill are not everything! And the ladder is boring … Whether in the lake or outdoor pool: How do you get most creative into the cool water? These are important physical laws that have to be researched there.
Go on an adventure! | © Peter Jelinek / WWF Germany
4. Harvest cherries, strawberries and other fruit. And feed on the spot
There are farmers who offer this: Don’t miss it. The smell and taste of freshly picked fruit is a memory for life.
5. Drive to the camp
Nowhere do you learn so much about being outdoors, being in groups, organizing a community, being part of a community. And for the first time you can really fall in love.
Learning and playing – inextricably linked for children!
6. Let the children cook
And cooking starts with shopping! Discuss a budget with the children, plan together and then send them off. Be there in the kitchen depending on your age, but ideally inconspicuously on the edge, and only step in when it is really wanted or becomes dangerous. Don’t forget: We sometimes drop something, you can clean later. And: Our children also like it not always everything we put before them.
7. Go canoeing
Some river is always nearby and you can usually paddle on it. It’s really fun – even more with an overnight stay. You see the river from a completely different perspective, get to know a lot of animals, try to take only the bare essentials and have a lot of time for topics that otherwise would not come to mind so quickly. Oh yes – quite often you have no network, so you are offline. Sometimes it is almost a more exciting experience for parents than for children.
Canoeing through the lake landscape – what an experience! | © Peter Jelinek / WWF Germany
8. Look at castles and fortresses
If it is more than a loose collection of (albeit very, very old) stones, it can be very exciting – here life can be grasped quickly and even felt with little imagination. Many castles or archaeological sites have good material for children. I still know quite a bit about Romans and Etruscans today because we often visited excavations during our vacation in Italy, together with a “What is What book ”. An audio guide with noises is also cool!
9. Play with children who do not speak the same language
Everything is easier during the holidays, including communication: with rudimentary English skills or only with hands, feet, grunts and painting on the sand … Everything is allowed, everything is fun.
10. Puddling in rainy weather: splash hooray!
Catch play with out-fields (the puddles). Anyone standing in the puddle is safe and must not be caught. There can only be one in each puddle. Wellies are recommended here.
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