This article was first published in the New Vision on December 28, 2022
The end of a school term does not mean learning has stopped. Rather, it presents an opportunity for your child to get hands-on skills that you probably did not get at school. Maureen Nakatudde and Shibba Nkwanzi explores some of the skills
Children have plenty of time on their hands this holiday. However, before you know it, children will be going back to school — after spending more than two months at home. But it is common for some children to get to the end of such a long holiday without something productive to show for it.
Getting the children involved in productive activities during the holidays not only keeps them busy, but also allows them an opportunity to acquire an extra skill — which might be relevant to them in the future. So, what kind of activities should parents engage their children in this holiday season?
Short Courses
The end of a school term does not mean learning has stopped. Instead, it presents an opportunity for you to get hands-on skills that you probably did not get at school. Ritah Nakimuli, a director and lecturer at St.
Ritah Technical Workshops in Mityana district, encourages parents to enrol their children in institutions that offer short courses for practical skills during holidays.
“Some courses take two days while others can take less than four weeks,” she says. “After training, the child can go home and start practising what they have learnt.”
Your child could take short courses in, for instance, tailoring, making shaggy mats, catering, baking, decor as well as carpentry and joinery.
Some of these are free courses at the Skilling Uganda centres. You could walk into a centre near you to find out if they have packages for students on holiday.
Nakimuli reveals that these courses go for between sh100,000 and sh800,000 at some private institutions. Vocational skills are even more important now that the Government plans to vocationalise the education system, starting with the competence-based curriculum currently being implemented in lower secondary.
Learning A New Language
Dr Gladys Bwanika, a lecturer of zoology at Makerere University, encourages parents to help their children learn international languages such as Kiswahili, French and German during this holiday. “Some children do not even know their mother tongues well. This could be the time for parents to make sure they learn them,” she adds.
“Some children have grown up in towns and only know English.”
Religious Instruction
Children could also take advantage of the holiday season to fulfill particular religious responsibilities. For instance, the children who have not been confirmed could use this holiday season to complete their religious lessons and get confirmation.
Frank Katusiime, a parent and counsellor, says parents could use holidays to raise their children in the fear of the Lord. This, he says, will ensure they do not easily divert from their faith when they become adults.
“This includes having home fellowships and bible studies,” Katusiime adds.
“Let your children take the lead in these fellowships and Bible studies. This will allow them an opportunity to prepare by reading the bible,” he says.
Ibrahim Kabanda, a parent in Bwaise, a Kampala suburb, says holidays are a perfect time for parents to get their children to learn more about their faith.
“If you feel your faith has not been addressed adequately at school, then you can take the long holiday season to do that with your children,” he says.
Bwanika says some churches run programmes such as music lessons and conferences that children can get involved in during the holidays.
“The children can also join choirs and drama groups and take part in community outreaches. The churches also teach values, such as hard work, respecting elders and abstinence, which are good for the children,” Bwanika adds.
One-On-One Conversations
Some children go astray simply because they did not receive the necessary guidance from their parents when they needed it. But the children can take advantage of this holiday season to seek guidance from their parents. On the other hand, the parents could also create time and share with their children valuable information.
Besides conversations, Dr Ruth Senyonyi, a counsellor, encourages parents to watch television shows and other games such as football together with their children.
“When the parents and children laugh together, their bond and trust deepen,” she adds. “This can help the children share what they think with parents easily,”
Employment
If you own a business, you could use the holiday season to help your children learn how to run it.
Katusiime, a parent and counsellor, says he employs his children in the family business during the holidays. This, he says, helps his children understand the business and how to make money.
This is especially important because your children need to have the knowledge and skills to keep the family business running in your absence in the future.
If you do not have a family business and you are interested in helping your children learn to make money, Katusiime says you could ask a friend who owns a business to work with them.
“The most important thing is that your child learns the skills and the value of hard work,” he adds.
“Let your children not be redundant as they might engage in things that might not be good for them,” Katusiime notes.
Adrian Kakinda, a counselling psychologist at Kyambogo University, says getting the children involved in your business helps them learn an important value — one has to work to earn.
He adds that you can also take your children with you to the garden to help them get skilled in agriculture.
“If the children are idle they can engage in destructive behaviour. They have a lot of energy, which you need to help them channel into productive work,” Kakinda adds.
Fagil Mandy, an educationist, encourages parents to link their children to individuals and institutions involved in activities of their interest.
“If you want your child to be an engineer or a mechanic, you should find friends in those areas, who can help your children learn from the job,” he adds. “You can do this during the holidays,”
Developing Your Talent
Holidays are a great opportunity for students with natural abilities, for instance, in creating art, to develop their talent. Barbie Kisakye, a parent, says holidays offer her daughter, Immaculate Nantongo, who is in Senior Two, a chance to devote more attention to developing a career in music.
Nantongo, who started singing at the age of four, now writes her songs, her mother says. Since part of this holiday season is a festive period, Kisakye says she has helped her daughter “organise” musical shows.
On the other hand, Justine Ojambo, says her daughter, Phoebe Nekesa, who used to present a show on a local television, now writes poetry.
Both parents say their children have used the holidays to sharpen their skills. Nekesa, who is now in Senior Six at St. Mary’s College Namagunga, is a podcaster.
“I talk about poetry in my podcasts. You can get to my podcasts through Twitter and Instagram,” she says.
Instead of losing the entire holiday on stuff that does not add value to you, Ojambo encourages you to identify and develop your talent.
Household Chores
Even though you employ maids, it is important to let your children perform some of the household chores.
Mandy says children should do household chores to learn important life skills.
He says it is wrong for children to receive everything on a silver platter “Remember maids are not your children,” he says. “Your children need life skills.”
Kakinda says holidays should ideally be a period when parents grant maids leave or reduce their workload as children do some of the household chores. Performing household chores with maids or siblings teaches the children a key soft skill — teamwork.
You can assign different activities to different children in the household, says Dr Jalira Namugaya, a lecturer at Muni University in Arua city.
These activities could include laundry, cleaning the compound and cooking.
“On waking up, each child should have an activity to do,” Namugaya says, adding that “if you have projects, such as poultry, your children should be actively involved. My children feed the chicks and clean the barn. My son goes to the grazing field with our herdsman and milks the cows.”
Entertainment
After a school term of non-academic work, the children will need a break. Priscilla Nassuuna, a parent in Kampala, says she takes her children on a picnic during the holidays.
“I usually have a schedule of activities my children have to do from Monday to Friday. There are days for schoolwork, art and craft, cooking and entertainment,” she adds.
Nassuna says you do not have to take your children to places that charge entrance fees to get them entertained.
“I take them to gardens that you do not have to pay to enter. We pack our food and drinks. The children make and enjoy the meals,” she says.
You can also get your children entertained without taking them outside of their home.
“There is a lot to entertain children in the environment you create at home. The children can also be creative and get themselves entertained at home,” Nassuna says. Adding that: “If your child loves basketball, find a way of getting them to play it at home”.
Adrian Kakinda, a counselling psychologist from Kyambogo University, encourages parents to take their children to holiday boot camps. These camps, he says, help the children to discover themselves, release stress and take a break from academic activity.
Holiday Activities To Beat The Boredom
- Create a home cinema Rent, download or buy the children’s favourite movie, get some snacks such as popcorn and pizza.
- Go swimming Whether it be at the local baths or water park, there’s lots of fun to be had swimming!
- Do a jigsaw PUZZLE A good jigsaw puzzle can keep everyone entertained for hours on end. Dust off your favourite jigsaw and see how quickly you can complete it as a team.
- Create a puppet show Dig out your old socks and the crafts box and have fun creating puppet characters. Go for a picnic Choose a park, perhaps somewhere that you have never been and go and explore.
- Do some gardening Let them help you with the gardening. If you have flowers or vegetables to take care of.
- Go on a bike ride Strap on your helmets and explore the countryside on your bikes.
- Visit a farm Simple but very fun! Farms are full of new and exciting things that help children learn about animals and their habitats. Feed the goats or take a donkey ride.
- Visit a museum Museums have now incorporated interactive activities that children can do while learning lots of interesting and fun facts.
- Wash the car A win-win for everyone, you get a nice clean car and the children get to play with bubbles and spray each other with water.
- Visit the library The library is filled with all sorts of exciting things to do. Find their favourite author and let them get lost in their favourite books, draw a picture or surf the internet for fun facts or practice their writing skills.
Source: www.davidluke.com
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