Learning through summer fun
Clare Preston, Head of Carfax Tutors, UAE, reveals how a fun and relaxing summer can also be a time to introduce your children to educational activities to set them up for the school year ahead
The last 18 months have been a roller coaster ride for many school-aged children; the challenges of online, blended learning, reintegration into class learning, plus frequent breaks in schooling, have left many concerned that children now have significant gaps in the building blocks of their education and their social skills. The summer is a perfect time to bridge those gaps with fun activities that have hidden learning benefits.
Harnessing a child’s interest in something like computer games can have an educational twist. At CARFAX, we have had fun working with children using Educational Minecraft (education.minecraft.net), encouraging them to build sustainable cities, design circuits and working on logical problem-solving skills. Prodigy (prodigygame.com) is a games platform that challenges and entertains children by posing maths questions to complete quests and earn rewards. Taking a creative and cultural approach, many of the world’s museums are offering virtual tours which can follow an educational theme. The Museum of the World (britishmuseum.withgoogle.com) takes themes such as art and design or trade and conflict and leads you on a historical journey through different related objects from all over the world.
Away from screens, there are lots of fun activities with learning benefits. Baking a cake is a live science experiment with a snack at the end, if you think about why the cake rises and the importance of measuring the ingredients; try building a cardboard boat or a balloon powered car with the Dyson Challenges ( Go to dyson.com and search top-five-engineering-challenges-todo-at-home) or simple science experiments such as creating a volcano with a plastic bottle and baking soda (sciencefun.org and search how-tomake-a-volcano). Or plant some seeds on a wet tissue observing the structure and life cycle of a plant - from seed to fully grown plant to flower and back to seed again (rhs.org.uk)
Summer is also the time to fall in love with reading, developing not only imagination and creativity but also communication, literature, and grammar skills. If you are looking for ideas, our Carfax tutors have put together some recommendations here (visit carfax-education. ae and search summer-time-is-reading-time)
Spending time with older relatives over the summer is the perfect basis for a great history project. Interviewing family members and creating a ‘who do you think you are’ style record with photos, writing, sound recordings and video clips is also a great keepsake for the future.
Playing traditional board games is another way for children to see how they are improving a range of skills. Games such as Scrabble or Boggle are great for spelling and developing vocabulary; Risk and Monopoly are good for strategy and planning. Sequence is always a hit with all ages, combining cards and counters and Chess and Backgammon are great games to master early on.
While the summer is a time for fun and relaxation, it can also be a time to introduce your children to educational activities, without them even realising the benefits they are reaping and to set them up for the new school year ahead.
Find out more about Carfax Education UAE by visiting carfax-education.ae
Harnessing a child’s interest in something like computer games can have an educational twist