April is always a busy time in education. As Easter takes up a vast majority of the month, the focus is usually at the start or at the end of April when it comes to education. Whether it’s a daycare centre, baby daycare or a fully functioning high school, it is at this time of year when schools start to look at the new up-and-coming academic year. If you have school-aged children you will be all too aware of the school holidays. School holidays pose a problem of their own, because if you are a working parent, it means that you will either have to take time off work, organise paid childcare or find them activities that they can do with other members of your family or friends who may be off at the same time as your children. There are a number of aspects that you need to consider when it comes to how to entertain your children whilst they’re off school, so below we will take a look at some of the aspects to think about, whether children are on a vacation from their studies and other aspects of education.
Screen Time
When your children are off school it is very tempting to fall in the trap of screen time. Screen time is when children spend time in front of their iPads, mobile phones or television screens as a form of entertainment. There have been various studies over the years as to whether screen time is actually beneficial or detrimental to children. If screen time takes place around bedtime, it can affect the quality of a child’s sleep, so it is advisable that you limit screen time in the evening hours. Screen time during the day for a limited period of time can be beneficial as children are able to interact and enjoy these devices and apps on their smart devices. As long as children don’t use smart devices as their only form of entertainment or before bedtime, then there is no reason why a child cannot have access to the screen.
Extra Curricular Activities
One of the most popular ways to entertain your children during the holidays is by giving them extra curricular activities to conduct. An example of this is kids piano lessons. Learning to play a musical instrument is beneficial in many ways as children are given an opportunity to learn a new skill and they will also gain the ability to read music. Teaching children to play a musical instrument will do them good in later development, as they will already have the fundamental skills that are needed to play a musical instrument. Most schools will offer some form of musical education and having these extra activities whilst out of school will help bolster their achievements.
Fitness
Educational fitness is something more schools are starting to introduce into the curriculum. It’s not just about physical exercise when talk about fitness, as the mind is also a part of any fitness program. During term time, schools will exercise a child’s mind, not just their body, and you as a parent can also look at other ways in which a child’s mind can be focused into other things. The same can be made when a child is on school vacation. As well as doing physical activity, try to make sure that your children engage in something that exercises their mind as well. Simple problem solving or puzzles are a great way of exercising a child’s mind. These are also a great way to entertain your children when they have nothing to do in the holidays.
School Clubs
School clubs are on the rise as they offer a good range of activities for children that may not have someone to look after them whilst they’re on school holiday. School clubs are not just sports related, as they can take a number of disciplines and extend on what children are learning at school. Many schools offer extra services at an additional cost and are based on the school grounds, so the children are familiar with the surroundings. In some cases outside agencies take over the school grounds so that all the facilities are there, it’s just a different group of staff that are running these clubs.
Above we have covered some of the aspects that you could consider when your child is off school, as well as aspects to consider when your child is participating in a particular activity.
Other Educational News
There is great concern about the condition of the teeth of children in their early childhood. Auckland University have conducted a study that looked at five-year-old children to see the condition of their teeth. The amount of decay that was found was surprising. The study found that 40% of children had some form of decay, while some children of primary age had missing milk teeth too early. Most of the findings found that poor dental hygiene and eating sugary foods was the main cause of tooth decay.
Greater education is needed amongst parents to ensure that children do not suffer this level of decay going forward. Although this may sound like a simple thing to correct, it is now starting to become a worrying epidemic. Poor dental hygiene has also been linked to an increased risk of middle ear infection and respiratory tract infections such as asthma. Although this is not the only cause of these infections, they could be a contributing factor to those that suffer from severe cases of tooth decay.
The month of April is no different when it comes to educational news. As you can see from the above we have covered a number of stories that may be of interest to those that have an interest in education.