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Seven ways to make children productive during long holiday

school holiday
The roller-coaster that is parenthood enters yet another dramatic stretch this weekend.
For 72 days, most of the school going children will be on holiday, and if what posts on social media are anything to go by, parents are yet to get used to the marathon holiday.
Most parents don’t know what to do with their children during this long break that is also full of festivities.
The Sunday Nation spoke with various individuals on how parents can make the best of the long break.
1. Private tutors
Being a teacher, Mr Joshua Onsongo knows too well why children require a private tutor over the long break.
“People mistake a private tutor to be one teaching classroom work only,” he says. “A tutor can guide and counsel. In this era where parents are too busy, one can trust a tutor to oversee his or her children during this long holiday.”
Mr Onsongo, who is based in Nairobi’s Komarock, believes that a two-month holiday is “too long a period to leave these digital children on their own”.
2. Timetables
According to Mr Brighton Nengo Dissi, the head of department at the Languages and Library Department at Cheptenye Boys High School in Kericho County, parents should ensure their children have timetables at home.
“Demand to see the timetable,” Mr Dissi tells parent. “Emphasise on the need to complete holiday assignments on time and even outsource revision materials for the children. Make several impromptu visits to their study room to ensure they are studying.”
He adds that once learners realise that they are being monitored, they take their work more seriously.
3. CBC homework
With the competency-based curriculum, school holidays are not business as usual for parents. While past school holidays allowed children to throw care to the wind, doing homework only if their teachers had provided it, things are more structured this time.
According to Mr Martin Mbugua, a Nairobi resident, his daughter who is heading to Grade Seven is making him break a sweat, thanks to a homework book that details the work to be done over the break. As per the requirements, pupils fill up some sections and parents are required to participate in others and to mark the work. Then teachers will review the work once schools reopen.
“You just have to Google if you don’t know,” he says, chuckling. When the question is too tough, he jokes, he excuses himself and heads to the washrooms to consult the World Wide Web.
He is determined to look the part, having convinced his children that he was always a top student. Mr Dissi says parents should use such opportunities to bond with their children and observe the minors’ behaviour more keenly.
4. Enough food supplies
Parents who spoke with the Sunday Nation said they had made provisions for increased food consumption stocks over the holiday. Kisumu resident Esther Auma, a mother of two, says her trick is to buy in bulk.
5. Resting
Mr Paul Kibet, a director at the Education ministry, says parents should not underestimate the value of rest.
“Learning, though a joyous experience, requires mental, emotional and physical energy. The children need rest time to bond with the family and learn other important things before resuming learning in January,” says Mr Kibet, who is a director of secondary education. “The December holiday provides room for children to unwind.”
6 Holiday camps
All over social media, there are posts advertising camps organised for children on holiday.
One such camp will be happening in Runyenjes, Embu County, from November 10 to December 10. It has the alternatives for day (Sh4,000 a week) and boarding (Sh6,500 a week)..
There, children will be engaged in such activities as music, indoor games, life skills, foreign languages, art and craft and team building.
Proponents of such camps say they create all-rounded individuals.
“For a young person to succeed better in life, they need other skills other than school work,” says Mr Njoroge Kiarie, a career coach.
7 Exercise
According to Mr David Nyakundi, a team building coach and social worker, the responsibility of children’s exercise during the holiday lies on parents.
“The games teachers will not accompany children home. It is your responsibility to ensure the children are fit. This improves their health,” says Mr Nyakundi, the author of Success is Never by Chance.

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