With the summer holidays fast approaching, many parents are turning their thoughts towards summer clubs.
Attending a summer club has far more benefits than simply being a means of childcare throughout those long months. They can be hugely advantageous for both children and parents. Summer clubs tend to focus on physical and creative activities, with common activities including arts and crafts, music, drama, science, nature and sports.
New experiences
Chances are, during a summer club, children will have the opportunity to try things that they may not have been able to before. Your children may discover talents they didn’t even know they had while being encouraged to explore problem solving and independent thinking.
Staying active
When at home, staying active tends to take a back seat for many children in favour of other activities such as watching TV or playing video games. It can be hard to motivate kids to exercise during the summer, especially with the added difficulties of lack of space and equipment. Many holiday clubs involve being active and spending the day running around, playing sport, acting and dancing, giving children a great chance to move without them even realising they are ‘exercising’.
Building social skills
Engaging with new people and children from different schools is a great way for children to build on their social skills and make new friends. Depending on the club, the activities often include team or group activities, which makes building friendships much easier with very little effort. Children are encouraged to work together, strengthening their social skills and making meeting new people just that little bit easier.
Preparing for school
If your child is heading to a new school next year, attending a summer club can help with this huge lifestyle change. After a long summer at home, suddenly attending a new school with new people can be a bit of a shock to the system, but if they have already been out and about all summer trying new things and making friends, the transition is made that little bit easier and that little bit more familiar.
Meeting new people
The children at summer camps and clubs will likely have come from all types of background, location and school. Pupils will be encourage to make friends and communicate with others, possibly making friends for life.
A step away from technology
As fantastic as technology can be, especially in today’s climate, sometimes children can spend too long with their eyes glued to a screen. By attending a summer club, with so many activities and things to do, the need to go on the PlayStation is likely to be entirely forgotten in favour of good old fashioned fun. Technology is great, but being encouraged to find entertainment elsewhere too is very healthy.
Confidence building
Heading somewhere new with new people, new activities and without mum and dad can be a daunting experience for many. Although it may take a few days to get used to, children will grow in confidence and begin to develop their self-esteem as they tackle the fear of the unknown.
Developing talents
When children have a passion for something, be it acting, football, art or anything else, they may not have the means to develop these talents and passions when at home. Summer clubs give children the opportunity to build on these talents or find an activity that they love. For example, the Drama Club that takes place every summer at the Oak-Tree Group of Schools allows children to build on their acting skills, working on a range of techniques that culminate in a showcase at the end of the week.
Peace of mind
The benefits don’t stop with the children. We all lead extremely busy lives, so having somewhere for your children to go where you know they will have a great time and are staying safe is incredibly important.
The Oak-Tree Schools run a wide variety of holiday clubs for children in Upper Kindergarten to Year 6. The courses are run by a team of qualified coaches and involve drama workshops, activity weeks, Early Years activities, multi-sports and more. Clubs are available for the pupils who attend Braeside School in Buckhurst Hill, Coopersale Hall School in Epping, Normanhurst School in North Chingford and Oaklands School in Loughton.
