Many great ways for children to prepare for the end of summer and the new school year

Summer vacation is just a few weeks away; but for many families, this is the perfect time to relax and prepare for the new school year ahead.

" CHARGE" EMOTIONAL BATTERIES

"One of the things I often heard when I was a child, every time a new school year was about to start, was that parents would shout at their children, 'Study properly next year, okay? Don't let your grades drop like last year.' Otherwise, I would hear, 'Study hard, if you slack off this new school year, don't blame me.' That means that before the new school year begins, children feel stressed, anxious, and even bored. They are no longer excited about the new school year, about going to school to learn and acquire knowledge. If anything, they just miss their friends and want to go to school to see them again," said Ms. Tran Thi Que Chi, Deputy Director of the Institute for Educational Sciences and Training (IES).

Therefore, Ms. Que Chi shares with Thanh Nien Newspaper readers simple ways for parents to easily do with their children during the last weeks of summer to "recharge" their emotional batteries, creating motivation and excitement for students, preparing to embark on the new school year.

One way is for parents to take their children to the market and buy breakfast, thereby giving them more knowledge and social connections. This can be applied to children from kindergarten to high school.

Parents let their children join them in the kitchen and help them cook. Or when they are older and can use safe kitchen equipment, let them cook a dish for the whole family.

Room cleaning and study corner decorating competitions before the new school year starts can motivate children to study.

PHOTO: THUY HANG

Ms. Que Chi also suggests a flexible way to get children involved during the last weeks of summer (depending on the child's age and whether the parents' work environment is suitable or not), which is to let them go to work with their parents during certain sessions.

The father works as an auto engineer in a garage, the child follows the father to work to understand the father's work and can help the father with some simple tasks. The mother works in an office, the child can also come to understand the mother's work better. The mother works in a restaurant, the child can come to help the mother serve and take orders for the customers... Besides understanding the work of the parents to love them more, this method also helps children to be oriented to their career early, to have a lot of practical knowledge... Of course, Ms. Que Chi emphasized, this method must depend on the age of the child, the best is when the child is in grade 4 or higher and the environment and workplace of the parents are suitable for children, can create conditions for workers to bring their children during certain times.

A FUN SUMMER DOESN'T REQUIRE A LOT OF MONEY

Ms. Nguyen Thi Song Tra, Director of TH Education and Training Company Limited (Hanh Thong Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), believes that if parents have the conditions to let their children travel, participate in summer courses, study abroad in the country or abroad, it will be very beneficial. However, if economic circumstances do not allow, there are still ways for parents to spend more time with their children, accompanying them in the summer. Parents can take advantage of 1-2 days off on the weekend for the whole family to do housework, cook together, read books together, make pottery together, paint together, take a trip to nature near where they live...

"The old school year has ended, the new school year is about to begin, no matter how the previous school year's results were, we should put them aside. Instead of looking at scores, parents should look back with their children over the past school year to see how much taller they have become, what experiences they have had, what sports they have played, what skills they have learned, what they need to try harder for next school year...", Ms. Tra said. According to her, these signals let children feel that their parents are always with them, listening to them, helping them live with specific, clear goals.

A NEW SCHOOL YEAR IS A NEW JOURNEY, NOT "THE NEXT COMPETITION"

Master, Doctor Pham Van Giao, Director of the Institute of Applied Psychology and Education, believes that the ideal summer is when students have a balance between playing, resting, studying, practicing skills with the companionship of parents during the vacation to ensure that their children do not "drift away".

However, according to Master, Doctor Giao, the reality is that as expectations grow and pressure for achievement increases, studying becomes a burden for many students and families. Many students are "aging before their time" when they have to take extra classes, take stressful exams, and live under the pressure of achievement that adults intentionally or unintentionally impose.

Summer fun is built on family connection, connection with nature.

PHOTO: THUY HANG

Therefore, according to Mr. Giao, in the last weeks of summer, instead of rushing to make your children get caught up in extra classes, this is the time for parents to sit down with their children, have a gentle conversation to summarize the summer, share the fun things, the incomplete things of the summer, the skills, the lessons from their children's own experiences.

Parents should acknowledge their children’s efforts, no matter how small. Families can also organize some small but meaningful activities such as going on picnics, visiting historical and cultural sites, participating in life skills activities, cooking together, participating in community service activities, or simply chatting every night before bed.

At the same time, Mr. Giao said that recently, students have gone through the 10th grade entrance exam and high school graduation exam, which were quite stressful. Many students did not get the desired scores, but the scores are just the beginning for them to move forward with new goals and on a new journey. Parents should not put more pressure on their children when the new school year has not yet begun. Instead, they should accompany, listen, encourage their children, take time to understand what their children need, where they are having difficulties and share appropriate directions. Because in the context of a rapidly changing world with the explosion of knowledge, technology and globalization, education is no longer just a simple process of imparting knowledge.

"UNESCO, in its famous report "Learning: The Treasure Within" (1996), established four fundamental pillars of modern education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be. This requires each person to constantly learn, adapt, cooperate, and develop themselves. Modern education needs to return to the principle: learning for comprehensive development, not for achievement," Mr. Giao analyzed.

"I hope parents and students should see the new school year as a new journey, not a "next competition". Students should set goals that are within their reach, specific and meaningful. Don't compare yourself with your friends, but compare yourself with "yourself of yesterday", Mr. Giao said.

Small competitions create big inspiration

Ms. Tran Thi Que Chi suggests that families can organize small competitions at the end of summer such as cleaning and decorating the desk or study corner to see who can do it faster and more beautifully; room cleaning competition; laundry folding competition… Father, mother, and children can participate and give a prize to the winner. These fun competitions not only help keep the house and study corner clean and beautiful, preparing for the new school year, but also encourage everyone's working spirit.

Or at the end of summer, parents and children write letters together. Children write about what they have done this summer, what good experiences they have had, what wishes and goals they have for the next school year; parents review what the whole family has done together this summer, and send their best wishes to their children. Both parents and children can read the letter right away or put it away, and open it at the end of the next school year to see how far they have achieved the goals they set out to achieve...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhieu-cach-hay-cho-tre-chuan-bi-khep-lai-mua-he-don-nam-hoc-moi-185250804192049805.htm