Q: My child does fairly well in Grade 5,when he has an established routine. But we noticed last fall he had a hard time getting back into the spirit and rhythm of studying. Do you have any suggestions for handling this summer?
A: Boredom is the opposite of challenge. Children often say, “I’m bored” or “there’s nothing to do.” There is always something to do, but a child fails to see that doing something, even though you may not be interested in it at first, will likely turn out to be fun after you have done it for a while.
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Challenge the child to list three things he might consider doing. If he balks, tell him you will put down five things and he will have to choose one of them to do for two hours.
Be creative and even humorous when making up your list. Some might even be fun games like water balloon fights or going on a treasure hunt. Have your child prepare a wish list of something he would like to do in the summer, and then look realistically at time and money and see if there is any way of doing it.
Limit TV watching and video games to rainy days. Both are only hypnotic activities that dull rather than challenge the mind.
Try to get a family reading program going, which includes the adults as well. Each person shares what
they felt about a book they read, not like a report, but more as an impression and evaluation.
Play word games. Scrabble is excellent. Instead of competitive Scrabble, have co-operative Scrabble where everyone works to together to get the highest collective score possible.
Create a family scrapbook with postcards, photos, drawings and souvenirs of places you visit during the summer.
Play math games using fruits, vegetables or even chocolate bars. These can be used for understanding fractions and addition and winners get to eat some of the game.
Make regular trips with your child to the library. Phone and book time on the public access internet, if you don’t have it at home. Your child will be amazed what he can learn. However, internet use needs to be supervised until children are mature enough to explore it on their own.
Schedule physical activity, whether swimming, kicking a soccer ball around or going for a hike. Children need to be active to get in shape for the coming fall.
As a parent, you are the house manager. Books that are helpful for parents on setting limits are The Pampered Child Syndrome, by Maggie Mamen, published by Creative Bound Inc. 2004, and Hold On To Your Kids (Why Parents Matter) by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate, 2004.
Peter Griffiths is a mental health counsellor based in Prince Albert, Sask. His columns are intended as general advice only. His website is www.sasktelwebsite.net/petecope.
