Education gives children a deeper knowledge and understanding of different subjects and helps prepare them for their future. But the classroom is not the only place where learning can happen. Children also learn life skills outside the classroom through extracurricular activities.
There are numerous after-school activities that children can join. These activities cater to the varied interests of the children. They can choose to go into sports, learn self-defense, indulge in the arts, or learn how to code. These activities are designed to let them learn new skills and explore their interests.
And since the pandemic is not yet over, parents should be careful when enrolling their children in after-school activities. They should also let them get the vaccine if they are at least five years old to protect them from the virus.
Here are some extracurricular activities that parents should consider for their children.
Engage in Sports
Engaging in sports is a good way to develop children’s physical skills. But they should make sure to follow health protocols to avoid getting sick since the pandemic is not yet over. Parents should check the recreation department of their town. Many of these recreation departments offer mainstream sports that help keep children physically fit. These sports include baseball, basketball, tennis, soccer, and hockey. The children can also take swimming and ice-skating lessons.
Aside from mainstream sports, children can also join biking, golf, and other similar sports activities in their area. Parents should look for clubs offering these physical activities and let their children join them. In addition to staying healthy, engaging in sports also helps children work well with others. It also teaches them how to interact with other children after staying home for over a year due to a health crisis.
Learn Self-defense
Another option for parents is to let their children learn self-defense. Enrolling in martial arts training keeps children healthy and fit. The training also teaches them self-discipline and allows them to acquire socialization skills. Additionally, martial arts training helps them understand respect and honor. The martial arts styles that are ideal for children include karate, aikido, and taekwondo.
If the parents want their children to learn self-defense, they should look for a martial arts school with liability insurance. The insurance provides coverage for medical costs in case the children get injured during training. It also shows that the school wants to take care of their students while they are training with them.
Foster Their Love for Music
Parents of musically-inclined children should look for a club to nurture their love for music. While many schools have band and choir elective courses, parents can also let their children join a youth orchestra in their communities. Fostering the love of music by their children offers many benefits for them.
Nurturing their love for music can develop the left side of the brain, which is involved with language development. Taking piano or voice lessons also increases their IQ. Music training can also help develop the spatial intelligence of children. Additionally, children involved in music have better test scores in school and will likely stay in school.
Explore the Visual Arts
Aside from music, parents can also let their children explore the visual arts. With the increasing emphasis on standardized tests in many schools, the time for special subject classes, such as art, has decreased. Due to this, parents should consider enrolling their children in an art program to let their creativity grow.
Research has shown that art education helps improve the school environment since the students exhibit more empathy for other people. This empathy for others will encourage the students to help others. Appreciation for the arts among students also enhances respect for their peers and teachers.
The cross-brain experience provided by art education also encourages students to participate in class. It also lets them look forward to a college education. Due to this, parents should encourage their children to pursue their passion by letting them join after-school art programs.
Learn to Code
Another option for parents is enrolling in programs that teach their children how to code. Coding allows children to create computer programs, which is useful in a world where technology is ubiquitous. But learning to code offers other benefits for children outside of technology. It helps them prepare for other aspects of their life in the future.
Coding allows children to nurture their creativity and imagination. It also makes math engaging for them since coding enhances their math skills. When children learn to code, they also develop their problem-solving skills since it encourages them to find ways to fix issues on their codes.
Extracurricular activities provide children with activities that keep them busy after school. It also helps them nurture their passions and prepare them for their future.