THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hurray, it’s the holiday season. Thankfully, one that is not marred by that nasty little virus. To kindle the interests of the children in extracurricular activities and enhance their personalities, several voluntary organisations and individual coaches are all set to begin full-fledged summer camps from the first week of April.
With the pandemic blues fading, a wide variety of unique streams are on offer this year – skateboarding, water polo, shooting, corporate internship, robotics, life skills training, gender education, anger management, and more.
Parents are an excited lot, too. “The pandemic had a huge impact on children, as many of them missed out on extracurricular activities and socialising,” says Shalini Jacob, a techie and mother of a six-year-old boy.
“These summer camps are a great way to give them better social orientation. Also, working parents are often stressed about ensuring proper child care during school vacations. The summer camps come to our rescue.”
Life skills to gender education
Being confined within the walls of homes throughout the pandemic resulted in behavioural issues among many children, note experts. Thus, this year, some summer camps are focusing on subjects such as life skills and anger management.
The director of the Theatre Academy for Media and Performance (THAMP) in Peroorkada, Rajesh Chandran TT, says eight editions of their two-month summer camp from April 1 will be themed on ‘Life Skills through Art’.
The camp is open for children from age of six and focuses on personal discipline, cleanliness, and life skills through art mediums including theatre, he explains. “Life skills taught here should be applied in real life, too. So we insist on parents spending at least an hour with their children at our workshops,” says Rajesh. “The pandemic has left many children confused and introverted. We will impart soft skills, too, through theatre techniques.”
As part of socialising training, THAMP is conducting gender and sex education as well for children aged 10 and above, he adds. “Just like various languages, we will teach the children that the human body is also varied to understand gender neutrality,” says Rajesh. “Also, in our social well-being sessions, the harmful impacts of drug use will be covered.”
Mental well-being
The eight-week-long ‘Explorlife’ camp, organised by The Friends School based in Venpalavattom, focuses on the personal development and mental well-being of children aged 2 to 15. The director of the institute, George K Thomas, notes behavioural issues at a young age can affect the mental well-being and careers of children in the long run.
George, who is also a corporate trainer, says many children in the present generation lack skills such as creativity, imagination, adaptability, critical thinking, and troubleshooting. “Unfortunately, not many schools follow curriculum aimed at holistic development of children,” he adds.
“Ours is a mentoring process for children. Pandemic-related behavioural issues, including anger and late speech, are key areas of focus. We own a school; I have found that many children aged 8 to 11 years have turned timid, fearful of crowds, and non-attentive. So in the coming two months, with activities and group events, our efforts will be to make them mindful, release their stress, vent emotions, and socialise with others.”
George adds a segment titled ‘Happiness Corner’ will include ‘Confidante’ sessions, where children will have a ‘lunch date’ with their respective trainer within the campus. “It is to let the kids open up, and to understand their thoughts and issues through friendly conversations,” he explains.
“They will learn to share their food. Most importantly, a person will listen to them – something many children lack at their homes due to busy working parents.” Gender sensitivity awareness is another focus area, George highlights. “Issues such as bullying and discrimination will also be explained, besides covering good and bad touches,” he says.
‘Explorlife’ will also include filmmaking workshops (for children aged 13 to 15) by the cinematographer of the film Kumari, Abraham Joseph. Other highlights include practical life engineering skills such as basic plumbing, electrical works, etc; and internships in app development, product modelling and design thinking at corporate companies.
Get sporty
The directorate of sports and youth affairs of Kerala is holding summer camps at four venues in the city. The training programme for children aged 5 to 18 includes 12 sporting events – water polo, swimming, judo, shooting, athletics, basketball, table tennis, tennis, badminton, gymnastics, karate, and football.
“Swimming has received more enquiry from parents. The basic eligibility criterion is a minimum height of 140cm,” says project manager Sarizeen Rasid.
“Anyone aged 10 and above can enrol for shooting sessions; even adults can. The camps will begin on April 10. We are holding such a multiple-event camp for the first time. These camps are a great way to energise children, and also spot hidden talents.”
Looking for something offbeat? Skatdelics, the only skateboarding group in the city, will hold training sessions at Captain Lakshmi Park opposite Kanankakunnu. “It’s our first anniversary. We focus on street skating and have been practising at Captain Lakshmi Park. Many people expressed interest after watching our style,” says Skatdelics founder Mohammed Almaz Ashik.
“For children, skateboarding is a good sport. It helps them become mentally strong, enhances their motor skills and mind-body coordination, and reduces anxiety. We give basic foundation classes to children from the age of four.”
AI, aye!
It’s the age of artificial intelligence, and some summer camps, like the one being hosted by Ulloor-based STEM Robotics International, promises to upgrade the digital quotient of tech-savvy children.
Courses on block coding, Arduino Robotics, Raspberry Pi Robotics, and the Internet of things are on offer.
“Rather than letting children indulge in hours of gaming, why not empower them to make their own game by teaching coding?” asks STEM founder, and trainer Rajasekharan A H.
“Google and Microsoft have provided block-coding platforms, which can be accessed at the camp. Children aged six and above can explore the basics of robotics, including how to light up an LED in the robot and add audio effects. In the next level, advanced training like coding a module in a self-driving car algorithm, building medical assistance humanoid robots, nurse robots, etc. are offered.”
French or Malayalam?
Learning foreign languages has been in vogue of late. And some basic knowledge certainly helps in the global village. Alliance Francaise De Trivandrum, Vazhuthacaud, is set to hold summer camps from April 24 to May 22.
Well, it’s not just about the French language. Afternoon sessions will include activities such as baking, self-defence, calligraphy, hip-hop dance, cooking, and art as well. “The idea is to keep kids away from gadgets and encourage them to engage in physical activities, enhance their oral and writing skills,” Alliance Française de Trivandrum spokesperson Devika A S.
Well, no language can be as sweet as one’s mother tongue. And no one knows that better than Malayalam Pallikoodam convener Jessy Narayanan. “Malayalam is not taught well in many private and Central schools in the city,” she says.
“Our summer camp, titled Kaliyoonjal, is aimed at children aged four to six. Sessions will start on April 2. Multiple time slots will be offered between 11 am and 6 pm, making it convenient for working parents. We will introduce Malayalam language and culture to kids through games, folk tales and songs, pronunciation activities, etc.”
C’mon folks!
Educationist Lakshmi Ramachandran stresses that parents should spend quality time with their children. Summer camps, she adds, are the next best thing, especially considering the work pressure and modern lifestyles of many parents.
“I would recommend opting for camps with more fitness and physical activities,” says Lakshmi. “I live in Ernakulam. It’s heartening to see some parents bringing along their children for walking or jogging in the mornings. I would advise every parent to make time to go for an early morning nature walk with your child, at least once a week, as it is refreshing and strengthens the bond with them.”