Summer vacation and kids' education

Summer Vacation and Tarbeyyah of Kids

As soon as the heat rises in the summer, parents want schools to be closed. That’s because they want to protect their kids from the heat of the summers. School holidays, while a necessaity, also signal the advent of new problems. Now that school’s out, it feels like it would have been better if the kids had continued going to school even in the summer. They were learning so many new things at school and their lives were so organized. Let’s take a look at the main problems faced by parents in summer vacation and try to find solutions.

The Problems:

• Everything at home gets disorganized.
• Mothers feel overburdened with work.
• Budget deficit (Causes: guests, utility bills and demands of kids)
• Kids do not want to study
• Kids sleep all day long and wake up all night, TV and Computers being the main culprits for this problem.

The Role of the Parents:

Parents must not forget that they play a vital role in tarbeyyah of the kids, be it school days or vacation. It is a fact that children who are given a clear vision and a disciplining environment at home bear an excellent character. Parents usually feel the increased burden of responsibilities on their shoulders in summer vacation; yet if they think of this time as a blessing from Allah and follow some basic rules, then this is the ideal time to do some serious character-building of their kids.

The Solutions:

• The first thing to do is planning. Keep in mind your budget, arrival of guests, requirements of the home, and demands of your kids.
• Discuss all these things with your kids in a sitting. Ask them their demands and let them know your budget and other concerns. This will involve them in brainstorming suggestions and they will come out of their own little worlds and start thinking about the needs of others.
• Jot down all the planned things on paper and put it up on a place where everybody in the house can see it. This will serve as a reminder for all.
• Make the kids realize that if they want to spend summer vacation according to their wishes then they must follow a regular routine.
• Parents should keep in mind that the activities they plan for kids must have an aspect of learning and training, and should not be only fun-based time wasters.
• Make a library for all the kids in your area. Make a committee of kids and put them in charge of it. Kids will not only develop good reading habits, but also a sense of responsibility and neighborhood.
• Identify kids with particular skills and ask a group of them to teach that particular skill to other kids, for some money or prizes. This will save the kids from sitting in front of the TV all day, it will inculcate a feeling of well wishing for others and will also boost their self confidence.
• Subject-related activities, such as science experiments, can also be done with the kids.
• You can also arrange competitions for kids, such as declamations, spelling bee, quizzes etc.
• Make kids pray five times a day. Wake them up at fajr time and take them for a morning walk. Allow them to rest after that.
• Apart from praying ask the kids to be in a state of wudu all day. It can be easy and fun in summers.
• Ask kids to practice one sunnah each day, like doing charity, cleaning the home, being patient, controlling anger etc.
• Tell them story of a sahabi daily. After that, ask them what they have learnt from that sahabi and give them tarbeyyah based task for that day.
• Talk to kids about Muslim battles. Draw or print a map on a piece of chart. Make the kids learn about Muslim countries with the help of that chart.
• Make kids memorize some part of the Quran daily.
• Assign cleaning duties to kids and schedule everything around their chores.

Key Tarbeyyah Focus Points:

If every year in the summer vacation we make kids do some of these tasks in an organized fashion, then they will not only develop new skills but they will also learn to follow rules even outside of school. This will go a long way in giving them a strong character and a strong sense of their Muslim identity.