POLOKWANE – “I give the learners the best educational advice I can, I advise them to be educational during the school holiday,” says Amanda Williams, a teacher at Bet-Shalom Christian School.
She says parents actually need to understand that the road to their child’s future is a two-way street which means that it is vital for the parent to work hand-in-hand with the teacher.
“Learning shouldn’t stop at school, it should continue at home. What is learned in the classroom has to be revised at home, especially during the holidays so that learners can exercise their brains and be revitalized and ready to start the new term,” she said. During the holidays Amanda says most children are stuck in front of the TV, on their tablets or busy playing TV-games, and they tend to totally forget about school or anything they have learned during the past term.
“This impacts them negatively, both physically and mentally. TV-games, in particular, are very addictive. This means that children will sit in front of the screen for hours on end without getting any physical exercise, and that of course is bad for the body, but some of these games also traumatise the children. Most of them are violent and children start practicing things they see in games in real life, they mimic the actions of the characters and that is detrimental for their well-being.”
She says we live in a world where technology is taking over and it is up to the parents to channel it and to ensure that their children use it in a positive way.
“There are dozens of educational games that can be downloaded to stimulate a child’s brain. They can even download books as this is a great way to get them to read which I’m sure they would rather do on a tablet than an actual book.”
She says children need to read every day as it helps them excel in all areas of learning.
“For younger children, parents should focus on strengthening their fine motor and gross motor skills. They should be playing with play dough, doing puzzles, threading beads, running around and playing outside. These things prepare them and shape them so that they are ready for ‘big school’ later on.”
