Ever wonder what other activities can your children do outside of school to enrich their education? 

Education is one of the best ways to enable your children to be successful in their life and career.

However, as the world gets increasingly globalized and complex, education itself is no longer sufficient to guarantee that for your children.

When you graduated from university or high school, you would have noticed that being knowledgeable is not enough to work in todays world.

Your children will need to start developing other skillsets that are not conventionally taught at school like leadership, teamwork, communication and others.

Most importantly, you want to imbue them with the following characteristics:

  • Have a set of strong principles and ethics
  • Ability to adapt to society and work with others
  • Be considerate and kind to others
  • Healthy mindset and mental health

There are many such programs and activities outside of school that you can consider for your children to develop these skillsets and characteristics. Find out what they are below!

Activity #1: Leadership and Teamwork Camps

You can enroll your children in leadership and teamwork camps or programs outside of school. These programs will encourage children to work together and solve problems, in a fun environment. Of course, there are no devices and internet that will distract them.

Like the saying goes, “You need to learn to follow, before leading”. The experience of working together to solve a common problem will impart valuable lessons of teamwork. It also encourages people to acknowledge differences and disagreement, and to take a bigger picture view rather than come to stalemates over small issues.

For children that can bring together other children, that is an important quality to have and nurture. He or she can combine various people’s strengths and expertise to work on solving a problem or create something new. This leadership quality is important for anyone when they go out into the world.

There are many programs available for children of all ages across Malaysia. Some, such as Leaderonomics Youth Camp, have also digital camps conducted online.

However, if you are looking for more cost-effective programs, why not have one yourself? Get together with some parents from school and organise a camp or program to build leadership and teamwork. This is a cheaper alternative to spending on external programs and it enables you to spend time with your children and other families.

With the rapid advancement in technology, children are spending increasing amount of time on their devices and the internet, which are replacing their interaction with their parents. Children in general who have less interaction with their peers, parents and teachers will struggle to lead and work with others when they grow older.

Activity #2: Nature Getaways

There is just something about going for a hike into nature or up a hill that re-energises your mind and make your body feel lighter. If you do it with your children, it’s even better as you get to spend valuable time with them.

You and your children will be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of the cities and appreciate the inherent beauty and serenity of nature. It helps to impart nature loving traits in your children in the context of today’s environmental degradation.

Research from the University of Exeter has indicated that spending at least 120 minutes in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing.

For parents struggling to decide on nature activities to do with their children, Malaysia is blessed with an abundance of forest, sea, natural caves, lakes, mountains and many others more.

There are a myriad of nature hikes and waterfall attractions that are free or very cheap to the public such as :

  • Broga Hills, Klang Valley
  • Templer Park Hike and Waterfalls, Klang Valley
  • Penang Hill, Penang
  • Cameron Highlands, Pahang

If you are looking for places that are more remote and even better (albeit more expensive), you can go to the very best nature attractions in Malaysia such as :

  • Pulau Redang, Terengganu
  • Pulau Langkawi, Kedah
  • Mulu Caves, Sarawak
  • Taman Negara, Pahang

Activity #3: Arts-related Activities (Music, Poetry, Literature, Philosophy)

Giving your children exposure to the arts will in the long term encourage them to express themselves property and think about their morals, principles and life in general.

You can encourage them to take part in the following activities to improve their understanding of the world through :

  • Music and singing lessons
  • Workshops on poetry and essay writing
  • Musical and dramatic plays
  • Philosophy lessons

Today’s education system and philosophy focuses mainly on getting students to pass exams and learning as much technical knowledge as possible.

However, there is a lack of emphasis on the morality and arts side of children’s education. Many Malaysian fresh graduates who come out of the education system are increasingly disillusioned on what it means to have a career and family.

There is a famous saying by Friedrich Nietszche, “Art is the proper task of life”. It gives meaning to you on how to appreciate life and being grateful for whatever you have.

Your children’s worldview will surely improve if they are involved in the arts and hopefully they can one day create art forms that can inspire other people in their lives.

Activity #4: Community and Charity Work

Community and charity works are great ways to get your children to be more connected to society and people around them. It encourages them to think about issues that are bigger than themselves.

Your children will feel a sense of purpose and passion to what they are studying, and drive them to a bigger goal and purpose in life. You can bring them together to do these community and charity works, and get the chance to improve your relationships.

In Malaysia currently, there are many community and charity works that are centered around the following problems where your children can participate in :

As today’s society becomes more meritocratic and individualistic, there is a greater urgency to instill a sense of community and kindness to your children.

Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard speech said, “Purpose is that sense that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are needed, that we have something better ahead to work for. Purpose is true happiness.”

There is much more to life than chasing status, money and achievements. Grooming your children to care about the people around them will ground them in humility and help improve other people’s lives.

Activity #5: Emotional and Social Skills Program

It is absolutely important that your children learns adequate emotional and social skills so that they can properly express themselves and resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner.

Whether it be small disagreements between friends or your partner, it is always important to respect each other and give proper emotional queues and reaction to prevent arguments and fights from going too far.

Emotional intelligence courses for children in Malaysia, such as those run by Brainfit and EQKidz, are steadily gaining popularity as parents are more aware of the long-term benefits on their children’s emotional maturity.

If you are searching for more cost effective methods of teaching your children emotional and social intelligence skills, there are free resources out there you can try with your children

Why does emotional and social intelligence matter more today?

In Malaysia, the amount of divorces have been on an increase. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the amount of divorces have increased from 35,114 cases in 2011 to 50,356 cases in 2018.

While the increasing amount of divorces are complex and complicated to explain, a big part of it is due to a lack of emotional and social skills.

In this article by TYH & Co which details the top reasons for divorce among Malaysias, three of the reasons were related to emotional and social skills:

  • Infidelity
  • Lack of Communication
  • Lack of Physical Intimacy

Conclusion

Education for your children is not just confined to passing exams or gaining technical knowledge. It is also the shaping of the character of your children so that they grow up to be a responsible adult with a strong core set of principles and values, able to fit into society, and be happy. You can involve your children in activities such as leadership and teamwork camps, nature getaways, arts-related activities, community and charity work, and lastly emotional and social skills programs. Remember, there is more to life than just chasing riches and achievements.

 

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Do you know of other enrichment activities for your children? Let us know in the comments below!