Anyone has ideas that could occupy our children for the Summer Holidays?

summer school

summer School great idea- keep the kids busy. Even a small fee would be OK.

I was thinking along that line as well but I was told the Primary School will not be having Summer School this Summer.

If kids are teenagers, maybe they could organize classes to help elementary school children. Or maybe they could help with adult literacy classes.

Parents can take time out or have someone teach them to read properly and to do maths, as majority of our young children can't manage these areas properly. It should not be left on our teachers alone to do this. Data shows that parents who spend quality time with their kids - they come out better than others who just leave them like animals to basically grow up on their own. Parents it's your time now to work with them - the holiday is long and too many distractions are out there. If you can't manage -get a relative or someone capable who is not occupied. They are your future investment - most times it's what you put in you get out.

I AGREE WITH YOU,ANOTHER IDEA.THERE MUST BE SOME BRILLIANT HIGH SCHOOLERS IN THE AREA.THE TEACHERS NEED THIS HOLIDAY BREAK TO COOL OFF AND GET READY FOR THE NEW SCHOOL TERM.

How about sports teams?

I am ardent supporter of education and firmly believe that it is the key to changing lives but let us not forget that there are reasons that schools have summer vacation. The children and teachers need a psychological and social break. While school is in session a child spends the greater part of their day in a very structured learning enviornment followed by homework(more learning and reinforcement of school) so Summer break is needed to allow the child a relief. Part of teaching children is to not turn them off from school and learning. Summers can be used for other less structured learning activities with family and friends. Summer school should be used to address specific deficiencies that a child has academically.
Maybe sport leagues or other activities could be organized by some of the community or church organizations to keep the children occupied in a positive way.

In northern agrarian societies, kids got summers off so they could help with the harvest. I'm guessing that the English brought that system with them to the island.

Many teachers I used to work with advocated a shorter summer break (along with longer midterm breaks for balance) to help kids stay focused on their studies and not forget what they learned 3 month prior.

Eric, I think you speak about past colonial agrarian reasons . During those days there wasn't much thought nor research about children (i.e. psychology, child development, learning processes and techniques). Additionally, children do not forget material that is truly, learned maybe info that is memorized without being really learned or applied. I was not implying that learning stops during summer holiday. During Summer holiday learning takes on different approaches in a more informal and sometimes social settings( e.g. visiting historically significant places,botanical gardens,zoo,etc). Globally, we are technologically driven and not agrarian as during the time of European imperialization...just my opinion. Jamaica should be educating our children to take their place in this developing tecnological world. Therefore contributing to the development of Jamaica's economy and infrastructure. Thereby minimizing all the foreign companies profiting in Jamaica. We need engineers, architects, and all the rest to assist Jamaica in actualizing her potential. Learning and teaching continue to evolve in our changing world.