The end is approaching, the joyous summer vacation is about to finish. You would be going to schools after enjoying very eventful days — the Ramazan excitement, the Eid joy and then the monsoon rainfall fun. All had made the days and nights very fun-filled.

To make the most of the long Eid holidays and summer vacation, many people had planned trips within Pakistan. On the other hand, others regularly post their vacation pictures on Facebook, updating us all about their recreational status in the foreign soils. It is refreshing to see relaxed faces, enthusiastic eyes and energetic pouts — all non-verbal expressions of immense delight!

I personally feel that the first few days of summer holidays are the most relaxing ones. As time passes, we get used to the relaxed routine and get into a casual mode. At this point, the graph of excitement goes down. Everything appears to be ‘normal’ and part of the routine, and this is when kids start to complain of being bored.

Parents too, who had initially loved the holidays, now get frustrated over the ‘late sleeping and waking up’ hours. Often, mothers are found discussing the day’s extended kitchen timings and the mismanaged household daily chores.

The grumblings get intense as more days pass by. Now mums are observed urging their kids to get back to a more structured routine to normalise the overall home environment. It is at this point that kids and mums often get into unnecessary conflict. Mothers start worrying about their children’s studies in the next grade, some ask their wards to join tuitions, and some try to be more considerate by offering creative writing sessions. Others keep reminding their kids to go through the summer homework they got from school.

And there are mothers who want their children to do all the cleaning/sorting of the wardrobes and rooms, and help them in other household work!

Smart children listen and they avoid irritating parents, the average ones jump into arguments and the good ones follow what their mums say! But children keep themselves focused on one common point — to enjoy the vacation till the very last second!

We have come up with a smart plan to settle down in a manner that would neither offend mum nor will keep you away from your fun hours for long. So read along to know what you have to do ... you probably do know these things, so just get into action!

Organise yourself a bit

Mums need a break too. Just wake up a bit early and have breakfast with your parents. It will give you a lot of time in your hands so that you can do both what mum wants you to do and still have enough time for some fun and games.

Make sure you make your bed, tidy your room, dust your shelves and take an early bath. Mum will love it! Mark my words, it will hardly take a few minutes to do all these things but you will then have the whole day to spend as you like.

Go through the newspapers

Why? You must be wondering. It is because this will help you gain knowledge about what is happening in the country and internationally. Your knowledge of current affairs will indeed polish your personality by giving you the ‘social currency’ that is vital for social animals — us!

Your father will be so proud when you will be sharing your stance on various current affairs at the dinner table. Mum will be relieved as she will be valuing your newspaper reading activity as a ‘vocabulary building’ exercise.

Cut short television viewing

Parents regard this as the worst amongst all other activities that take up time, so better choose some good programmes to watch and once they are over, just leave the room. Most of the times we just sit in front of the TV, switching channels while watching nothing.

Watching too much TV is also an anti-social activity that cuts us off from the rest of the world. That time is better spent talking with family members and doing things together.

Check out educational websites

Learning new things is exciting and interesting. You may engage yourself in crafts, art activities, grammar exercises, language quizzes, etc. All these things are fun and you will be gaining knowledge without it seeming like studying.

Overcome your shortcomings

Everyone has some areas that need improvement. I know mine and you must have identified yours. If it is public speaking or writing etc. that you need to improve, just take out few minutes every day and work on it. If maths is your weak area, holidays are the time to work on it and overcome the problems you have.

Get ready for school

Parents love to see their kids enjoying themselves and having fun, but there should also be some sense of responsibility and realisation of what your duties are and what parents expect from you. And your main responsibility is to work hard at studies and give your parents the gift of a good result.

Sort out all the things you will need in the next class and clear your studying table/space of all the old and irrelevant things. If there are things such as books, notebooks, stationery or uniform items that you need, don’t leave it only for your mum to keep track of them. You should take up the responsibility of knowing what you need and informing your parents about it in time so that they can get it for you. Better still, if they allow you, go with them and help them in the selection and buying.

Early to bed, early to rise

With school opening in just a few days for most of you, get your body clock in line with the actually clock, that is, go to bed early so that you get at least eight hours of sleep and wake up early. Try to get up around the time you have to get up during school days so that it won’t seem so hard when school restarts.

A common problem we all face during the first few days and weeks after holidays is getting up in time to get ready, catch the school van and be at school with a clear head and an active body. This is because we have been staying up well past midnight for too long and are unable to sleep early, so lack of sleep makes us sleepy during school hours.

Plan your lunch menu

Mum wakes up early and puts in a lot of effort in preparing and packing our lunch but often when we open it at lunch time in school, we turn up our nose and leave it half-eaten. This leaves you feeling hungry and mum angry because you didn’t eat what she so lovingly made for you.

Why not sit with her and discuss what you would like to have for lunch. She will suggest healthier and more practical options and you may not like all of it but together both of you can come up with many options that will be suitable for her to make so early and which you will enjoy having. A lunch plan for the entire week prepared beforehand is a smart move that will work for the two of you.

Trust me, she will really find your input here very helpful and it will make the planning task easier for her. She already has to plan and make the daily menu for the house and that is a pretty tough task in itself.

These few hacks during these last few days before school reopens will go a long way in preparing you for the new term so that you get off to a smart start.

So be smart and act smart!

Published in Dawn, Young World July 29th, 2017