All year long, you look forward to summer vacation. No school, no teachers, no boring lessons, no routine and finally just nothing to do… till you start counting how many days are left till your school re-opens and you can have some activities to fill your days with.

During the summer months, the blazing sun can force you to remain cooped up indoors all day, making the days seem endlessly long and terribly boring. But you do not have to become a couch potato or let your mind vegetate. Summer holidays can be a great source of fun and entertainment if you plan ahead and think of some boredom-busting activities.

Summer camps

Attending a summer camp during summer holidays is a great way of enhancing your creative and artistic abilities or learning a new sport. Many schools, institutions and even restaurants in big cities offer extensive summer activities for children such as painting, drawing, swimming, arts and crafts making, new language and computer courses, and martial arts lessons under trained and professional teachers.

They can be expensive but if chosen carefully, they can provide you with a great learning experience.

Books and more books

Books are an excellent way of keeping boredom away. This summer why not make a list of all the books that you want to read and set up a challenge for yourself.

You can even start a book club with your friends. Each friend can contribute a number of books, say eight to 10 books, and you can have fun rotating them among yourselves.

Whether you like to read books by Enid Blyton, J.K. Rowling, Arthur Conan Doyle or Roald Dahl, try to read different genres and expand your literary experience.

Movie magic

This summer, with your parents’ permission and consent, discover the magic of classic cinema. Prepare a list of movies suitable for your age with input from your parents, older relatives or seek recommendations from children’s magazines.

Whether it is the delightful The Wizard of Oz, the pretty Mary Poppins, or the magical Nanny McPhee, select movies according to your taste and get enchanted by these timeless tales and characters on the silver screen. You can also make a list of top 10 animated movies and watch them.

Invite friends or cousins

Play host to your friends and cousins, and try to plan the party yourself. You can rent a movie or plan an outdoor picnic. If the weather permits, have an outdoor party with plenty of ice creams and cool drinks. One dish parties are also great and these will lessen your parents’ workload.

You can even get involved in some social work or voluntary activities in your neighbourhood as a group.

Invest in puzzle and activity books

Dot-to-dot books, word search puzzles, crossword puzzles, logic problems, mazes, fit-the-word and jigsaw puzzles are great brain boosters and will enhance your mental capabilities.

They are also an ideal way to while away the long summer afternoons when extreme heat does not allow you to go outdoors.

Start a collection

At the start of the summer holidays, choose a topic and try to become an expert on that specific subject. It could be aeroplanes, boats, birds, aquatic creatures, volcanoes, stamps, coins, dolls, space exploration or any other topic of your interest.

Collect pictures and information from old newspapers, magazines and the internet and compile them in an attractive manner in a scrap book or journal.

Visit historical places

Don’t leave it to the tourists to experience the wonderful sights and sounds of your city. This summer make a list of all the historical places and theme parks that are in the vicinity. Visit the museums, forts, mosques and wildlife parks.

Keep a lookout for advertisements in local newspapers and ask your parents to take you to funfairs, puppet shows, art exhibitions, book fairs and any other activity that you cannot attend during school days.

Write it down

Keep a diary or journal and record your daily activities, write book and movie reviews, discuss your favourite television character or write about the trips that you take. Use a dictionary and thesaurus to help with the spellings and learn new words. This will greatly help you improve your writing skills while having fun at the same time.

You can also send your written material to different magazines or online children’s websites and earn some fame and fortune for yourself.

Get closer to nature

Children nowadays spend a lot of time indoors glued to television and computer screens. These summer holidays, plan an outdoor picnic at least once a month. Run around, climb trees, collect leaves, observe insects, bike or scoot around or simply watch cloud shapes. This will give you great material for your journals. While out in the garden or in a park, take your art set with you and draw and paint the natural scenery around you.

Planning ahead and having some clear goals in mind will greatly help you to utilise your summer holidays in a productive manner. Time is a precious commodity, so use it well.

Have a great summer!