Family after-school activities

AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES WITH PARENTS

Looking for activities that involve the whole family? Family after-school activities bring great moments of fun, but they also reinforce all those benefits children already get at school. Taking part in after-school activities can increase the likelihood of developing effective social skills by 20%, raise self-esteem by 30% and lay the foundations for a healthy lifestyle. By bringing those benefits into a family setting, through after-school activities with parents, you can strengthen the relationship between family members and create a very enriching environment for children.

At Summit360 we offer activities that support all-round development, improve specific skills and build social skills and an active life, while helping families balance work and home by providing a safe, worthwhile space for children. But we are aware of how important it is to do after-school activities as a family, not only to build skills but to encourage family unity and strengthen the emotional bond between parents and children.

Benefits of after-school activities with parents

Spending quality time with parents has numerous benefits for children. Beyond the happiness and the better communication we parents notice when we play with them, the benefits of doing after-school activities as a family are supported by studies and by professionals in psychology, education and child development:

1. Emotional and psychological development:
   • Self-esteem: Feeling loved and valued while doing activities they enjoy with their parents strengthens their self-confidence (Rossman & Rea, 2005).
   • Mental health: Enjoying quality time with parents is associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression in children (study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family).
   • Values: Taking part in family after-school activities lets us as parents pass on fundamental values to our children very effectively, because it is learning achieved through shared experiences and moments.
2. Social and cognitive development:
   • Social skills: Boys and girls observe and learn appropriate social behaviour by watching and modelling us, which is why spending time with parents helps them develop better social skills (Parke, R. D., & Buriel, R., 2008).
   • Academic performance: A Harvard University study shows that children who take part in activities with their parents and feel supported and encouraged are more likely to do better at school (Harvard Family Research Project, 2010).
3. The family bond:
   • Emotional bond: Creating positive memories and a sense of belonging to the family group encourages a stronger emotional bond between parents and children (Larson, R., & Richards, M. H., 1994).
   • Open communication: Spending quality time on family after-school activities improves communication and increases children’s trust in their parents, their ability to resolve family conflicts and their ability to understand another person’s point of view (National Center for Fathering, 2013).
4. A healthy lifestyle:
   • Healthy habits: Family activities that involve active play, sport or exercise encourage a healthy lifestyle in children and make it more likely they will keep it up over time (Gustafson, S. L., & Rhodes, R. E., 2006).

AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES WITH PARENTS FOR ENJOYING QUALITY TIME

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

As well as being an excellent way to stay active and healthy and to make the most of all that energy, they are also a great opportunity to strengthen the family bond. Here are some ideas for enjoying activities like these with your children:

• Familiar sports: Organise an afternoon of football, basketball or any sport they enjoy at a nearby park or in the garden. Take a look at the range of sports programmes we offer at Summit360 and find inspiration for your family sports sessions.
• Treasure hunt: Set up a fun treasure hunt indoors or in a local park. Create a few simple clues that gradually lead them to the treasure. Hide any object you know they will be thrilled to find.
• Obstacle course: Build an obstacle course in the living room or on the balcony. Make it with things you have at home and encourage them to tackle each obstacle on their own, staying nearby in case they need you.
• Hiking: Explore nature together with a walk or a day out. You will enjoy the fresh air, you can play and run about, and it creates a relaxed setting that encourages conversation.

Discover the after-school sports activities for schools that we offer at Summit360

ARTS AND CRAFTS

If you want to encourage creativity and work on patience while enjoying quality family time, arts and crafts activities are a wonderful option:

• Ice painting: Make coloured ice cubes using food colouring from any supermarket, and use them to paint on paper or card. You can create your own pictures to decorate a room at home.
• Painting on stones: What is it about stones that children love so much? Collect a few stones on a walk, clean them and then let your imagination run wild with paint, making fun designs or positive messages.
• Friendship bracelets: Make family bracelets with coloured threads or beads. It is a perfect activity for working on fine motor skills and creating a symbol of belonging to the family.
• Nature collages: On a trip to the park or a day out, collect leaves, flowers and other natural items from the ground. That will give you material for collages using natural elements, and they can enjoy the beauty of nature while respecting it.

At Summit360 we love enjoying what children create.Discover our flagship activity for the youngest pupils at school

MUSIC AND DANCE

Music and dance bring many benefits, both physical and cognitive, and they also make for very entertaining family activities. Here are some ideas to enjoy as a family:

• Family karaoke: Organise a karaoke session at home: you will lose your inhibitions, laugh together and perhaps discover a hidden talent. Choose karaoke tracks on YouTube and put on a good show.
• Making homemade instruments: Use recycled materials you find around the house to make musical instruments. You can make maracas from bottles or yoghurt pots filled with rice.
• Dance routine: Choose an upbeat song and create a few routines with your best moves. You will get some physical activity and strengthen the family bond through teamwork.
• Making up songs: Start with a tune everyone knows and personalise the lyrics with stories you have lived through as a family.

Discover the music activities we offer at Summit360

TECHNOLOGY

Did you know technology can be an ally when it comes to preparing after-school activities for parents and children? Using free tools such as ChatGPT, you can create fun, educational activities. Here are some ideas to get started:

• Pictionary: Use ChatGPT and ask it to generate words or phrases that you each draw in turn on a board for the rest of the family to guess. It will certainly come up with some very original ideas.
• Crazy stories: A very entertaining way to have a good time as a family is to create crazy stories that will have you laughing a lot. You can start by writing a sentence and ChatGPT will help with fun, creative ideas.
• Trivia: Put together a quiz with ChatGPT’s help. You will not need cards or an official game to get plenty of questions and answer options, and you can start playing straight away.
• Riddle contest: Use ChatGPT to generate original riddles you do not already know and hold a family contest to see who solves them fastest. With this activity you will learn in a fun way and have a good time.

Did you know that at Summit360 we run an after-school Artificial Intelligence activity in which pupils learn to use AI responsibly and in ways that will benefit their working future?Take a look!

READING AND WRITING

Encouraging a love of reading and writing at home is fundamental to children’s academic and personal development. And they are skills that can be introduced in very enjoyable ways:

• Reading and drama: Choose a book or story on a theme that interests the children and act it out as a family. Read it together, sharing out the characters, dressing up with whatever you have at home, and everyone on stage.
• Reading and puppets: After reading a story, choose one or more characters and bring them to life with materials from around the house such as paper, fabric and colours.
• Writing a story: Can you imagine having a family story of your own? Encourage your children’s creativity by getting them to write your own story: the plot, the characters and the illustrations, creating a personalised book that will exist only in your bookcase.
• Guess the character: Write cards with the names of various characters that appear in your children’s books. One player picks a card and the others have to ask yes-or-no questions to guess the character.

At Summit we encourage a love of reading from an early age.

VOLUNTEERING

Taking part in volunteering as a family lets you contribute to the community while spending time together and putting your values into practice:

• Donating food: Find out about food collection campaigns and work with food banks or local parishes.
• Animal shelters: Shelters and kennels need volunteers to walk dogs, spend time with cats, clean the facilities and so on.
• Donating clothes: Gather the clothes you no longer wear and donate them generously to charities.
• Mountain or beach clean-ups: Organise a clean-up day in a natural space such as a mountain or beach that you like or that is near you.

PARENTS’ DAY

At Summit360 we encourage all the schools we work with to hold an open day on which mothers and fathers can share an after-school session with the children, see what they have done during the year and have a good time. It is very important that children see their parents taking an interest in their activities and achievements. That involvement not only strengthens the emotional bond between parents and children, but also motivates children to keep learning and developing their skills. They are always a success!

HOW TO CHOOSE FAMILY AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

To choose family after-school activities, it is important to identify each family member’s interests and find activities everyone can enjoy. Be flexible and adaptable, adjusting activities to the children’s ages and offering personalised alternatives that may make the activity more appealing to them.

Do not wait any longer to start enjoying quality time with your children. Explore what we offer and plan your next activity!