The school holidays are here, and with them comes a well-deserved break for both parents and children after a hectic year. But your child’s learning and education do not have to stop with the last ringing of the school bell, even if he or she is loath to look at another worksheet or textbook.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but what if Jack was encouraged to play in an educational way? That’s right — while most of us will not be able to travel for leisure this year, there are still plenty of ways to have fun and learn at the same time while staying in Singapore. As a start, here are 6 options for you to consider:
1. Take a historic stroll down the Singapore River
As the line in Kit Chan’s National Day song ‘Home’ goes: sail down the river which brings us life, winding through my Singapore... The Singapore River is at the heart of two hundred years of the island’s development from sleepy village to bustling trade centre.
Today, the river no longer serves as Singapore’s main artery of trade and commerce, but the skyscrapers of the Central Business District towering all around it are marked reminders of the key role it once played.
The 3km stretch from Collyer Quay to Robertson Quay is dotted with many iconic landmarks too, from the Customs House to the Ord Bridge, which was built in 1886, and Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka, Singapore’s oldest mosque.
History can come off as a pretty dry topic for children, but there is no better way to get them interested than to bring them to where those words on a page were lived and breathed.
2. Visit a museum
Museums are the tried and tested classic option for educational fun during the school holidays, and Singapore is hardly short of them. What is more, most of them have free entry for Singapore citizens and permanent residents!
If your child is of an artistic bent, you might want to consider the National Gallery, which currently has a kids’ exhibition featuring the work of local painter Georgette Chen. Your child can explore tropical fruits through Chen’s art and an augmented reality experience in the Rambutan Room.
Also at the National Gallery is an exhibition devoted to the history of the building it is housed in — the former City Hall. Or check out the refurbished National Museum of Singapore, which has four ‘Living Galleries’ on topics such as food and clothes that are reminiscent of last year’s Bicentennial Experience, complete with narrative audio, film footage and visual objects. This is an immersive experience guaranteed to appeal to the TikTok generation.
3. Get an eye-opening glimpse of life and values from a bygone time at Kampong Lorong Buangkok
Kampong Lorong Buangkok is the last remaining kampong in mainland Singapore, and is a good place to bring young and old together for a very different feel from the usual tourist destinations to be found on our island.
For older people of your parents’ generation, Kampong Lorong Buangkok is a blast from the past, hearkening back to a bygone era when life was rooted in the real, and not the digital.
For your children, the languid kampong way of life could be unfathomable or alien even. A short trip to Kampong Lorong Buangkok (it’s a residential area after all, and you do not want to stay too long) could be the perfect opportunity for meaningful intergenerational bonding, and to expand your child’s cultural horizons without having to leave the country.
4. Get up close and personal with wildlife at a nature reserve
The great outdoors is a great teacher in its own right, and the holidays are the best time to partake of its instruction. Take your child out of the urban jungle and into the actual jungle, so to speak, in one of Singapore’s four nature reserves, where a fascinating array of wildlife awaits.
At 3,043 hectares, the Central Catchment Nature Reserve is the largest of the four, spanning across MacRitchie, Upper and Lower Peirce, and Upper Seletar reservoirs.
It’s also home to an extremely rare forest type in Singapore — the freshwater swamp forest. Meanwhile, the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is a unique ecosystem teeming with biological diversity.
Its native inhabitants include mudskippers, crabs, shellfish, water snakes, birds, spiders, monitor lizards and, of course, otters. Sounds like plenty of material for an outdoors Science class!
5. Travel from the comforts of home with TLL's complimentary activity sheets
With the current travel restrictions and your child needing a breather, we have the perfect solution that will fulfil your child’s sense of adventure.
Give your child the best of both worlds by offering a sense of escapism from the hustle and bustle of school life while allowing them to hone essential academic skills at the same time through our range of travel-centric activity sheets.
Immerse your young aspirational globetrotter in the marvels of the world by taking your pick from our collection of complimentary worksheets such as:
Meander through the streets of Copenhagen through the words in a cloze passage, and try speaking like a local.
Spot all the various geometrical shapes that went into the construction of this unique upside down house.
Venture on a scientific expedition to discover how penguins survive and thrive in an endless winter.
6. Sign your child up for holiday workshops
Your child’s school may be closed for the end of the year, but The Learning Lab is still open and ready to enrich your child’s holiday learning!
We have a plethora of holiday programmes for you to choose from, such as our 6-week Young Writers’ Workshop designed to teach 10- to 12-year-olds the fundamentals of good story writing, and our 5-week Maths Model Method Workshop that equips 7- to 10-year-olds with an arsenal of problem-solving heuristics to become strategic problem solvers.
We also have a PSLE Headstart Programme that caters to students taking the PSLE next year and a DSA Impressive Interviews programme for those looking to ace Direct School Admission (DSA) interviews.
Click here to find discover our kaleidoscopic array of fun and enriching holiday workshops that will put the entertainment in edutainment.
If you are wondering which of these is best suited to your child, you may fill in the form below or contact us at 6733 8711 / enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg to find out more.
Fun and Learning That Never Stop
Taking a break from studying during the holidays need not mean taking a break from using one’s brain, or from learning.
At The Learning Lab, we believe that the motivated learner is one who is also enjoying him or herself, and that it is possible to create a pedagogy and classroom environment where fun and learning go hand in hand.
Click here to find out more about how our programmes instil a joy for learning.
The Learning Lab is now at 9 locations. Find a location that suits your needs.
If you have any questions about our range of programmes or class schedules, you may contact us at 6733 8711 or drop us an email at enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg.
The Learning Lab is now at 9 locations. Find a location that suits your needs.
If you have any questions about our range of programmes or class schedules, you may fill in the form below or contact us at 6733 8711 / enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg.