With the summer holidays approaching, many parents are starting to look for valuable ways for their children to spend their free time. Summer schools can offer children the opportunity to improve their skills through new learning experiences and without the pressures of homework and assessment.
'We have put together a summer programme called Oceans Alive. It focuses on developing our students' language skills and confidence while fostering a love of learning English. Students will embark on an underwater exploration of the sea in an interactive and fun learning environment. Well-known children's literature will be used to inspire the children's creativity and as a springboard to developing their language skills. The children will explore famous pirate legends, have fun learning about sea creatures, and develop their English skills at the same time.'
Ocean's Alive is an 18-hour programme run over six days from Monday to Saturday. There is a morning and afternoon class, and the programme will be repeated throughout July and August. Classes are based on age - Shrimps (three to five years), Seahorses (six to seven years), Starfish (eight to nine years) and Stingrays (10 to 12 years). The programme costs HK$2,988 and will take place at various ESF schools in Kowloon, the New Territories and on Hong Kong Island.
'Our Shrimps group will do short activities to keep their focus and there will be workstations set up where they will do some mat work, respond to a story, learn new songs and do lots of fun arts and crafts,' Murphy says.
Parents are requested to provide a small snack and a bottle of water for their child, as they will have a short play time each day.