When it comes to exploring hobbies and passions, extra-curricular activities often spring to mind. These are activities that are available for students to explore when they are in school that complement their studies, as well as helping them find new areas to develop their skills away from the classroom.
Here are some benefits to extra-curricular activities and how they can help children progress and enjoy school life.
Improved mental health
A key thing to remember during school life is the amount of pressure there can be on students at this age. With the different subjects, exams, and potential resits later on in their school life it can become very overwhelming for them. With extra-curricular activities your child can find a good balance between their regular studies and the more fun, engaging activities in between. With extra-curricular activities your child is therefore more likely to have improved mental health and be able to face adversity before heading back into the classroom.
Allows your child to explore new activities
From the sports your child could try out to art clubs, societies and other groups with friends or with other students. This is the perfect time for students to make new friends and form good relationships between them and other teachers, as well as helping them explore something new and exciting. Many schools, including this pre prep school in London, do their utmost to provide a variety of activities and clubs for children to try out. They often see the glowing results of students who do take part in other activities alongside their regular studies.
Helps children find their passions
Helping a child find what they inherently enjoy and want to explore further will allow them to feel more confident and inspired to try new things. Extra-curricular activities will help your child develop the skills to find what they are looking for in a hobby.
If your child is really interested in art for example, they might find a lot of enjoyment in joining the school’s newspaper society. They can help with student or teacher interviews, take photos and delve into other areas of art they might not have thought about. Similarly your child could easily surprise you by learning to love a new sport, like swimming, or netball.
Helps develop their skills in different ways
Extra-curricular activities promote the use of other core skills like solving problems, making critical decisions, and learning to listen to others. This can transfer easily to the classroom where your child has the opportunity to build on their skills over time, and it helps a lot with their confidence. Greater development of these key skills will help them not only to enjoy these activities a lot more, but also makes their time in the school classroom a lot easier.
So there are many reasons why extra-curricular activities are beneficial to students. It will give your child the opportunity to try new things, make friends and improve their confidence, as well as helping them develop a new passion. Ensure your child explores as many extra-curricular activities they can to see which ones interest them the most.
