Holidays are a lot more than just games

School has closed for the summer and the burning question for many parents is what their kids can do if they are not travelling abroad?

Hitting the beach or go-karting is out of the question in the summer. For a child’s holistic development, it is important for them to be engaged in meaningful activities such as learning a language, arts and crafts or even sharpening their computer skills. Luckily, the UAE is a haven for summer activities and courses.

Mind your language

Eton Institute has witnessed a surge in demand for its language courses for kids, from parents who would like their children to develop their multi-lingual skills and stay indoors away from the heat. Sue Brett, head of academic studies at Eton Institute said: “Multi-lingual children are tolerant of other languages and cultures, and have an ability to think more creatively.” The summer kids’ programme at the institute will cater to children from the age of 4 to 16 with tailor-made courses. The fun language activities will be available in six languages; English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian and German. The first session started on July 8 and the second will begin on July 29 with convenient morning and afternoon timings.

For budding architects

In addition to its five-year course in architecture, Manipal University Dubai is offering summer courses to acquaint the prospective students of architecture and interior design. These summer courses will be conducted on the university campus for students of Grade 11 and 12. A two-day workshop on: ‘Become an interior designer or an architect in one day” will also be held.

Summer courses with ADU

Offered on the Abu Dhabi and Al Ain campuses, the summer semester courses of the Abu Dhabi University (ADU) will run till August 16. Nabil Ibrahim, Chancellor of the university, said: “To cater to this year’s growth in demand for summer semester courses, the University has allocated 213 classes for undergraduate programme courses, and 25 classes for postgraduate programme courses on Abu Dhabi campus. In addition to the 81 classes for undergraduate programme courses, there will be six classes for postgraduate programme courses on Al Ain campus.” —dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com