All parents want their kids to be special, smart, and happy. All three components can be achieved if a child attends extracurricular activities at school regardless of the education stage (primary or high school). Besides knowledge and fun, participation in school clubs and groups is also a great addition to any college resume because, as you know, many committees believe that participation in extracurricular activities for kids is even more important than the actual marks. So not to keep you waiting, we created a list of extracurricular activities for kids to help your child decide on what club, sports group, or activity to attend this year.
1. Student government
Leadership skills today worth their weight in gold. Businesses in all fields are looking for candidates who can lead a team and know how to manage people. For this reason, colleges demand their prospective students to have leadership skills in their CV. And what can be a better proof of responsibility, reliability, and a governing skill than school governmental structure? Moreover, by participating in school government your child will learn a very important lesson – that even one person can change the whole society if he or she truly wants it!
2. Academic clubs
Additional academic clubs which focus on mastering chemistry skills or learning a new language during Russian classes are also a great addition to a CV in future. Such extracurricular activities for kids enlarge their horizons and also inculcate the love towards particular sciences whether hard or soft. Very often kids see academic clubs as places for nerds only. It’s in your power, however, to explain that such extracurricular activities allow learning more about a particular subject and gaining a competitive advantage which is also a great skill and piece of knowledge at any stage of a kid’s life.
3. Debate team
Debates teach not just the art of elocution but also the ability to think fast and make weighted decisions under pressure. In the preparation for debates, children learn a lot of information and get used to working with sources and facts search (which are indispensable skills for writing Bachelor’s and Master’s theses). During the actual debate process, children need to urgently cumulate all the learned facts and differentiate among them to choose the one that’s right for their statements. Debates also teach children to orient themselves rapidly in fast-developing and changing environment which is exactly what their college will look like. Critical and fast thinking, the ability to choose the right sources, and the art of persuasion are all at the top of the college committees’ lists of skills.
4. Arts
Yes, art clubs develop creativity and help kids open their artistic talents. However, you should keep in mind that not all children are creative and that they might not always love the idea of painting or dancing, not even mentioning choir singing. So while having some art club on a college application is definitely an advantage, this is not one of those extracurricular activities for kids that should be forced upon them.
5. Internships and part-time jobs
Internships in school years allow children to gain hands-on experience and learning more about the real world that is expecting for them after the education is completed. On a college resume, an internship or a part-time job is a demonstration of kid’s capability, dedication, maturity, and time-management skills. All these characteristics create an image of a hard-working and persistent student who will be able to handle any kind of workload and who will be an active member of the school’s initiatives.
6. Volunteer work
Volunteer work and community services become more and more popular in the current society. No wonder that colleges consider such an experience as a must-have for the applicants. While it is not particularly among extracurricular activities for kids, you can make this experience beneficial and interesting. Older kids may help at a local children’s center or a senior center by playing some music or interacting with the people there (playing games, organizing workshops, etc.) With small kids, you can visit a local shelter for animals and just take its inhabitants for a walk. This is a perfect way to save workers’ time and also to communicate with the animals. You can check available programs for this year at the Volunteer Forever.
7. The newspaper
Publications are very important in the academic world. If your child decides to proceed with the postgraduate education, then publications are one of the most important criteria for acceptance. Moreover, work at a newspaper provides children a possibility to be heard, to write something they truly care about and also demonstrate their skill of writing. Since writing is generally a crucial skill for the college education, a newspaper can become a perfect practice space for this purpose.
The ideas provided above describe only a narrow scope of all experiences and useful extracurricular activities for kids that can be found at any school. Since most parents know about the usefulness of sports classes, we didn’t include them on the list. However, we still want you as a parent remember that sports classes can not only develop your child’s physical shape but also become a ticket to the college world of education on a scholarship.
