With learners now enjoying a two-month holiday after completing the school term, parents can help them make the most of the break by encouraging activities that build skills, nurture talents, and spark new interests. Instead of spending long hours idle or glued to screens, children can use the holiday to explore practical abilities and gain experiences that will benefit them when they return to school in September.

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Some of the skills they can develop include:

Reading

Jackson Kwikiriza, a father of four and financial expert, encourages parents to promote reading beyond the school curriculum through novels, biographies, autobiographies and storybooks.

He said reading helps children understand the world beyond exams by exposing them to new ideas and experiences.

Kwikiriza encourages parents to provide age-appropriate books, promote library visits, and help children summarise what they read.

Languages

Kwikiriza said parents should help children learn new languages or improve those they already know.

Children can be exposed to languages such as English, French, Swahili, and Ikinyarwanda through activities that improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills, rather than making the experience feel like classroom work.

Kwikiriza also says holidays should give children time to rest after a demanding school term, while parents keep them engaged through activities that do not recreate the pressure of the classroom.

Digital skills

"Students should start learning computer skills early because the world is going digital. Coding, product development and other technologies are shaping the future, and depending on their age, they can begin acquiring these skills instead of waiting until university.”

Community service

Children should take part in age-appropriate community work and volunteering to gain practical skills.

According to Kwikiriza, children in rural areas acquire such skills through farming, livestock activities, and household responsibilities, but many urban children have fewer opportunities to learn through similar experiences.

Sports

Youngsters can take part in activities such as cycling, swimming, running and fitness exercises to stay active and discover their talents. Kwikiriza bought bicycles for his children to help them learn cycling as a new skill.

"My children have learned how to ride a bicycle, and I have enrolled them for swimming lessons.”

Dance

Honore Manzi Murengezi, a dance teacher and choreographer, explained that dance is both a sport and an art form that helps relieve stress and develop confidence and discipline.

"Dancing will equip the youngsters with confidence, discipline and the urge to not give up. When I started dancing at a young age, I did not see it as a profession. I went in with an open mind, it’s later that I considered it as a profession. We have to step into it and learn from this art. However, it takes the willingness to learn,” he said.

House of Dance studio where he teaches offers lessons every Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for adults and children aged seven to 12.

Entrepreneurship

For older learners, especially those who have completed Senior Three or Senior Six, Kwikiriza says parents can encourage entrepreneurship by involving them in family businesses or ventures such as mobile money services and retail businesses.

He said the goal should be to help them develop business skills rather than focus on making profits.

Financial literacy

Kwikiriza said parents can teach children financial management, including earning, saving and investing.

His children save part of their pocket money through sub-accounts linked to the family’s main bank account. Children, he said, need opportunities to earn before they can learn to save.

He also noted that digital tools can help teach budgeting and money management.

Life skills

Christabell Rutabingwa, a mentorship expert, said children should use the school holiday to develop practical life skills that build independence and responsibility by learning to cook, manage the home environment and handle simple financial responsibilities such as budgeting for household utilities.

She said parents should give domestic workers a short break so teenagers can learn to manage the home environment.

"They should enroll in sports, arts and crafts, leadership, public speaking, self-awareness and self-care. Teenagers can be challenged to set goals, create vision boards for the next 10 years covering their academics, character and self-care.”

"We have a programme called Project 13, supported by a workbook and parents’ guide, that challenges preteens to experience growth in the core areas of their lives through faith, family, finance, fitness, fun, future and purity,” she said.

Rutabingwa also runs a mentorship programme for teenage girls called "Safe and Sacred”, where participants engage in meaningful conversations about their identity, self-awareness, navigating life’s challenges in today’s world and setting boundaries.