Hooray PSLE is over, now what is there to do? Primary 6 kids spend most of their last year in Primary School gearing up for the major Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE). It is an intense year of study and preparation which caps off with the final exam.
By early October, along with the completion of the written papers comes a sense of relief (from both parents and students. Phew). There is the euphoria of having completed a six-year journey and is cause for a well-deserved celebration and letting lose for some fun.
After burning off some steam, the high of completing the PSLE can quickly turn into boredom as the outgoing P6s enter into the lull before the PSLE results come out. After all, there is only so much playing and mucking about the house that they can do.
If you are faced with a Primary 6 kid at home who is wallowing during the post-PSLE lull, here are some things to do both at home or as post-PSLE outings with friends. Some ideas require minimal supervision by adults and will need kids to invest time to accomplish, all while staying at home, others are meant to be fun activities outdoors away from the screen. Time to let the hair down, learn some skills while celebrating the no-studying season!
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Things to Do Post-PSLE
Learn Touch Typing
Touch typing is an important skill to pick up. By the time children are 12 years old, they have the motor skills necessary to learn touch typing. Set them a goal of learning to how to touch type.
There are different websites and resources that help kids (and adults) learn how to touch-type. Our recommendation is typingclub.com. This is an online site that blends together practice exercises along with games to teach touch typing. It also lets users keep track of their progress. Oh, and did we mention that it’s free too?
Put Up an Art Exhibition
If your child is the creative sort and enjoys art and drawing, get him or her to create their own superhero character. Come up with a fancy name for the protagonist, develop a backstory, develop a set of evil villains and come up with a storyline.
Alternatively, head down to the library, borrow a book and get them to draw up a series of illustrations based on their favourite scenes from the book.
Ask them to put up a mini-exhibition and invite friends and family around to see it.
Do Something With Their Hands
Try finding something kids can do with their hands. Some ideas include making slime or little handicrafts. To do so, a visit to the craft supplies stores in Singapore may be in order.
Another idea is to introduce kids to “airfix” models. These are scale, plastic models, often of planes, cars and ships, that need to be assembled by hand. A set costs between $20 to $40 a box on average. They require some patience to put together and can then be painted to taste. These models are a good step-up from LEGO construction toys and helps cultivate patience and perseverance too.
Keep A Fitness Journal
Playing sports, swimming or cycling can be great ways to stay active but there are also other ways to exercise while staying at home.
One idea to consider is the use of a resistance band.
There are literally dozens of exercises that can be done anywhere with a simple resistance band. They can workout the lower body, back, arms, shoulders and various combinations of the above.
It may be useful to identify a few exercises with your child and make sure that they are familiar with how to do them safely. Here are some ideas, albeit for younger kids.
Get your child to keep a journal in order to track their progress and watch their fitness improve.
Cooking Challenge
Set a challenge for your 12-year-old to learn how to cook and document it down in their own custom cookbook.
Lay down some guidelines – for example, they must be able to cook (and write up in their cookbook) a variety of food items. It should include meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner with options ranging from simple items such as a fried egg to the somewhat more complex such as eggs benedict. Their cookbook should include dishes that they love but also those which they wouldn’t normally gravitate towards.
Round off the challenge by setting a date where they will need to prepare a meal for the entire family. Parents can standby as sous-chefs.
Visit Singapore Zoo or River Safari
Enjoy “Kids Enter Free with Every Full Paying Adult” promotion At Singapore Zoo and River Wonders. From 1 to 27 October 2024 (both dates inclusive), in celebration of Children’s Day, Singapore Zoo and River Wonders are both having a Kids Enter Free promotion. Terms and Conditions apply.
This is perfect for the PSLE kiddos, but the catch here is that an adult caregiver will need to be present.
Visit Studio Ghibli Exhibition Opening 4 October
Studio Ghibli fans can look out for The World of Studio Ghibli exhibition opening at ArtScience Museum on 4 October 2024. The World of Studio Ghibli exhibition is one of ArtScience Museum’s most ambitious exhibitions and organised in collaboration with Studio Ghibli.
Play:Date Unlocking Cabinets of Play, National Museum of Singapore
Play:Date – Unlocking Cabinets of Play is a collaboration between National Museum of Singapore, artists and toy collectors to showcase stories of childhood toys through an immersive showcase, large-scale artworks and digital gamified experiences. Step into a world of playful nostalgia at the engaging experiential pop-up, developed as part of the Museum’s Collecting Contemporary Singapore initiative. The initiative aims to showcase and collect memories and objects from recent decades. There are four main segments to look out for at Play:Date with five commissioned artworks on the Museum’s exterior, 280 toys showcased by 10 collectors, digital game machines and a tunnel. Find out more about Play:Date – Unlocking Cabinets of Play
Space Explorers: THE INFINITE XR Experience
Pencil down 12 October 2024 into your calendar because that is when Space Explorers: THE INFINITE, the world’s largest extended reality or XR space exploration experience, will be making its Southeast Asian debut at Science Centre Singapore.
Space Explorers: THE INFINITE is inspired by NASA missions and will take visitors on an extraordinary journey 400 km above Earth. There will even be a chance to experience what life is like aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Visitors will don VR headsets and be able to roam about as they explore space and what astronauts do at Science Centre Singapore’s The Annexe.
12 going on 13
Perhaps this production might prepare your tween or teen for the tumultuous teenage years.
12 Going On 13 will resonate with anyone who has found themselves in that space where the weight of expectations crashes against the waves of uncertainty. Where fears of failing and falling loom larger than ever.
Meet Shan, 12 years old and on the cusp of something big. Her world is about to change – school, friendships, her parents’ marriage, and the overwhelming, unwanted task of growing up. It feels like she is standing on the edge of a precipice.
This play takes its audience on the often complex and terrifying journey of adolescence, sifting through the challenges of change, while highlighting the often overlooked need to lean on one’s community. It is a story about finding the courage to step forward, despite the uncertainties that lie ahead. Get your tickets from SISTIC.
Join an ActiveSG Class
Pick up a new sport, hone a new interest or simply make friends via an activity at ActiveSG classes. There are Akido classes to sign up for, even Taekwando or Wushu! One big benefit is these classes get the kids off their screens, encourage an active lifestyle and resume the physical activities they could have missed while preparing for the big exams.
Chalk & Pencils Post-PSLE Holiday Camp
Love cabybaras or Mofusand or Sanrio? The October PSLE Holiday art camps from 14 to 16 October might be what your PSLE kid enjoys! Lunch is provided at this camp held from 9 am to pm at two venues: Katong or New Bahru.
Get friends to join in for 5% off, and if you have 3 or more friends enjoy 10% off camp fees. More details are at Chalk & Pencil’s site.
Last chance for Chaos Lab
Kids can get into mad scientist mode and turn on the fun at Chaos Lab, the lab-themed experience in Singapore at Changi Airport Terminal 2 where science turns into play and play is a science! The final weekend to enjoy the highly sensory activities is the first weekend of October 2024. So hurry!
Visit the Library
Reading is one activity that should be encouraged. Now that the PSLE is over, the tweens can finally take the time to enjoy their books in peace without getting nagged at. Not sure which one to visit? Check out our list of our favourite and best libraries to visit with kids in Singapore.
Monet Inside
Step inside the dream universe of the founding father of Impressionism – Claude Monet. Monet Inside is a stunning visual art exhibition accompanied by captivating music, reinterpreting the precious masterpieces of Claude Monet, the painter of light. Follow the painter’s story from his beginnings as an impressionist in Paris to the grand epic of his famous Water Lilies, all in an immersive showcase of over 200 masterpieces in 5 immersive large scale screens.
Monet Inside is held at Parkview Square, level 3.
Get 50% off tickets till 4 October.
Adventure HQ
Adventure HQ at HomeTeamNS Khatib is perfect for tweens and teens! Wow is usually the first response as you enter the compound with the four storey high obstacles. The facility is also sheltered, perfect for an indoor work-out rain or shine. There are eight main sections to explore, chances are you cannot complete all obstacles within a session. So prioritize those your 12 year old prefers.
Three sections – Urban Climb, Rock Walls, Fossil Labyrinth, Adventure Trail can be completed without supervision from an Adventure Specialist. The rest of the sections require an Adventure Specialist’s supervision.
Online Crotcheting Class
How about learning to crotchet? It is the latest craze that tweens and teens might embrace. While there are classes to attend physically, one option is to learn the skill online.
Volunteer and Give Back
Since there is much time to spare, use the time wisely in volunteering. There are volunteer opportunities for children and youths. Take your pick from reading to young children, befriending children and more.
Bubble Planet
We reckon the tweens will love the enormous bubble bath ball pit! Visit Bubble Planet and move between 11 uniquely themed areas including an enormous bubble bath ball pit, a virtual reality room, an undersea LED room and an endless infinity experience.
