What you need to get children learning new skills this Summer

Getting the kids outdoors is a great way to keep them fit and healthy, as well as boosting their mood, working up a healthy appetite and promoting good sleep. It can also be a great opportunity to encourage children learning new skills.

Many of us take for granted skills such as throwing and catching a ball, hitting a shuttlecock successfully over a net, hopping, skipping and jumping. But for young children, these are skills that need to be learned and practised – and your back garden or local park is a great place to start!

First, you need to get kitted out to get children learning new skills. This doesn’t need to cost a lot; you can get most of it at your local pound shop – no need to hit the sports shop just yet! You need:

* A ball

* A skipping rope, or just some ordinary rope, or even a washing line will do!

* Some chalk for drawing hopscotch

* A cheap set of rackets and shuttlecocks that you can find in beach or toy shops

* Some canes and plastic flower pots to make small jumps or ‘hurdles’ out of

* Anything else you can buy cheaply and do outdoors, such as hoola-hoops, boules, croquet, and so on.

Then just hit the garden or park and spend the day learning to catch, trying to get a rally going over the net, or even attempting a spot of French skipping! (You need two ropes for that – it can get complicated!)

Not only is it good exercise for you all – even if you do spend most of the day picking balls up off the ground – but you will also enjoy watching your children learning new skills, as well as reminding them that practice makes perfect and brings with it a new-found pride and confidence that they can take with them into all aspects of their future learning.