Activity Guide

Nostalgic Games and Educational Camps for the Holidays

Published by SchoolAdvisor | May 11, 2021

Kids these days do not really play traditional games as much as we did back in the days. As technology advances, it is understandable why the younger generation are more attracted to Mario Kart and Mobile Legend.

During this long school holiday, it might be a good idea to get your children to play these leisure activities with a local twist. Traditional games in Malaysia transcend beyond race as anyone can hop on the train and play these uniting games.

Traditional games usually require more than one player, which makes it a great leisure activity to play with close friends and family at home during Movement Control Order (MCO) as it will encourage a more communal vibe.

Here are some of the games that you can play with your children during this holiday season:

1. Arts and Crafts

Art is always an exciting activity to do at home to keep your child entertained. Arts and crafts activities for children will not break the bank as a lot of the tools required for these games can be bought at a knockout price.

Photo by Sagar Dani on Unsplash

If your child is into drama and theatre, we suggest you create a puppet show with them. For a local twist, wayang kulit will be a great activity that can test your child’s imagination and creativity. From crafting the characters to preparing the script and performing the puppet show, it will be a challenging, yet stimulating game for children.

Kids who are not into performing arts can opt for batik painting or henna. Batik and henna are activities that will challenge one’s ability to draw and paint. Batik artwork is usually done on cloth while henna is applied on both hands and feet.

For batik, you will need a plain white cloth, preferably cotton fabric, colour palette and a brush. Meanwhile, you can buy henna paste for henna and check out some simple designs to replicate online.. Bring  a touch of creativity and voila!

2. Physical activities

Some days, physical activities can do the trick to kick boredom away. Lompat getah, also known as skipping rope is a traditional game that normally requires three people to play the game. The method is just the same as how one would skip rope but the fun lies in the fact that the game is played by more than one player.

To play lompat getah, you will need rubber bands that are tied together to form a long rope. Putting in the rubber bands together can be another activity that you do with your children.

Photo by Berita Harian

Sepak takraw (kick volleyball) on the other hand can be played if you have a large compound to utilise. You will need a woven rattan ball to kickstart the game with three players per team. This game will test the swiftness of your feet, knee and head in controlling the ball.

3. Card/board games

Do you still remember the exhilaration from being able to shout “I got a family!” while playing the card game Happy Family? Card and board games are exciting pastimes to engage in with your family. Malaysian made board game called The Malaysian Dream is an interactive game where you can become the perfect Malaysian by sabotaging your opponent. So if you want to see how mischievous your little ones can be, this is the perfect game for it.

4. Mind-challenging games

We are not saying that these games are for the nerds out there but numbers will absolutely be involved here. For instance, players will need to know the number of seeds that they need to beat their opponent in a congkak game. A wooden boat-shaped block and marbles or seeds are needed to play this game.

Other than that, batu Seremban is also among the fun traditional games that will get your kids counting. Batu Seremban can be played using small round objects with rough surfaces such as small stones, rubber seeds or sewn cloth bags filled with sand or saga seeds.

Photo by Crissy Jarvis on Unsplash

If you need a balance between leisure and educational activities for your children, you can opt to enrol them in these summer holiday programmes to enhance their knowledge on top of their social skills.

1. Animation Coding E-Camp by CIY.Club

CIY.Club Sri Petaling is holding an Animation Coding E-Camp for children aged between 8 to 14. In this Animation Coding Camp, your child will learn the basics of animation techniques while making the very first animation using useful skills and tips from the experts. There will be two sessions available. The first session will be on May 31st - June 1st while the second session will take place on June 2nd - June 3rd. This programme is available online.

Register Animation Coding Camp here.

2. Public Speaking & Creative Writing Holiday Programme by Yay! I Can Speak Too.

Transform your child into confident writers, storytellers, presenters and public speakers by joining the Public Speaking & Creative Writing Holiday Programme organised by Yay! I Can Speak Too. Among the workshops offered online are:

-   Kids Public Speaking: The Art of Storytelling (2-Day Programme) have two sessions on May 29th & 30th and June 12th & 13th respectively.

-   Confident Little Junior Presenters: Space Explorer (2-Day Programme) will be held on May 22nd and 23rd.        

-   Kids Public Speaking: Confident Junior Presenters will be held on June 5th and 6th.

-   The Art of Creative Writing (3-Day Programme) will be held on June 1st to June 3rd.

For more information, check out Holiday Workshop Here..

3. Gratitude Workshop by Molly Manners Malaysia

Molly Manners Malaysia believes in the importance of teaching children gratitude from a very young age. Therefore, a Gratitude Workshop will be held every Saturday throughout the month of June (5th, 12th, 19th and 26th) on the Zoom platform. Among other things, this workshop will teach young children the meaning of gratitude, how to practice gratitude and how to write a journal. The class is designed based on experiential learning, fun, a high level of interaction and with a lot of hands on activities to make learning effective.  Participants will also receive a fun & hands on Gratitude Kit that will be couriered to your home.

To register, check Gratitude Workshop here..

4. Summer School English Language Holiday Programme by St. Joseph’s Institution International School Malaysia (Tropicana PJ Campus)

St. Joseph’s Institution International School Malaysia (Tropicana PJ Campus) is offering an English Language Holiday Programme to 10 to 14 year old children. This programme will cover all areas of English Language development like reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar and vocabulary. Lessons will be delivered by expert teachers and teaching assistants. Students will be sure to be entertained throughout the programme as the programme is complemented by a series of music, sport, drama, cultural and social activities.

For more information, check out Summer School Holiday Programme.

 5. Money Master Junior by Little Tauke

If you wish to equip your child with financial literacy, enrol your child to the Money Master Junior Online programme by Little Tauke. This programme aims to strengthen students’ confidence in their ability to take control of their own lives physically, emotionally, and financially. This 4-day holiday programme will incorporate the following subjects:

-   Day 1 - Where Does Money Come From? The 5 Roles of Money

-   Day 2 - The Smart Buying Habits and Needs vs Wants

-   Day 3 - The 3 Money Jars System : Save, Spend, Share

-   Day 4 - Assessment

Parents can also get involved in a one hour parenting coaching session on how to raise money-smart children.

For more information, check Holiday Programme here.

Your children might be a bit bummed from not being able to go anywhere physically, but we hope that these fun ideas will make up for that, and that they will learn some new things in the process!