The benefit of after school activities

If I were to look back at my schooling career my mom would tell you that I was at school probably more than I was at home. The reason for this was because I used to get involved in every after-school activity the school had to offer, whether that be public speaking, Eisteddfod, or the school swimming team, I was there for all of it.

But what are the actual benefits of getting involved in these after-school activities? Whilst these activities can be fun and are a great way to get involved in the school environment other than school itself, there are a lot of advantages that come from being involved in after-school activities.

Firstly, participating in an after-school activity creates a new environment for children to interact and get to know each other in a different way. While important, the classroom environment can be a place of high stress and limited conversation. Let’s be honest you can only talk about your math homework so much. Participating in an after-school activity provides children with a whole new way to interact with their classmates and opens the opportunity to make new friends.

Partaking in these activities has also been shown to improve social skills. Being part of a team often includes promoting respect for others, support and cooperation alongside having to work with a variety of individuals with different skills. Being part of an after-school activity has also shown to build self-esteem.

If a sport-related activity is the one for you, the physical activity involved with this is seen to benefit both physical and mental health. With that being said, for those who don’t particularly enjoy sport, other activities such as those more in the cultural sphere are seen to boost confidence.

We have recently introduced after-school activities at Creative Kidz School. There are a variety of choices!

We would like to encourage everyone to try and get involved in an activity of their choice if they can. The benefits of this cannot be spoken about enough and if nothing else these activities are great fun.

We would like to encourage everyone to try and get involved in an activity of their choice if they can. The benefits of this cannot be spoken about enough and if nothing else these activities are great fun.

-By: Tayla Owen-Jones

Registration: Student Registered Counsellor