Cheers’ Its Summer –A real moment for refreshing tranquility. Ranging from fun-filled activities to intense joy it’s the best time that gives ample opportunity for extra-curricular activities. No matter what the age, vacation always brings in relaxation and room for creative thinking. It is a wonderful time for family gathering as well.

Vacation is also the best period to build lots and lots of life-time lasting memories in a splendid way.  It renews health and spirits and gives scope to focus on favourite hobbies like painting, art, dancing, music, sports, learning, playing puzzles, family vacation and many more. If these activities are carried with an intention to learn and if education is integrated into it, it can turn joyous vacation time to personal rejuvenation and growth.

When I was a kid my summer vacation was filled with lots of activities.  My mom taught me basics of gardening, cooking and my dad took language classes at home. Sometimes it was related to reading books and some other times art and gardening. Whatever it was, I loved to do it and I still enjoy doing it because it made splendid memories in my thoughts; it helped me achieve my goals. If I had not utilised my time efficiently and had not respected the work given by my parents then I wouldn’t have been what I am now. “You reap what you sow”. I have already harvested the results of my summer projects and am now taking rewards from it. Now it’s your turn.

What I meant was to take summer projects with a positive attitude and handle them with complete involvement and interest; it can become your favourite pastime. If necessary take guidance from your parents.

There are thousands of activities which can be taken advantage of during vacation period. I have listed few smart ideas that you can think about during your approaching summer holidays.

· Make use of library: Library visits can become the best pastime. Libraries have a huge collection of books with on wide-range of subjects. You can find interesting books and periodicals. Libraries also have educational magazines and journals available every month with up-to-date information. Make use of it. Give yourself some library time and try to explore new books and develop inquisitive interest for intellectual growth.

· Online research: Online research is another best idea which can help you gather new information, and use a computer system. Google is the best search engines that can assist you in learning what you want online. Just pick one topic either on science, history, geography or mathematics or any other and try to learn as much as you can and write it down for further reference. This way you can excel in your interests.

· Preparation for competitive examinations: In today’s competitive world utilising time efficiently is a prudent decision. Especially if you are pursuing for competitive examinations then you would have to take benefit from the holidays. Holidays are the best time to prepare for competitive exams like EAMCET, AIIMS, KCET, etc. All you have to do is devote some of your extra free hours of your vacation towards exam preparation. It will definitely add value to your final result.

· Arts and crafts: Anything and everything from dancing, singing, painting, crochet projects, knitting, scrapbook, etc can be pursued.

· Learn new Languages: Spend some time to learn your favorite language either regional or foreign. Foreign languages will be of help when you want to pursue higher education in foreign countries or if you are planning to visit them on vacation. To learn there are a number of tools available online those help in learning languages. You can also buy books in the book store or visit libraries for books.

· Creative writing: If writing is your hobby then it’s worth spending time on it during your free time. Since vacation time is an obvious free time it is worth considering.

· Turn your family vacation into a real education: If you are planning for a vacation with your family then do not forget to add some learning activities to your list. It’s just simple- take a book and start reading while travelling (improves your reading and understanding skills) or grab your route map and explore the region you are visiting (helps learn geography) or visit museums and learn about regional history and cultural importance (helps learn History) or learn about the life style and food habits of the people. 

· Clean and green; Home Improvement: This should become a part of you and your family. A clean house and clean surroundings can make you feel good and keep you healthy. Organise things and let them be where they are supposed to be. Incorporate cleanliness and an organised environment at your home, it will become a part of you and bring in a healthy transformation.

· Be a part of Community and provide Community services as a volunteer.

These smart summer activities not only improve knowledge but also boost creative thinking, and skills. Whatever you want to do either art or sports or career related try to utilize some extra hours for it during your vacation time.

It does not really matter what project you take up, it will yield long term benefits.  Just aim at your personal growth, and combine your fun summer activities with knowledge development and try to work them together to develop your intellectual skills. It actually seems pretty easy and enjoyable once you start focusing on it. So, make it a splendid one with everlasting memories after-all time is precious.