Free Time Activities for Families with Kids
Meaningful Ways to Spend Time in Your Neighbourhood
As we’ve mentioned in the previous article, each municipal district tries to ensure the most comfortable life possible for its residents, and a high-quality leisure time definitely contributes to that.
You’ll find libraries, youth centres (“Dům dětí a mládeže” – DDM) and community centres available. All these institutions offer various educational and cultural activities, which can enrich your life and your family’s one.
Making sure their kids spend their free time in a meaningful way is a top priority for most parents. After-school activities promote the development of the children’s talents, allow them to meet new friends, and the fact that they excel in something boosts their confidence. Do you have small children as well? Then the tips below might be of use to you!
1.
You can start at Prague City Hall’s website “Prague for All”, where you can find links to activity groups categorized by age and type.
2.
Do your children have artistic talents? The teachers at an Elementary Art School (Základní umělecká škola – ZUŠ) will help them elevate their musical, creative, dance, literary or theatrical talent to the next level. Attending an Elementary Art School is recommended primarily for children who are both interested in and have the potential to devote themselves to the specific art long-term. To attend an Elementary Art School the child has to pass the entrance exam. You can find the list of Elementary Art Schools HERE.
3.
The Youth Centres (DDM) provide group activities and other events. They offer a wide range of activities: sports, foreign languages, painting, ceramics, dancing, singing and playing musical instruments. The Youth Centres also organize trips to the countryside, summer camps and sports tours – in short, you name it. So it’s a good idea to follow their websites and to enroll on time if you’re interested.
4.
The summer vacations are the time for summer camps. Children age 6 to 15 spend a week or more in the countryside without their parents, following the program prepared for them by experienced instructors. Summer camps are a great opportunity to find new friends, experience adventures and to become more independent. The kids can expect to take part in morning exercise, contests, and tests of courage, as well as help with cooking lunch.
If for any reason you don’t want to send your children far away from home, there are local camps with a program similar to that of regular camps, but with the parents picking kids up in the afternoon and dropping them off in the morning.
You can find the list of some of the camps HERE.
5.
Want your child to be a team player, be able to make a fire or tie a strong knot, not to be afraid to sleep in a tent, and to know how to survive in the wild? Let him or her enroll with the scouts. Scouts are a worldwide movement aimed at educating children and young people and letting them develop self-discipline. Scouts have a long-standing tradition in the Czech Republic, dating back to the times of the First World War. You can find more information HERE.
6.
Activities for foreign children are also regularly organized by the non-profit organization Inbáze. You can find those at its website.
Is this information insufficient and you need additional info on free-time activities? Don’t hesitate to contact our intercultural workers.
