Best Extracurricular Activities: Children & Teens

What are extracurricular activities? ‘Extracurricular activities’ is the catch-all phrase for any project, task or undertaking that will not earn your children school credit but will enrich their lives and hone their skills.

Extracurricular activities provide many benefits boosting children’s confidence, building their self-esteem, and developing their leadership skills, among others. They enhance their university admissions portfolio; universities value a well-balanced education and look at extracurricular activities to see what accomplishments and interests applicants have outside academics.

Extracurricular activities are an essential element to GEMS schools in the UAE. We provide extracurricular activities as free or paid after-school activities, in-house or through external providers.

We even organise summer camps. Our high-quality summer programmes are designed to fill your children’s downtime with activities that will deepen their knowledge in many subjects or help them develop valuable skills they can use in school and beyond. We have sports, science, maths, technology, business, entrepreneurship, and creativity enhancement options to choose from. Your children can pick the activities they enjoy, so they can spend summer break reaping the benefits of summer camp: learning while developing deeper friendships and having fun.

What is the best age to start extracurricular activities? There’s no best age for extracurricular activities, and it can vary from child to child. We introduce extracurricular activities at GEMS to children as young as three years old.

GEMS World Academy - Abu Dhabi, offers more than 100 extracurricular programme options. How do you choose extracurricular activities for your children?

Best Extracurricular Activities for Younger Children

For your children enrolled in Nursery or Foundation Stage 1, Reception or Foundation Stage 2 and Year 1 (i.e., Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2), choose extracurricular activities that will:

• pique your children’s interest; and
• help them develop the skills and competencies they need for their physical, cognitive and social development.

Below are a few of the best extracurricular activities for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds.

• Playground games: Playground games like tag, rolling and sliding, I spy with my little eye, and kickball are some of the best extracurricular activities for 3-year-olds. Toddlers naturally love to play. Games played with peers will help them develop communication and social skills. Jumping, skipping, sliding, rolling, and running around on the grass, ground or playground equipment will help them develop gross motor skills and understand the physical world.
• Mindful colouring: Mindful colouring is a guided activity where your children concentrate on applying colour to a particular section of a drawing. It actively directs their attention to the feel of the brush or crayon as it glides on paper and in keeping colours within the lines. This will help them learn focus, concentration and mindfulness – the ability to focus on the present without thinking about time passing and the big picture. Mindful colouring is one of the best extracurricular activities for 4-year-olds.
• Language classes: Extracurricular language classes can help your younger children develop foundational skills in the language they’ll have to learn as part of their curriculum later on. In the UAE, your 3-, 4- and 5-year-old can start learning Arabic through fun songs and games. If English is not your first language, English language learning after-school activities through interactive, educational game-play will develop their proficiency in the language.
• Yoga and dance: Yoga and dance (e.g., ballet) can be two of the best extracurricular activities for 5-year-olds. They will develop your children’s strength, flexibility, and mindfulness. They can also start your children off on a lifetime habit of regular physical exercise.
• Scissor classes: Sitting in on after-school classes focused on cutting, trimming and snipping will develop your children’s fine motor control. Three-year-olds can be allowed to handle scissors and instructed to make straight snips on paper. Four-year-olds can be instructed to cut along drawn lines and curves. Five-year-olds can start cutting out shapes.
• Building activities: Building blocks are some of the best extracurricular activities for your toddlers and young children. It can help them hone their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination and teach them problem-solving, spatial awareness and a basic understanding of maths and physics.
• Sports: Your children can try athletics, too. This way, they can discover any passion or aptitude for a particular sport as early as possible. Football, cricket, tennis, and gymnastics are suitable activities for your children to try.

Best Extracurricular Activities for Primary School Students

Children in primary school can handle more complex and nuanced extracurricular activities. Here are a few of the activities your children can try after school.

• Art: Drawing, painting, pottery, crafting, and other similar activities are some of the best extracurricular activities for 6-year-olds. Your children can join the junior artists' club and, during meetings, accomplish a specific task. This will help your children build their self-esteem and confidence and hone their creativity, imagination, and fine motor skills.
• Music: Your children can join classes to learn how to sing or play musical instruments like the guitar, violin, drums, and piano. They can join an Arabic songs club. This way, they can sing while appreciating and mastering the Arabic language.
• Theatre and dance: Your children can learn ballet, street dance, hip hop, and social Latin dances. They may also start acting, prop design, and theatrical production. Learning dance choreography, memorising lines and producing shows will help them develop discipline and perseverance. The physical demands of these activities (especially dancing) will also make them fitter, better coordinated, and more flexible.
• Sports and board games: Seven- and eight-year-olds can learn to play chess, scrabble and other board games. Physical sports like martial arts, rock climbing, dodgeball, rhythmic gymnastics, and Zumba are great for older primary school children (e.g., Years 5 and 6 or Grades 4 and 5).
• Reading and storytelling: Storytelling is one of the best extracurricular activities for 7-year-olds and older children. At GEMS Wellington Academy - Al Khail, we have a Story Spinners Club for students in Years 3 and 4.
• Cooking and gardening: Cooking and gardening let your children work with their hands. With proper supervision and the use of appropriate tools, cooking can be remarkably empowering, as your children can directly enjoy the fruits of their labour. Gardening, meanwhile, can teach your children about faith and patience.
• Yoga and mindfulness exercises: Choose yoga and mindfulness to help your children learn mindfulness techniques they can use throughout their lives. Yoga will also keep them strong and flexible.
• Philosophy club: If your children are interested in thought exercises and matters of logic, let them join the philosophy club.
• Digital art and games: Digital art creation and games can be some of the best extracurricular activities for 9-year-olds. Using gadgets and modern technology, your children can learn animation, 3D modelling and graphics design. Younger children can join fun and engaging activities like creating with Minecraft and Apple.

Best Extracurricular Activities for Secondary School Students

When they’re 11 years old (i.e., Year 7 or Grade 6) and older, your children can be more intentional about selecting their extracurricular activities. You can base your choices on your children’s future plans.

• Sports: Do your children have plans to join a university athletics team or a professional club after leaving school? Consider enrolling them in GEMS schools with outstanding sports programmes.

They can take up after-school athletic activities that will keep them fit, strong and flexible and will continuously hone their skills in their chosen sport. You can also find them activities that will give them opportunities to compete in meets and tournaments.

For instance, at GEMS FirstPoint School, we have an Elite Golf Programme that children with a single-figure golf handicap can join. It has an integrated academic and extracurricular structure to support a professional career in golf. GEMS Wellington Academy - Al Khail has a similar programme for football and swimming.

Our core sports vary from school to school. At GEMS Wellington Academy - Silicon Oasis, we have squads for netball, rugby, swimming, cricket, football, and basketball. Your children can become part of the school team or join sports classes, camps and academies through GEMS-accredited external providers like East Sports Management (ESM).

• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Do your children want a career in a STEM domain? They can focus on STEM-related extracurriculars. The best extracurricular activities for high school students aspiring to become scientists, engineers or applied physicists are after-school interventions or advanced classes in engineering, physics, chemistry, and mathematics. At GEMS Dubai American Academy, our students who want a career in emerging technologies can take after-school classes on robotics, artificial intelligence and coding.

• The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award: We have several GEMS schools, like GEMS Metropole School - Motor City, GEMS Dubai American Academy, GEMS FirstPoint School, and GEMS Modern Academy, that offer the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Programme (DofE). This is an extracurricular option for students aged 14 years and older.

Consider this if you’re looking for the best extracurricular activities for university applications. It offers definitive proof of your children’s personal, social and holistic development as well as their agency over their education.

• Entrepreneurship and leadership: Our students can join the student council or take up leadership positions at their grade level. At GEMS World Academy - Dubai, we have a dedicated Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Social Impact (EIS) Programme that will develop your children’s agility and adaptability. This ensures they can adapt to whatever career or business landscape awaits them outside school. Your children can join our Student Entrepreneurship Club for after-school entrepreneurship enrichment activities.

• Creative activities: Your children can take up after-school activities in prop design, animation, photography, jewellery making, creative writing, visual arts, singing, dancing, cooking, and gardening. They can join drama, art, music, debate, and book clubs.

Learn Beyond the Classroom

A well-balanced education calls for extracurricular activities. They can become your children’s outlet for creative expression while complementing their academic performance and career aspirations.

At GEMS Education, extracurricular activities are tightly integrated and intertwined with our academic offerings. They will empower your children to achieve their maximum potential within and beyond the classroom. Contact us to learn about our extracurricular offerings and to choose the best GEMS school for your children.