Now that exam season is done and dusted, it’s time to huddle together as a family and pick up some new skills or activities together! The benefits of learning new skills together are many-fold and go beyond just acquiring new knowledge–you bond, create memories together, and get to establish a culture of learning and growth in your family.

Furthermore, think back to when you last learnt a new skill, just for enjoyment? Was it when you were in school? Now’s as good a time as any to set the busy-ness of your daily lives aside, and spend some quality time as a family learning something new together. After all, a family that learns together surely grows together!

Here are five fun activities you can take up with your loved ones from grandparents to children, to learn a new skill or simply make fabulous memories together.

1. Pick up an instrument

Instead of nagging your child to practise playing the piano, perhaps it’s time to warm up your musical fingers and learn to play it too, alongside your child. When your child sees for himself first-hand how Mummy or Daddy is happy to put in the hard work to master the instrument, he will be more motivated to practice too! While there may not be many parent-child classes available to learn instruments in Singapore, you can opt to learn as a small group so that you can learn as a family.

2. Create some art

Painting, pottery, sculpting, tufting, even digital art–there are so many types of art you can learn to create together! Unleash your hidden artistic potential, relieve some stress, and make some gorgeous art that you can bring home to adorn your shelves and walls. There’s much joy to be derived from creating art alongside your loved one, being part of each other’s creative process and learning the techniques required together, so embrace the journey of art-making for what it is and enjoy every moment to its fullest!

3. Whip up some kitchen magic

There’s something particularly warm and fuzzy about cooking or baking together as a family. Perhaps it’s innate, we are hard-wired to feel comforted at the thought of a hearty home-cooked meal by our own mothers or grandmothers. Learning to make magic happen in the kitchen together can be more than a one-off lesson to make a particular dish, make it a regular date as a family and reap the benefits, both emotionally and gastronomically, in time to come. Make some family traditions that will last the years, whipping up the delicious treats you’ve first learnt to make together over and over again to relive those precious memories of years gone by.

4. Bust-a-move with a new type of workout

If you’re always lamenting at how difficult it is to carve out to exercise amidst your various responsibilities, we’ve got a neat solution for you: pump up some endorphins as a family and take up a new sport or workout routine together. Yoga, pilates, kayaking, rock climbing, archery, horse-back riding, unicycling, trampolining, K-pop dance–there’s a class for everything you can think of! Participating in these activities as a family would also help you create healthy habits and hobbies together, so it’s a huge win-win in everyone’s books.

5. Game on and carry on!

Not all new activities have to be learnt in a class. Hop on a new board game, video game, or even visit an escape room, and learn how to play it together. Pore over the game rules and work out the kinks as a family, enjoying the process of discovery and the immense satisfaction that comes with mastering a new game. Many games involve puzzles that need to be solved, or require strategies and teamwork. These are perfect bonding opportunities as you grow in strength as a family.