Jack Scurr has some tips for all those children who have just downed bags and books and started a two-week holiday from school.
Don't play video games, he implores. Instead, start a project. Or get outside and do something active.
It's highly likely the 11-year-old Waikouaiti boy will heed his own advice and spend time both indoors and out over the next fortnight. A year 7 pupil at East Otago High School, Jack can often be found in his backyard shed, where he tinkers away after school and at weekends during winter. In summer, when the mornings aren't so cold and dark, he gets up early, puts on overalls to protect his clothes and heads out to his boy-cave before he's even had breakfast.
What's he doing in there? Well, Jack is a train fanatic. He is currently working on two set-ups, an 00 gauge model railway and a life-sized railway, complete with pedal locomotive, that his dad has helped him build.
''I'm going to start work on the goods yard on my life-sized railway and complete some scenery on my 00 gauge railway,'' he says of his holiday plans, adding: ''I plan to do a lot of train-spotting and also help out on the Ocean Beach Railway every weekend.''
Jack's passion for his various projects means he's less likely to repeat the ''I'm bored'' refrain that has the potential to raise parental hackles in the holidays. As his mother, Tracey Scurr, notes: ''He's a very motivated individual.''
However, that's not to say those two words haven't popped up from time to time in the Scurr household.
''Some of the research suggests that giving external reinforcement and rewards when the child is already highly interested in the task can actually decrease their self-motivation in regard to that activity - exactly the opposite of what I was trying to do. Inevitably, it led to the 'I'm bored' response.
''I'm definitely not an expert in child behaviour, but ... I noticed that the more directly involved I became with Jack's activities, the more likely he was to drop that as an interest and move on to something else.''
Mrs Scurr says because Jack has a learning difficulty and finds schoolwork difficult at times, she has been conscious of providing him with a platform to succeed at things outside the school environment.
Yet all children need time out, says Roseanna Bourke, a registered psychologist and teacher who has recently published a book on learning titled The Chameleonic Learner: Learning and self-assessment in context.
Given that education offers a range of challenges, from literacy, mathematics and problem-solving to the development of motor skills and other competencies, such as communication, perseverance, social interaction and personal responsibility, it is hardly surprising many children mark the end of another term with a tired yawn.
''It's important to let children just relax in the holidays. This can't be underestimated,'' says Ms Bourke, who is on sabbatical from her position as academic group director of educational psychology at Victoria University, Wellington.
''School holidays are synonymous with freedom, personal bliss, physical and emotional removal of the dross, the daily rituals and routines, and the pressures that emanate from being a student.
''For parents it might seem like their hard work has just started - but, on the whole, it is parents who really do know how best to free their child from the perceived detritus of school life and to enjoy themselves in the process.''
Most importantly, school holidays offer a chance for everyone to slow down, Ms Bourke says.
''A relaxed and happy child will go back into the new school term ready to get back into the routines of learning and school life.''
Ms Bourke says there are three core benefits to holidays for children.
Firstly, they get time to reconnect with family, friends and siblings, ''even more relevant today as mixed family groupings often necessitate the child moving from one family to another''.
Secondly, holidays provide opportunities to broaden personal horizons - both locally and beyond where possible.
''A child needs relaxed time and new adventures to see different ways of thinking, being and doing. This will help with problem-solving and solution-focused planning within a school environment later,'' Ms Bourke says.
Thirdly, time off school and other routines allows children the freedom to explore - through play, interesting activities and simply being able to choose how to spend their time, and with whom.
''They learn more about their own identity, creativity and playfulness.''
Sarah Hjertquist, a Dunedin early childhood teacher and education co-ordinator, agrees it's important to let children explore their imaginations.
''Children are actually learning so much through play, even though it is not ordered in a way we may necessarily recognise. Play is great for so many things, so just let them have fun.
''Our children need to develop their sense of imagination. It's vital for problem-solving, coping with adversity, as well as creating an exciting and successful future for themselves, their community and the world.''
Her occupation notwithstanding, Mrs Hjertquist says parents, and others, need to keep any educational agendas to themselves. Mention ''educational benefits'' to children and they might well rebel - especially during their precious school holidays.
President of the Otago Association for Gifted Children and mother of a gifted child, she says confusion surrounds the concept of ''positive reinforcement''. And there's a fine line between parental encouragement and childish aversion.
''Children need to know that their activity is valued. This does not mean verbal praise or encouragement but rather that the child knows his or her parents support them in their ventures and projects and interests.''
However, although children require permission to be creative - for example, that a patch of the garden or their bedroom is their own space - they can't always acquire the resources they need to follow their ideas and passions by themselves. That's when adults can help.
''Take note of what your child is trying to do but cannot quite do on their own yet,'' Mrs Hjertquist says, adding it's important parents avoid letting their own passions and willingness (or unwillingness) for certain activities dictate what they do with their children.
''Be brave. Try something new or let your child decide.''
However, if you have a few children with different interests this could require some negotiating, she concedes.
Still, most parents should be used to solving jigsaw puzzles.
