The school holidays may be here, but for six-year-old pre-schooler Victoria Ong, there are classes to attend six days a week.

Her mother, Mrs J. Ong, a teacher, signs her up for 'as many enrichment classes as possible' to fill up her school holidays. This has been the norm since she was three.

Said Mrs Ong, 38: 'She's attending six enrichment classes this June. She asks to attend all these classes and I want her to do as much as possible before she goes to primary school.'

This means that Victoria, a K2 pupil at a PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergarten, goes for classes in creative writing, maths, Chinese, ballet and piano every day except on Sunday.

But even her Sundays are not spared. She is expected to work on her creative writing and do some writing at her 'own time, own target', as her mother puts it.

It was reported in The Straits Times that primary and secondary school students have to go for remedial lessons and extra classes during the June holidays. Some wondered if the kids get enough rest.

Now, pre-schoolers like Victoria are being signed up for all sorts of 'enrichment' activities during their mid-year school holidays too. They range from creative writing to digital artwork.

To many parents, school holidays are the best time for children to catch up on classroom work.

Financial planner Jack Gee, 39, is worried that his five-year-old son Derek is not learning longer words in his pre-school spelling lessons.

'He can spell simple words like 'apple'. But my friends' children, who are in other schools, can spell more difficult words,' said Mr Gee, who is shopping around for an English enrichment class for Derek.

To meet the increased demand, learning centres are offering more holiday classes for younger children. The Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning, which has three branches here, offers at least 10 holiday programmes for pre-schoolers.

The Children's Technology Workshop in Forum The Shopping Mall has a camp that teaches pre-schoolers digital artwork on computers and Lego engineering during the holidays.

Many new learning centres have popped up in recent years. Said the principal of a new centre in Clementi, which offers holiday courses: 'Parents want to keep their children occupied during the holidays and attending enrichment classes is better than watching TV all day.'

Fees are not cheap. A one-week programme goes for $180 to $300.

But early childhood experts warn that over-scheduling a child during school breaks may not only tire him out, but also affect his development in the long run.

Ms Lynn Heng, assistant director of RTRC Asia, which trains early childhood professionals, said that keeping a child occupied with classes may take away his time for self-discovery and exploration.

'He may be less creative than the child who had a lot of free time to do anything he wants,' she said.

Over-scheduling children will also affect their decision-making skills in future. So used to following timetables, it may be hard for them to decide what to do with free time.

All this will have an impact on their development as they grow older, said Ms Heng.

Ms Emily Ho, the education director at Columbia Academy, thinks enrichment classes during school holidays are fine as long as they are non-academic. She said: 'Some non-academic programmes such as dance, soccer or skating can be fun for the child and may even encourage creativity.'

But she recommends that pre-schoolers spend a maximum of two out of the four vacation weeks attending enrichment classes. For the rest of the time, they should be allowed to do whatever they like.

Childhood experts unanimously agreed that the best activity for children during the holidays is spending time with their parents.

Said Ms Heng: 'It's good if parents can take a break from work during the school holidays and spend time with their children. This benefits not just the child, but the parents, too.'

Mrs Ong, however, believes that Victoria is having a lot of fun at her enrichment classes. 'This is fun for her and she is not tested in any way,' she said. 'Now she can already read secondary school essays and write very well.'

ndianah@sph.com.sg

Should pre-schoolers be signed up for 'enrichment' classes during their holidays? Send your comments to suntimes@sph.com.sg