Текст на английском про летние каникулы

My name is Polina. I am eleven. I love summer, because there is no school!

In June I am at home in the city. I read books and ride my bike in the park. I meet my friends every day.

In July I go to my grandparents' village. There is a river and a forest there. I swim and pick berries.

My grandma has got a cat and two goats. I like feeding them.

In August I go back home. I buy new things for school. Summer is my favourite season!

Last summer was the best summer of my life. In June I spent three weeks at a summer camp near the sea. I was a bit nervous at first, because I didn't know anybody there, but on the second day I made friends with a boy called Timur.

At the camp we swam every morning, played volleyball on the beach and sang songs around a campfire in the evening. The food wasn't as good as at home, but nobody cared!

In July my family went on a road trip to Karelia. The lakes there are cleaner and calmer than our river at home. We stayed in a small wooden house and went fishing. My dad caught the biggest fish, of course.

In August I was just relaxing at home and getting ready for school. I was sad when the holidays ended.

Next summer I am going to go back to the camp, because Timur is going there too.

Before last summer I had never spent more than a day without my phone. So when my parents suggested a 'digital detox' during our holiday in the Altai Mountains, I thought it was a terrible idea. Although I agreed in the end, I was sure I would be bored to death.

The first two days were really hard. I kept reaching into my pocket for a phone which wasn't there. However, I soon noticed that I had more time for things I usually ignored. I read two novels, learnt to make a fire and even started a diary.

The most memorable part of the trip was a three-day hike with a local guide called Aleksei, who knew every path and every plant in the area. We crossed cold mountain rivers, slept in tents and watched the stars, which were brighter than anything I had seen in the city.

When we came home, I looked at my phone and realised that I hadn't missed anything important. Since then I have tried to spend at least one day a week offline.

I have already persuaded two friends to try a detox too. If they enjoy it, we will go on a hike together next summer.

Russian schoolchildren enjoy one of the longest summer breaks in Europe: three whole months without lessons. For some families this is a gift; for others it is a headache. Parents who work all summer often wonder how to keep their children busy, and the question inevitably arises of how such a long break should be spent.

One popular view is that the holidays are a chance to get ahead. Children who attend summer schools, language courses or tutoring sessions, its supporters argue, return in September better prepared than their classmates. There is evidence that pupils who do not read at all over the summer forget a noticeable part of what they learnt during the year.

Others insist that summer should be, above all, a time for rest. Having spent nine months following a strict timetable, children need freedom to be bored, to invent their own games and to spend long days outdoors. It is precisely during these unstructured hours, they believe, that creativity and independence develop.

In my opinion, the most valuable summers combine both elements without turning the holidays into a fifth term. A few weeks of reading or a language course can be useful, provided that they leave room for adventures that cannot happen at a desk.

Looking back, I realise that my most important lessons were learnt far from school. Had I spent the summer when I was twelve in a classroom, I would never have learnt to swim across the lake at my grandparents' village, and I would never have discovered how much I enjoy simply being outside.