Holidays and School

Tips to balance school and the festive season

It can be a challenge to balance the festive season and keep your child on track academically.

While the holiday break might not be very long, the excitement of the season can easily throw a wrench into a student’s learning momentum…kids are focused on stockings and icicles, not science and iambic pentameter.

So, before your child has the chance to plan a vacation filled with video games and snowball fights, sit down together and outline a holiday schedule. Make sure that your child understands that maintaining focus on school will help them make the transition back to the classroom much easier.

Help your little (or your not-so-little) ones avoid the after-the-holiday doldrums and keep them focused on school with this Four Tips to Avoid School-Holiday Hazards from Oxford Learning.

1. Keep them busy. School downtime is very often time when good school habits can slip away. That’s why it is important that students keep the school momentum going over the holidays. There is always schoolwork that students can work on, even if they don’t have any “homework” during the holidays.
2. A little at a time. Upcoming projects, essays, assignments and readings can be easily chipped away at during the break, even if the due dates for these projects are far off. Take advantage of the spare time afforded by the holidays and make some headway into the upcoming schoolwork.
3. Avoid the Slip-Slide. Days have a way of blending into one another, especially during the holidays, so continue to use a school agenda, calendar, or day planner—it’s a great way to practice time management skills and remain focused.
4. Turn on the Brain. It’s important that the brain is continually challenged during the holidays. Whether it is by playing board games or by reading books and thinking actively about them, maintaining an active mind is the best way to transition back to the classroom.