Keeping up During School Breaks

The holiday season, and any school break for that matter, bring a time when parents, students, and teachers look forward to the days they can sleep in and share traditions with family and friends. But this is also a time when children see their break as a chance of sweet freedom from studying for quizzes, reading at night for book logs, and completing weekly minutes for iReady or any similar program. As parents, we want to allow them to relax but you should also consider wanting to keep a routine so when they do resume classes it doesn’t feel like a daunting task to get back into. 

4 Simple Tips on Keeping Up Academically During School Breaks

1. Depending on the age of your child, decide together what time would be a great time for them to continue to read for 20 to 30 minutes every single day. Keeping this habit will help them gain knowledge and vocabulary.

2. Allow your child to pick out a chapter or picture book for themselves. This way you know that they are truly interested in what they’re getting ready to read. (Parents, don’t forget that graphic novels are also really popular among children and they don’t even realize that reading through comics is still reading, so don’t discourage this.)

3. Not every parent is going to be able to sit and read the book themselves especially if it’s a chapter book. So, what I suggest is: Have a set of generic questions that you want your child to be able to answer and they can either orally tell you parts of the story and then write the responses down in a journal. Divide this journal up into a couple of different sections 1- for spring break,1 section for Thanksgiving and Christmas break, and then another section for summer; this way, for that entire year you will know they have a journal to write the responses to the book they are reading. Not only are they Reading and Responding but they are practicing their writing skills and later on you can discuss it.

4. If your child is Artistic or likes arts and crafts, create a project for them to make. A diorama, draw a picture, or anything that will tap into their creative side. Remember you don’t want to have them dread this time, you want this to be something that they will look forward to doing. If you need to go on Pinterest to look up some ideas or go on Teacher-pay-Teacher to find questions, those are great sources to start with.

If it’s Math your child needs practicing, flashcards and practice books are quick and simple to do. Once a day to sharpen their skills and that’s it! 

Pushback is expected since your child has been looking forward to a break but they will thank you later when their grades show improvement as well.