For many students, the upcoming holiday break from school leaves visions of staying up late, sleeping in, vacations and plenty of face time with friends dancing in their heads.
For some, though, that same break may be accompanied by a bit of dread. First-half academic struggles leave a pit in the stomach, or lead to worries about how those students can dig out from those struggles for a productive second half of the school year.
There’s good news, experts say, for those students in the latter bucket, developing a solid plan, consulting the right resources — and easy for us to say — not allowing those concerns to overwhelm over the break are key strategies to regaining academic footing for a strong academic start and finish to the new year.
“Often, the new semester begins after the holiday break, which is the perfect fresh start to re-evaluate goals and plan to achieve those goals,” says Kim Walter, executive director and owner of Huntington Learning Centers, which has locations in Mentor and Mayfield. “Parents can help their child establish SMART — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound — goals and develop strategies to track those goals and celebrate successes.”
Walter and her team, though, also caution against legislating over break too much, which in turn would risk frustrating children and not let them enjoy their break. A good mix, she says, would let kids enjoy a true break for a few days, allowing students to unwind, relax and achieve a mental break that is rejuvenating for mind and body.
“They need a moment to breathe, even if your student needs to study or do homework or other projects during winter break,” she says. “Resist the urge to require productivity on their first day off school.”
Once students have achieved some level of true mental and physical break, goals and a schedule are paramount. Goals, of course, will help students stay focused and motivated, and help them avoid piling on more stress by procrastinating on completing the work they need.
Schedules, meanwhile, Walter says, can eliminate the dread associated with doing any amount of work while on break. She advises to make a realistic schedule based on grade or achievement level, which subtly can show students that the amount of time they will spend on their work is only a very small part of each day on break.
Also important, says Atlanta-based principal, professor and author Marcus Jackson, is reframing children’s thinking about school. When school-related struggles or failure occur, students quickly can let those failures snowball. Instead, reframing how children think about school — that struggles and failure are natural and that learning is a continuous endeavor — can be beneficial.
“Your child’s attitude may have deteriorated when it comes to learning and the purpose of it,” he says. “Talk with your child about having a growth mindset. Remind them that learning … requires persistence. The more your child thinks of challenges and setbacks as opportunities, the stronger and more resilient they will become as a learner and person.”
Walter also suggests ways to incorporate the holiday season and family fun into the mix to keep children engaged over break.
“Young students can count or practice fractions while helping parents bake for the holiday season, or for writing practice, children can send holiday cards or thank you cards to family members,” Walter says. Older students, meanwhile, can read a book of their choice to improve their reading rate and comprehension, and “if the book has an accompanying movie, the whole family can watch together and compare/contrast the differences … to determine which is their favorite.”
