The Holidays are Coming! Here’s How to Maintain Academic Momentum.
It’s an all-too-familiar scenario. Following a rough start, your son or daughter has finally gotten into a healthy academic rhythm — studying harder and smarter, bringing home increasingly good grades, feeling more and more confident in their scholastic abilities.
And then: The holiday break.
Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, there are some sizable disruptions to your child’s school calendar — and many parents fear that all that momentum will be lost. In fact, the looming presence of holiday breaks can be a disruption in and of itself. With the promise of time off so tantalizingly close, many students find it challenging to stay focused and committed to their academic endeavors.
Hang in there! The pending holiday breaks don’t have to sap your student’s progress. There are practical steps you can take to help your academician stay focused until those end-of-semester exams are taken care of.
How to Keep Your Student Focused
Here are our recommendations.
Encourage some sun and some physical activity. Yes, the weather’s getting a little chillier — but if your student seems to be struggling, have them bundle up and go outside for a 20-minute break. Research is pretty clear about the benefits of fresh air, sunlight, and physical activity for energizing the brain.
Get a change of scenery. If your student just can’t stay focused sitting at the kitchen table, maybe it’s time to head to the local coffee shop for a treat and a new locale? The change in environment can often have a focusing effect on the mind.
Switch roles. Maybe your student is tired of being a student — so let them teach you. Encourage your son or daughter to relay content back to you, perhaps even writing on a white board to demonstrate all they’ve learned.
Incorporate some seasonal cheer. If your child feels like holiday festivities are passing them by, try to boost their morale by playing some instrumental Christmas music in the background, turning on holiday lights, or grabbing some seasonal pumpkin bread or hot cocoa. Do what you can to make studying fun!
Work with a tutor. You might also consider asking your tutor for an end-of-semester game plan — a customized approach to keeping your student focused even during the tough days before finals.
One more thing to keep in mind is that while the holiday season can frustrate it’s ultimately a good thing. Your student needs the mental break, so plan some ways you can make the holidays fun and relaxing for them. They’ll come back refreshed and ready to work hard again!
Learn more about the best ways to keep your student focused by reaching out to Crafting Scholars.