As a kid, I was thrilled at the thought of winter break. I dreamed of beginning and ending my day in the same pair of pajamas, taking to the streets on my bike to find a friend – this was pre-cellphone, mind you – and catching up on my favorite cartoons. I can guarantee you that I did not dream of extra math app practices, assigned reading lists, or forced science experiments. In today’s world of lingering Covid-related learning gaps, involved parenting, and focus on competition and achievement, however, many families now view winter break as an opportunity to catch up, or even get ahead, learning-wise.
Are the holidays meant for merry-making and playing or is a little dose of “Bah Humbug” in the form of studying the way to go? Perhaps, like whipped cream on your warming cup of hot chocolate, blending the two strategies makes for a sweeter solution. Let’s examine the benefits of each approach. Remember, like most things in life and parenting, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You’ll want to choose the strategy that best aligns with your individual family and its needs.
Play, Play, Play
It’s no surprise that this approach gets you the most brownie points with your child. However, there can be some true benefits to taking a playful approach to the holiday break. With the dizzying pace of many kids’ lives these days, they rarely get a genuine pause from commitments like homework, basketball practice, and piano lessons. Rates of anxiety in children are on the rise and, although not the sole cause for all kids, the hectic pace of life is certainly a contributing factor for many.
There is real value in reducing kids’ levels of cortisol the body’s main stress hormone. Winter break also allows your child’s body to catch up on developmentally important sleep and his nervous system to revel in an uninterrupted stretch of time in which to downshift. This can be a true holiday gift for parents, kids, and the entire family.
Another benefit to putting schoolwork on the back burner during the break is that it frees up time for family fun and bonding. Break out great-grandmother’s cookie cutters and spend time creating memories in the kitchen or sign up for that family volunteer experience you’ve always meant to participate in. Your activity doesn’t have to be holiday related – spending time together making memories and growing closer is the goal. Time spent connecting as a family helps you to catch up on what your child is thinking and feeling and that is worth its weight in gold.
Bah Humbug!
While learning over the holidays might not be your child’s first choice, the idea probably doesn’t deserve a “Bah Humbug.” The break from school can be a great time for a struggling learner to receive reinforcement in the form of tutoring or extra practice. Because the day will not have been taken up with hours of school time, your child will be fresh for review and reteach.
Talk with your child’s teacher about where to focus your energy, as well as about what resources might be available. Another plus to helping your child fill in his learning gaps or get ahead during the break is that he can enter back into school with a renewed sense of confidence, leaving some of his related stress and pressure behind with the old year.
Blended
For many families, a blended solution may be the best choice. This approach incorporates lots of unstructured time ripe for creativity and family bonding, but also includes some targeted learning to address any areas of concern.
Many people are aware of “summer slide,” or the loss of academic skills during the summer, particularly in math and reading, that children experience when they are not in school for an extended amount of time. There can be some learning loss over the holidays, but it is typically not significant enough to warrant true concern. Unless your child is struggling in school before the break, the main benefit of the blended approach comes from keeping his brain active and in the routine of working with learning concepts such as math facts and writing conventions.
Following the holiday break, many teachers report a few days of sluggishness in their students as everyone readjusts to the learning routine. A blended approach during the holidays will keep your child on track so he is less likely to experience the effects of a lack of learning structure and routine.
Keep it Fun
No matter which approach you choose for your family, make fun the goal for everyone. If you’re working on math, find math apps or games that the whole family can play. You can also incorporate math into everyday holiday activities, like cooking or baking. You’ll be making memories in the kitchen together while helping your child to conceptualize measurements like cups, ounces, liters, and grams at the same time. A trip to the grocery store for ingredients becomes an opportunity to add up prices and calculate tax. Double your recipe and now multiplication and possibly fractions are involved.
Writing holiday cards for family and friends provides the perfect opportunity to practice spelling, handwriting, and vocabulary. Also, set aside time to sit down and read together as a family, whether that’s taking turns reading aloud from the same holiday book, or just enjoying the peace of reading and relaxing together.
Remember, your child’s teacher can be a great resource, so be sure to check in with him or her. They can help you decide where best to focus your efforts and can even suggest fun activities that will align with your child’s learning goals.
Happy holidays and happy learning!
Alison Bogle is a writer living in Austin with her husband and three children. A former fourth grade teacher, she now enjoys writing about children and education. You can also catch her talking about articles from Austin Family magazine each Thursday morning on FOX 7 Austin.
