Finally vacation! Finally sleep in, play all day, hang out, meet friends and family, do something fun, maybe even go on a trip. Especially at Christmas, there is a great temptation to use your free time to try out new gifts or go on a skiing holiday. School and the teaching material, which could be repeated or prepared, easily fade into the background.
That’s how it is thought up to a certain point. “Holidays are there for a reason. The students have worked hard over the past few weeks and months, now they need to get some air and recharge their batteries,” says Stefan Düll, President of the Teachers’ Association.
However, that doesn’t mean that school should be completely forgotten during the holidays. The break time could always be used to organize yourself, plan appointments and proof of performance, prepare material and mentally prepare yourself for the coming weeks. “You have to take time for this – but usually not a whole week,” says Düll.
This means: If possible, you shouldn’t work through the entire vacation. Especially with a two-week vacation, it is okay to focus on school things in the second week but not to study all the time. “The holidays are for relaxation,” says Düll.
The debate about the usefulness of learning during the holidays often revolves around the question of whether students need a complete break or whether it is better to repeat what they have already learned. It is important to take the needs of each individual child into account. While some students benefit from a break and can recharge, others feel more prepared and confident by continuing the learning process.
The need to follow up on lessons during the holidays depends on various factors. Students who have difficulties in certain subjects could benefit from targeted repetition of material. Here it is crucial to take individual needs and goals into account.
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Anyone who has major problems or even a learning disability even has the opportunity to attend holiday courses. The Duden Institute, for example, offers its clients intensive therapy weeks – but only during the holidays, which last at least two weeks.
“Children should actually relax during the holidays. That’s why we only do intensive therapy on the condition that the rest of the holiday period is reserved for recovery,” says Lorenz Huck. Managing Director of the Duden Institute. A prerequisite is then to discuss with the children in detail when, to what extent and what exactly they should learn.
The children also choose their own project topic for the week. This helps ensure that motivation is high despite the holidays. “When I know that I can work with dinosaurs or boy scouts, my motivation increases,” says Huck. He finds cramming schools, as we know them from other cultures, problematic. But if you pay attention to how the child is doing and motivate him, you can also use the holiday time.
Most children don’t need intensive weeks of learning
But it’s not just about conveying important learning content, but also about strengthening the children’s self-confidence. That’s why the highlight at the end of the intensive units is a presentation in which the children present their results to their parents, teachers and other students. “It’s always wonderful to see, the children are so proud of what they have achieved,” says Huck. It is often a test to speak in front of a larger group, but ultimately it helps the children to develop positively.
For most children, however, such an intensive week of learning is not necessary. It is often enough to concentrate every day on learning content that has caused difficulties in the past or is a weak point. “Unfortunately, the truth is: many children have a lot of catching up to do and are left with bad grades,” says Frederik Harkort, founder of the kids coaching provider cleverly. Holidays could therefore be a good opportunity to catch up on content if necessary.
He sees the greatest difficulty in motivating the children to learn – after all, which child would want to learn during the holidays? He therefore strongly recommends that you initially have a few days completely free of learning.
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After that, you can achieve a lot with short, intensive units. “Depending on your age, 30 minutes once a day makes a lot of sense,” says Harkort. You could also divide the learning time into two blocks. It is important to try to maintain maximum concentration during these times.
He has a few tips for this: A clean desk prevents distractions, and the learning room should be as quiet as possible. “Siblings, televisions or raging dogs are just a distraction,” says Harkort.
A thought box can also help some children: Before the learning unit, they write “wild thoughts” on a piece of paper and then put it in a box. After learning, parents can then create opportunities to talk about these topics.
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In general, parents should not sit by and teach their children everything, but rather offer to be available to answer questions and support the children in their learning. “I recommend starting small and increasing your workload over the course of the week,” says Harkort. In addition, learning should be as playful as possible: for example, through activities such as counting license plates, baking together or incorporating learning topics into everyday life. “So it doesn’t feel like traditional learning.”
Parents should ensure that their children find a balance of leisure activities and relaxation to recharge their batteries while supporting the learning process. Through positive reinforcement, the inclusion of interesting learning materials and the creation of a supportive learning environment, parents can motivate their children to voluntarily engage with the school material. It is also important to set clear boundaries and structure the learning time sensibly to avoid overload.
“Parents should fundamentally convey that what is being done at school makes sense,” advises teachers’ association president Stefan Düll. “The positive attitude towards school and the support in preparing and following up on the holiday season create a positive mood in terms of learning, performance and self-organization.”
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2023-12-16 18:20:53
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