Ah, the most wonderful time of the year has started and is soon coming to an end. Filled with many people and moments, and how busy it can get – it’s capable of throwing us off of our schedule. Just like it can throw off your child’s productivity and study habits. At least somewhat. They are now more interested in the cool video game their best friend received for Christmas than the excitement of the quickly approaching winter back-to-school period. But the reality of it is, that the mornings may get colder and colder, and it’s likely your child’s attitude about returning to school will do the same. It only makes sense, right? Winter vacations are like a mini summer… until we all have to return to school and work, and the temperature is far different from summer. Fortunately, we can use the spirit of the new year to create excitement about getting back to school and getting back on track with regular study habits.
Here’s 5 ways how:
1. Make Resolutions
Who said new year’s resolutions can only be implemented the first day of the year?! While typically school starts back up around the 7th of January, this gives the perfect amount of time to get your child thinking about how they could improve the next year. Or, what about trying a new subject or learning a new language? It’s a powerful time to “plant the seed.”
2. Dream Of Summer
There’s no easier way to contradict the holiday blues than dreaming of summer. Of course, sitting there dreaming isn’t very productive… but learning about summer is! For example, if your child is learning a new language, why not learn all the summer vocabulary? It will make your child laugh, and get you both thinking about summer!
3. Look At How Far You’ve Made It
Just like the new year is a time for thinking about for the upcoming 365 days, it’s also a time of reflecting the past year. A great exercise that will motivate and inspire your child is to look at progress over the past year! See how far they’ve come in their multiplication tables or try to count how many new words they’ve learned in a new language.
4. Create Events To Look Forward To
Who says winter festivities have to end once New Years passes?? The winter months are filled with opportunities to do unique activities and make great memories! Creating an event to look forward to on the weekend will make your child excited about it all week, and therefore less focused on waking up for school every morning. Need some inspiration? Here’s 50 things to do this winter in Toronto!
5. Implement Active Learning
Since we’re cooped up inside during the holidays, it can get hard in the cold months of February. So, all the more reason to make your home a little more cosy! There are tons of learning games you can play inside your living room. For example, you can create colored flash cards and hide them throughout the house. Whoever gets the most matches wins! With this type of learning, your child will surely remember the concepts and get excited to play again.
The French Tutor wishes you a happy and safe holiday with inspiration to give the gift of knowledge, whether it is in the form of teaching, learning or improving! ✨
