As the glimpse of spring is near, summer is soon approaching. It makes it hard to believe that it means that the school year is also coming to an end. With the goals that were set back in September, March Break is really the last vacation before the end-of-term grades come out, and the last vacation time that will throw off typical study schedules in place. After a fun-filled march break, it can be hard to get back on track and go into full gear to boost grades to hit your goals you set at the beginning of the year. It can be even hard to stick to daily practises that learning a language demands. Even if you and your child put in place regular studying techniques – it can be hard to convince them that this applies to march break too! As maybe you’ve found out – not practising or being immersed in a language for some time can cause the language to deteriorate – and at a fast pace! Even one week can make a difference and stall the speed of learning, in addition to remembering important vocab. To avoid this it’s best to stay on top of their studies even when you’re on vacation – here’s how!
1. Go To A French Speaking Place
Got no plans for the break yet? Luckily, Quebec is only a few hours by car from Toronto. Take a long weekend with your family and venture off to Quebec. The province has so much to offer, such as museums( where you can practise reading French), skiing/snowboarding, ice slides, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and even an Imax (where you can watch it in French!). France might be a little far away, but luckily we have French speaking provinces right in our backyard!
2. Create Flashcards for Long Car Rides
Weather you’re driving through a different country, driving to and from airports, sight-seeing or driving to Quebec – flashcards are a great way to learn a language. Plus, when you’re sitting in the passenger seat, it’s guaranteed no peeking – just learning! Depending on where your child’s level of French is, you can even teach them vocabulary related to your trip.
3. Order Food In French!
Chances are, even if you’re staying home for the week, you might take your family out for a dinner to celebrate the break! When your kids choose what they want to order, try pretending to be the waiter an ask them in French. Even if they choose Coca Cola and pizza, getting them to say “Je voudrais commander coca cola et pizza s’il vous plaît.”
4. A Word-A-Day
Although a week doesn’t seem like a long time- it definitely makes an imprint on learning a language. Start off the weak strong by implementing learning one word a day. Implementing it before breakfast will aid your child in having the whole day to learn it – so will it really feel like learning? You can even get creative and make a 7 word sentence that they’ll know by the end of the week. By the 5th or 6th day, they’ll be curious what sentence it will make, and will give you the opportunity to teach them new words (that they may be guessing.) If your child is past the vocab stage, you can amp it up with a verb + conjugation a day!
5. Turn It Into a Game
From hiding flash cards around your living room to creating silly sentences – learning games really do work! They help put a little extra effort into learning, in addition to covering various skills- speaking, writing, listening and reading. They encourage students to interact and communicate. Need some inspiration? Here’s 7 proven games that work!
6. Find A Buddy
Chances are, you’ll know someone that has the same travel plans as you – or you’ll both have no plans at all for march break. What better opportunity to connect and start a study group to put your children into gear for the end of the year? Since they’ll both be home for the break, this creates a lot of extra time for them to study and go over material – even if you’re not off work. When they return to school, things will get busier, and it might seem a little harder to orchestrate.
That’s when you can contact us and we’ll take over your pair/ group and prep them for the end of the year and end it off with confidence! 🌟
