Making the Most of Winter Break

Winter Break has begun for Great Hearts scholars and faculty.  This is a wonderful time to reconnect with family and friends, get good rest, enjoy great food, and have a time of reflection as the end of another year draws near.  We have asked some of our own Great Hearts “experts in the field” how your child can make the most of the time off and have a restful and productive break.

Above all, the consensus is overwhelming that your child should use this time to rest their minds and bodies.  Like adults, children need some down time. This break will give them time to recharge.  They may need to catch up on sleep, especially after a rigorous schedule of finals and activities from the last week.  Allow them time to sleep in or have extra quiet time built into the break.  However, one of the biggest pieces of advice we can offer is to avoid changing your child’s bedtime whenever possible.  Sometimes this is unavoidable during the holidays, but if you can keep a bedtime routine, the transition back to school will go smoother. For more suggestions about bedtimes, read How Much Sleep Does Your Child Need?

It can be challenging for students in lower grades to return to the expectations of a school day after such a long break.  Some have not exercised their academic muscles for weeks and return to school mentally atrophied. After an informal survey of elementary teachers, we found that all agreed on a few key exercises that can help students stay sharp with the skills they have learned so far.  Most of these suggestions can be worked into holiday traditions and family time.

• Read 15-20 minutes each day.  This can be fun if you introduce holiday themed books, poetry, or short stories.  This can also be a great time to read together as a family.
• Do a family puzzle. Puzzles are a great way to spend time together, but they also provide great benefits.  They promote focus, help with spatial vocabulary, sequencing, problem solving, task completion, fine motor and hand coordination, and teach the virtue of perseverance.
• Practice math facts.  This isn’t limited to giving your child worksheets and flashcards. Allow your child to follow the recipe and do the measuring while cooking can do the trick as well.
• Listen to music.  Allow your child to turn off the extra noise of the holidays and appreciate some traditional music.  Music can reduce anxiety and can aid memory.

Our high school athletes will take a few days off for family time, but they should remain committed to their conditioning routines. “All of our high school teams have practices and continue to improve during winter break,” says Arizona Network Director of Athletics Jon Rickey. “Many athletes do camps, play in tournaments, and work on particular skills during this time as well!” Rickey advises athletes to stay active while enjoying family time. “For my family we usually find a gym to play with out-of-town family, and I always go on runs during this time, take in the cool air, and/or early morning hikes!”

Winter break is timed perfectly for our college-bound high school seniors who need a respite from schoolwork, some quality time with family and friends, and relief from the college hunt fatigue. Many students applied to colleges either Early Action, Priority, or Early Decision. The next two months will be exciting with admission decisions starting to roll out. Keep a look out for notifications to arrive in a variety of ways including college portals, emails, and by mail.

Our college counselors say the break can be a great time to file the FAFSA for free federal student aid if you haven’t already done so.  To obtain institutional aid, families may also need to file the CSS Profile (an online application used by colleges and scholarship programs to award non-federal institutional aid), that FAFSA and other forms required by the college. While filing for the FAFSA is free, there are costs associated with filing the CSS Profile. Sending your CSS to one college is $25 and an additional $16 for every additional college.  See your college counselor for more information.

Most of all, the faculty and staff at Great Hearts want to wish you and your family a time of peace and joy as you celebrate together.  This is a special time of year, and we hope our students enjoy every minute of it.  We look forward to your return to the academies as we continue to pursue Truth, Goodness, and Beauty together in the new year.

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.