How students can keep on track over the summer holidays
In our student coaching we talk a lot about habits…good habits, bad habits, habits to get into, habits to get out of. Ultimately we like to believe that school-time habits are life-time habits.
With the long summer school holidays now upon us, students are taking a break from their usual school routines. They are probably going to bed later and sleeping in longer, spending extra time with friends, and maybe even travelling with family. While many students will have some responsibilities—school holiday homework, extra chores at home, or additional shifts in their part-time jobs—their schedules are much more flexible than during the school term.
This flexibility makes the school holidays a peculiar time for students’ habit formation. It is a time of both hazards and opportunities.
The Hazards
The lack of routine during school holidays means that students throw away many of the good habits they developed during the school year, such as their morning getting-ready routine, the use of a planner, and their process for making time for and doing their homework.
This isn’t entirely a bad thing. After all, having a break from some responsibilities and a change from your usual schedule is part of what it means to have a holiday!
But, while students shouldn’t be expected to treat their holidays exactly the same as the school term, we also don’t want them to lose all the progress they made during the year and struggle to restart those habits in term one.
The Opportunities
The good news is, the holiday break provides students with the opportunity to make a fresh start in the new year and take another shot at those habits — both the habits to get out of and the habits to get into. This is especially helpful for students who didn’t feel that they finished well this year and will need the experience of starting fresh to encourage them to try again in 2023.
At the same time, the school holidays also present some great opportunities for developing the organisational habits they already have in new ways. As we often remind our students, the skills that they are learning are not just for school but for life. And life doesn’t stop when school does!
Here are a few ideas for assisting students to keep developing their organisational habits:
- Encourage them to apply their time management skills to their holiday homework and chores. Help them to think through:
- What needs to be done
- When it needs to be done by
- When they have time to do it
- They don’t need to be using a term planner anymore, but they may still have activities on that require them to see ahead in time. Consider encouraging them to add these things to the family calendar — even if if they are just noting down when friends are coming over.
- Does you family have an upcoming trip away? Find ways to involve your child in seeing the big picture of the preparation process and breaking it down into smaller tasks. The excitement of the trip can help motivate them to step up and take ownership beyond just packing their own bags.
These are some ideas to get you started, but feel free to get creative! Remember that good organisational habits are a skill for all of life — you might be surprised with what you can come up with!
PS here’s a blog about creating or establishing new homework habits for the new school year you might also find helpful – click here. For more information on back to school organising tips you can click here to receive the back to school tip sheet.
If you would like us to support your child to get into good habits in 2023, please get in touch.
