Breaks are a good time for students to catch up on missing assignments or work ahead to suit your family's schedule.
Because organization and establishing a routine are important for success at CCA, when the holiday breaks arrive, navigating the break time can be overwhelming. Like most things at CCA, how your family navigates the holiday season is all about finding what works best for you.
For this month’s podcast, we welcomed Carol Fleagle and her daughters, Rachel and Greta, into the studio to talk about how their family navigates the holiday breaks and what advice they would give to fellow CCA students and learning coaches.
- WATCH NOW: Tips for navigating the holidays
Carol has been a learning coach at CCA for eight years. As her three children have gotten older, the way her family navigates holidays has changed.
When her first daughter, Rachel, started first grade at CCA, the family chose to do schoolwork throughout the breaks and save the break days for the warmer months, another flexibility component offered at CCA.
“The cool thing with CCA is that not every family celebrates Christmas, so if they celebrate a different holiday, they can choose to have school during the winter break and take their long break during the holiday that they celebrate,” Carol said. “At [brick-and-mortar] schools, you have to take the breaks when they are given.”
With multiple students enrolled at CCA, Carol discovered that her children learn in different ways. Her son needs the break to revitalize and rejuvenate for the next part of the school year. Now, her family chooses to take the winter breaks and enjoy them, so the students often work ahead knowing a fun break is coming.
Breaks are great for a change of pace, but they can be used as a time to get ahead on schoolwork, catch up on missing assignments or study for an exam. Rachel, an 11th-grader at CCA, gave advice for other students on best practices for navigating holiday breaks:
• Log in periodically to stay on top of your webmail and keep up with your routine.
• Do one or two assignments to keep your brain in tune and make sure you don’t forget things you previously learned.
• Check your class assignments so that you can anticipate an upcoming test or project in a difficult subject and use the time to work ahead or study.
Because CCA is all about working with the entire family, learning coaches have a huge hand in determining how breaks should be used based on their students’ individual needs. Connecting with teachers can help gauge what is best for students academically. As a veteran learning coach and a new family mentor, Carol shared advice for learning coaches when going into the holiday season:
• Plan. Take a look at the bigger picture of the year ahead, and use that perspective to determine the best way your family can use break days.
• Use the break as an incentive for your students to finish assignments.
• Plan schoolwork around your family’s schedule. If you have upcoming appointments or vacation plans, you can use the holiday break to suit your family’s needs.
CCA knows that success for every student takes a village. Through family mentors, teachers, guidance counselors and other administrative staff, CCA wants to work with your family to find what is best for your child. If you are feeling overwhelmed with the holiday season coming, don’t hesitate to contact one of the many resources CCA makes available for your family.
