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Importance And Benefits Of Holiday Homework

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What are the benefits of giving holiday homework?

Holidays! When we hear about the holidays, we are refreshed and excited. There is happiness everywhere, and we feel a little more energetic. For children, excitement is heightened when the holidays are round the corner. They have no plans to go anywhere or do anything, but the distance they would have from school and studies is enough to make them happy.But alas, with the holidays, they are gifted with a swarm of homework. How much benefit do our children get through this overloaded homework?

Homework benefits

Revisit the concept.

It is said that homework helps our kids understand concepts better. During the class explanation, a child is introduced to a concept and to get a deep understanding of the same, homework is given. Nowadays homework is given so that the child can explore more information about the given concept and come out with their creative ideas. But in earlier days, homework was given by teachers to lessen their burden. Whether a child understood a concept or not was out of the question.

Fine motor development

Homework mostly consists of writing assignments or projects. Writing or completing a project helps in the development of a child’s motor skills. Holding a pencil, holding a pair of scissors, cutting papers, pasting them, colouring, drawing, moulding something are all part of homework, and as a child gets busy doing such activities, there is a development in their fine motor skills.

Keep the ideas in mind.

Holidays are generally for ten days or more. During such a long duration, it is very easy for kids to forget what has been taught. Homework assists them in returning to their studies, remembering what was taught in school, and preparing for exams or tests that may occur after school reopens.

Remaining in practise

When homework is given, it is expected of the child to complete it. Children keep practising what has been learned through homework. Practise makes us perfect and it helps our children have clarity on the lessons.

Is there any disadvantage to giving homework?

Creating stress.

Kids are happy when they come to know they are going on long holidays, but the moment they come across homework, their joy is in a dwindling position. Also, holidays are given to relax. In the current generation, when both parents are working, they wait for the school holidays to go on some trip. Homework acts as a hindrance in these joyous moments.

No creativity

Sometimes kids get bored of reading and writing. If there is no creativity in homework, kids too don’t want to do homework. Creative homework, such as making something related to the lesson or discovering new information through exploration, are examples of activities that can pique children’s interest in doing their homework.

A teacher’s burden

Most of the time, in some schools, the work which should have been completed in the class with the teacher’s explanation is given to be done at home. Children whose parents are uneducated or whose both parents work find it extremely difficult to complete.

Homework should be given to children to come up with their own creative ideas and not to overburden them with work. It should be customised in such a way that the child can do it even during his/her trip. For example, EVS homework: collect different types of plants and write some information about them. Writing a story about your trip can be given as homework for English. Giving homework is bad enough, so there must be some measures to curb this practise as well. GradX helps children grow their intellegence with their homework giving module. It helps them to create 3D models as a homework assignment where they get a chance to come up with their creative ideas. Multiple choice questions are another criterion being used to help children develop both their thinking and reading skills.

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• Importance of Holiday Homework

Gone are the days when kids used to spend their vacation time in a care-free manner, without a worry in the world! With flats and apartments becoming the norm of the day and with most parents becoming working parents, more and more it is seen that kids are being left to their own devices, to find entertainment and engage themselves. Thus, with time on hands and without any constructive activity to involve themselves in, children are turning to the TV, their computers and their mobiles to spend time. There are also instances when parents themselves are asking the school and teachers to give their children Holiday Homework, so that they can be gainfully engaged for sometime at least. Hence, Holiday Homework has become inevitable and what’s more it is here to stay!

Is Holiday Homework really good? Does it serve any good? What purpose does it serve? Let us take a look at the advantages of setting children Holiday Homework during vacations.

Delhi School of  Excellence, enjoys a top ranking position as one of the  best CBSE schools in the Twin Cities of Hyderabad . It was one of the forerunners amongst the schools in the Twin Cities to adopt the online system of education and thus enjoyed the privilege of being able to offer the best online classroom experience.

Holiday Homework  has always been a tradition at Delhi School of Excellence. The Management and the Faculty opine that Holiday Homework reinforces the concepts taught and makes learning and comprehension of difficult concepts easier. We list out the various reasons, showcasing the benefits of Holiday Homework.

Quality learning time:  Holiday Homework helps students learn and practice difficult concepts taught during the year that have life-long importance and will benefit the students in their future years. They can deal with this learning without pressure and at a steady pace.

Ensures Continuity:  Research has proved that students who attend to a little academic work every day, steadily, find it easier to cope with the challenges of academic work when compared with those students who tend to do away with academic work completely during vacations. Thus, Holiday Homework ensures that students attend a certain amount of academic work for a fixed time regularly.

Healthy Routine:  Attending and attempting a fixed routine always ensures good health, both physically and mentally. Following a routine ensures that children adhere to a fixed schedule which will keep their minds away from confusion.

Teaches Value of Time:    ‘All play and no work makes Jack fritter away his valuable time’! Rather than allow your child to spend the entire day in play, a certain amount of academic work is set at a fixed time every day which will help your child learn the value of time. He will learn to respect both his play time as well as his study time if you introduce him to a fixed routine. Setting realistic, achievable academic targets for him to realise would be even better! This would help him learn to honour deadlines and learn and appreciate the value of time.

Teaches Independent Work:  At home, your child is working alone and independently without the supervision and guidance of the Mentor and the support and companionship of his classmates. So attending Holiday Assignments calls for creativity and independence from the student and fosters  a sense of freedom in the minds of the students. It teaches your child to work independently. This can prove to be a great confidence booster, particularly when it is coupled with positive results and can encourage the child to work independently.

Fosters Togetherness:  Holiday Homework can be fun family time! Your child doesn’t have to sit in a closed room to do his homework. He can sit at the dining table to do his homework or in the verandah with the family around him. This will ensure the warmth and the much needed family time that is so essential. Sometimes, the parents can get involved and help their child do the holiday homework and this will ensure that the bonding between family members becomes stronger.  Hence, we find that Holiday homework is a great way to nurture quality family time.

Thus, we find that Holiday Homework is truly beneficial and features a lot of advantages. Delhi School of Excellence, the  top CBSE school in Hyderabad , differs from other schools in the quality of the Homework that it sets the students. Extensive reading of stories and then writing them out in their own words, memorising multiplication tables, solving sums, practical demos of science experiments followed by recording the observations, maintaining journals while travelling are some of the fun Holiday Homework assignments that students are given during vacations. They are the perfect amalgamation of work and enjoyment. Such features make Delhi School of Excellence the  best school  to be in. There are three branches at Banjara Hills, Attapur or Manikonda. All three are equally good. Come to Delhi School of Excellence and be assured that your children are pursuing their education at one of the  Best CBSE schools in Hyderabad .

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Holiday Homework — It’s Essential!

Amongst many teachers and parents, homework is a pretty hot conversational topic. While some believe that homework is an essential part of the school experience, others think it's a waste of our children’s time.

It’s not always easy to know what’s best for your child when it comes to schooling, but at William Clarence Education, we’re big supporters of homework – particularly when it comes to the holiday season. Here’s why.

The Summer Break Lasts A Long Time…

The long summer break is a great opportunity to spend quality time together as a family, but it can also lead to your child being intellectually understimulated. In an age of social media and Netflix, it’s easier than ever for our youngsters to spend their downtime frying their brains in front of screens. While every child should be allowed their own time to relax and recover from the stresses of school, it’s important not to let that behaviour dictate their entire summer break. Holiday homework provides the perfect opportunity to keep their "school brain" ticking over, and keeps them challenged and stimulated.

Preparing For University Life

As our children grow up, homework becomes a more important part of their schooling, allowing them to develop vital skills such as independent research. It also helps them to prepare for the demands of a university career. Many undergraduate degrees will involve a lot of directed learning, but others will rely upon the students going away and spending their own time reading, researching and writing. One way to begin learning these skills is through holiday homework assignments while your child is still in school.

Learning Outside the School Environment

When a child struggles at school, it often has less to do with their academic potential than with social distractions – and the manner in which they are taught. Put plainly, the school environment is not always conducive to learning. For this reason, homework over the holidays can be the perfect opportunity for your child to catch up on work they have missed or found too challenging. If your child is really struggling, you might even consider private tuition – educational consultancy services around the London and the UK, such as William Clarence Education, can supply excellent private tutors who will specialise in home schooling and exam preparation.

The key thing to remember when it comes to holiday homework is balance. Your child deserves a break during which they can enjoy themselves and have some freedom, so opt for a fair working schedule that is flexible around their needs.

_________________________________________________________________

William Clarence Education is the leading education advisory and consultancy service in the UK. With an unrivalled reach into the UK Schooling and University network, we help and advise families from around the world to reach their maximum potential and gain access to the very best of British education.  

William Clarence put the student’s needs and welfare at the centre of every programme of study we deliver with a focus on integrity and discretion.  Services include UK School and University Placement, Residential Tutoring, Oxbridge Application, US College Admission and Homeschooling. 

For more information   please contact :

+44(0)2074128988 [email protected] williamclarence.com

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Why We Should Give Students a Homework Break Over the Holidays

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I have so many fond memories from holiday seasons growing up: the smell of delicious food being made by my Mexican and Filipino families, warm light on the faces of my relatives, and lots of laughter. As I got older, though, things changed—mostly because I had so much homework to do.

Instead of joking with our relatives at the holidays, my brother and I would often sequester ourselves at the edge of the room, thick textbooks open and pens in our hands. Sometimes, we’d miss events altogether. When we did attend, the ramifications could be intense. During one spring break, I chose to go to an Easter party with my family. But by midnight, I was stress-weeping because I had so much work to do by the next day.

As a teacher, I now understand the temptation to give work over school breaks. There never seems to be enough time to do the projects or read the texts I’d like to with my kids, and asking students to work or read during breaks eases that crunch. I also worry that my students will lose some of their learning in the weeks they are gone.

Recently, though, my school created a new homework policy that, among other things, encourages us to avoid giving students work over extended school breaks. Our administration cited studies that raise questions about the benefits of hefty doses of homework.

I worried about how this new plan would affect my curriculum pacing, and about what my students might “lose.” But I realized that my concerns were really about my desires, not what was best for my students.

The new policy led me to re-evaluate my assignments and timing, and I ended up being able to make adjustments so my kids could complete necessary projects without working when they should be recharging. I’d worried about my students’ learning, but recent research challenges our long-held belief that students’ learning “slides” significantly over long breaks.

Taking the stress of homework out of my students’ holiday breaks is important. They deserve an opportunity to relax and rejuvenate as much as I do—particularly if they are overscheduled to begin with. Young or old, we all need rejuvenation time. In addition, more studies are demonstrating the benefits of down time for students. Having unstructured time recharges them, but also allows their brains to build connections that strengthen and improve their executive functioning.

We need to be mindful of other factors that complicate homework assignments over holiday breaks. We don’t always know what our students’ lives are like outside our classrooms. Do they struggle with access to the resources necessary to complete assignments? Do they have stressful home situations?

Here are a few ways we can send our students off on a positive note when they leave us for holiday breaks. I’m trying them myself this winter!

Provide activities that support students reconnecting with themselves, their loved ones, or their community.

While we want to avoid giving mandatory work to students, we can offer opportunities and ideas for learning-friendly activities they can do during their break. Maybe that’s an optional/extra credit project that asks students to interview a family or community member (though we should also provide time after break for those who couldn’t work over break). Or maybe we can offer students some ideas about how they could use their time to take care of themselves or their communities. We could provide reflection questions once they’re back from break, to help them find meaning in the experience. Encouraging students to use their time to volunteer or take care of themselves allows us to help our kids grow not just as students, but as people.

Offer opportunities to find a new passion, set goals, or reflect.

While some students may travel or connect with family, some of our kids may have a lot of free time over their break. We can encourage them to use the time to set goals for the year, dream big and draw or write their five-year plan (remind them this is for fun and plans will change!), or reflect on their year or life so far. We can also encourage students to discover something they’re passionate about, or use the time to pursue something they love.

Deepen your relationships with students and allow them to open up to you.

Sometimes, our kids are simply not given the space to dive deeply into something that lets them tell us who they are. Give students a project that allows them to explore their identity or have them write a story about their lives. This will not only provide some critical thinking, reading, or writing enrichment, but more importantly will provide valuable insight into our students’ lives and help us build deeper connections with our students. We can return the favor by completing the project ourselves or writing a story and sharing it with them.

After the break, see what stuck with students.

Instead of returning from break with the mindset of what was “lost,” give students a chance to share everything they remember from the last unit. Instead of assuming they all had a great time they want to share, welcome kids back with an opportunity to celebrate the experiences that stuck with them from their breaks. Help students generate a class-created study guide so they can review what they learned before the break. This gives them space to support one another and remind each other what they learned, as well as gives us an opportunity to praise students for what they’ve retained. It also provides important feedback for us on what stuck over the break and what we need to reteach.

Ultimately, our students look to us not just for academic growth, but to support their growth as human beings as well. Taking away homework stress over break may cause us to change our short-term plans, but providing them with opportunities and resources instead can have some long-term benefits that can change their self-perception and their lives more than a packet of homework ever could.

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The Case For And Against Holiday Homework

The holidays: A time for eating, travel, fun with family, relaxation and, potentially, homework.

It’s a debate that’s been going on for years: Does study time have any place during school vacations?

The Case For Homework Over The Holidays

The pro-homework contingent has done their research (unsurprisingly). Two meta-analyses by Cooper et al (Cooper, 1989a; Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006) examined the causal relationship between homework and student achievement.

They concluded that the amount of homework a student completes coincides directly with their success rates. Their research further found that students that were assigned homework scored 23 percentile points higher on tests than learners in a class where homework wasn’t assigned.

It turns out learning is a lot like exercise – it’s good to rest, but not to live on the couch for a month. The less you use the skills you have and the learning you’ve gained, the worse shape it’s going to be in when students come back to class.

The Case Against Homework Over The Holidays

So what’s the other side saying?

Let’s start with family time. It’d be crazy to argue that family time isn’t important, and the holidays provide a special opportunity for everyone to get together without the usual distractions. In an odd twist, studies show that uninterrupted family time can also have learning benefits.

Family studies at the University of Michigan found that family time correlates closely to achievement and behaviour. Studies on family meals suggest that students who have dinner with their family have better academic scores and behavioural outcomes.

There’s another thing to consider: learning can happen without homework. With access to learning software and educational programs and websites, our schools and classes no longer have to be the beginning and end of learning for students.

The Verdict

Find a good balance.

Create small, relevant and purposeful assignments as homework over the holidays. Ultimately, you want to keep your students’ minds fit while they’re on break – but remember this is your break too!

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