Whether your child attends a traditional school or online school like CambriLearn, it is important that they take regular breaks whilst studying. Study breaks help re-energise your child’s mind and body and relieve stress. This much-needed time off will improve the student’s knowledge retention and motivation.
In this article, we will discuss why study breaks are important for a child’s development and introduce a few fun study break activity ideas.
Why are study breaks important?
Trying to cram your studying into as many hours as possible is not an effective way of retaining information. Our brains (and bodies) need breaks so make sure that your child takes regular breaks whilst studying.
A motivated child is more likely to be actively engaged in the learning experience and absorb and retain the content better. Studying for long periods of time can lead to information overload! A student who takes regular study breaks has more chance of achieving academic success.
How to encourage your child to take study breaks
Get your child to set up their own study timetable based on their learning preferences. This will help them assume owneks irship and avoid them feeling like they are being forced to study. We have created an easy-to-use study planner - download your free planner here.
The length of the break will depend on the age of the child and their level of attentiveness. Most children would benefit from 30-45 minute study sessions with 15-20 minute brean between.
This is one of the reasons why CambriLearn’s live lessons are between 30-45 minutes long (depending on the grade). This helps ensure that the students maintain focus and allows for optimal knowledge retention.
Fun (and effective) study break activities
- Music: Put some music on and encourage your child to dance or sing along. Music can help enhance your mood and it can also strengthen the relationship between a parent and child. So put on some of your favourite tunes and enjoy some bonding and relaxation time.
- STEAM Activities: A proactive way for a child to spend a study break is on a project-based learning activity. If the child is passionate about insects, then help them build an ant farm or bee house and encourage them to spend their study breaks attending to their project. Or set up a learning garden and let them spend their break time watering plants or harvesting their produce. This enables the child to explore science, technology, engineering, art, and math in a setting that feels nothing like school.
- Scavenger Hunt: A great way to get your kids outdoors whilst on a study break is to plan a simple scavenger hunt in your garden. A scavenger hunt can be super easy to set up. For example, you can start by taking some close-up photos of the plants in your garden with your phone. Give your child the phone and get them to find the different plants in the garden.
- Play: There are so many benefits to allowing children the freedom to just play. Encouraging children to engage in free play with toys like Lego or a dress-up box will give them a mental break and allow them to develop key creativity skills as well as build their fine and gross motor skills.
- Let them be bored: Albert Einstein said that “Creativity is the residue of wasted time”. Often parents feel the need to entertain or engage their children in activities every minute of the day. Boredom breeds creativity. By allowing kids the opportunity to feel bored we nurture their ability to find something engaging and meaningful to them to fill their time. Let your child spend their studies breaks doing absolutely nothing and observe how they shift from feeling bored to creative.
- Phone a friend or family member: Another great way to spend a study break is by actively communicating with a friend or relative. Get your child to choose one person that they would like to catch up with and get them to call or engage in a written chat. This will help develop your child’s social and communication skills.
- Get creative: Encourage your child to get their creative juices flowing by engaging in an art-related craft project. They can do something simple like colouring in or they can participate in a more complex activity like painting or a DIY craft project.
Children learn better when they want to learn and when they have an active interest in the subject at hand. Ensuring your child takes regular study breaks will aid their concentration levels, improve their motivation to study and help them develop key time management skills.
