Why it’s Important for Children to Take Breaks from Schoolwork*

The start of a new term is inching ever closer, in a way I’m both looking forward to it (school holidays are so expensive!) and dreading it because I’ll miss LM so much. I enjoy her company even though I feel the pressure daily to keep her entertained. When you live in a small town like I do, it’s hard to find something to do every single day for 6 weeks, and the rising cost of petrol and train fare make it harder to explorer further a field. But I know she needed this summer holiday.

As she gets older, the school year gets harder and there is a lot more work involved. This year LM sat her SATs which were daunting and more stressful than anything she’s ever experienced. She’d earned this holiday because at the end of the day, she’s still just a kid and needs time to enjoy doing kid things before she has to experience the real pressures of daily life (and I plan to shield her from those for as long as possible!)

All schools allow for breaks in the day and schools in the UK are no different. Did you know schools in Spain like Laude El Altillo school, have an actual break in school when the day is at it’s hottest? This is probably because no one learns well when they’re too hot to think!

Today I’m sharing why I think it’s important for kids to take breaks from school work;

Breaks in the School Day
LM’s school runs from 8:55 to 3:20 every single day. This is for every child in the school from reception to year 4 when they move on to middle school. That’s a long day for young kids. Her school has breaks in the morning and in the afternoon for 20 minutes and then they have an hour for lunch. I think those breaks are so important to give children a chance to step away what they’re doing and let off some steam. I know how I feel when I’m sat at my laptop for an extended period. I get antsy and I can’t focus. Letting children run outside, scream, shout, play with their friends is important so they return to the classroom ready to refocus and learn.

Breaks in Home Work
As your child gets older, they’ll start bringing more and more work home. At first it’s just little things like the odd sheet, some spelling and reading every night.. but as they go through schools they’ll bring something from every subject and it’s easy to get overwhelmed from it all. At the moment I only let LM read every other night. She reads for pleasure every day, but her boring school book we stopped doing every. She does spellings 4 nights a week and her home work sheet the night it comes home from school. That way she has plenty of time to kick back and relax. We also do no school work on the weekend. After spending 30 hours week in a classroom she deserves to be a kid and watch cartoons and play with her toys.

Breaks in Term
Yes, children (and staff) need breaks in term and if I’m honest, I love how holidays in England are broken up. I like that they get a week for half term, and two at Easter and Christmas, then six in the summer. The summer is hard going but the joy LB gets from staying up late and sleeping in, from days after days of wearing her own clothes and setting up elaborate games all over my house. She’s earned it and even if I’m struggling I can stick it out for her.

Most jobs as an adult give you only a few weeks annual leave so I want her to enjoy every second she gets of free time as a child. I want her to enjoy being a child and that’s why I think breaks from school work are so important.