Christmas is right around the corner! While this is the perfect time to visit Christmas tree farms, decorate gingerbread houses, write letters to Santa, and bake Christmas cookies, it’s also a great time to focus on your grades. 

The holidays are all about having fun. However, you shouldn’t ignore your academic progress. Make sure you plan a lot of fun activities and make some time for your studies as well. 

If you’re trying to improve your online schooling grades, make the most of the holidays. You’ll get ample time to get back on track and enjoy improved academic performance once you rejoin your online classes after the holidays. In this blog, we’ll walk you through four ways to improve your grades during Christmas break. Let’s begin!

1. Kick-Start the Holidays with a Game Plan

Before the holidays begin, make sure you know a) exactly where you stand from an academic point of view, b) what needs to be done to improve your grades, and c) how you’ll actually achieve your goals. This insight is imperative. It’ll help you create a robust plan and see it through. 

Speak with your teachers beforehand. Discuss your academic performance, including strengths, weaknesses, gaps that need to be filled, and skills that must be sharpened. Your academic performance may be on track, but you might lack certain skills like good time management. No matter how excellent your preparation may be, poor time management will significantly affect your grades. 

A good performance analysis will ultimately help you take the right measures to improve your grades. At CHS Online, we create performance enhancement plans for our students when they go on Christmas break. As our teachers break your performance down and pinpoint areas that need to be addressed, you’ll manage to check the right boxes off the list. 

They’ll also help you understand which topics you should revise and provide a list of relevant resources. Your teachers are the best resource that is available to you; make the most of their expertise! Remember, you will not be able to reach them during the holidays. Be proactive in the days leading up to Christmas break and gather all the insight you need to improve your grades over the holidays.

2. Make Study Plans with Your Friends

Studying alone over the holidays isn’t easy. While your friends and family are out having fun, you may feel left out and procrastinate instead of being productive. 

We recommend making study plans with your friends. This is a great way to feel motivated to study. As you add a social touch to an otherwise personal and sometimes isolating act like studying, you’ll manage to make it a tad more fun. When you study with friends, you’ll feel supported and encouraged, especially around Christmastime! 

Carefully structure your day. We recommend spending the first half of the day studying. You’ll be most alert and focused during the day. Once you’ve completed your quota, plan a fun activity! You could go ice skating, set up a Christmas tree, watch a Christmas movie, visit festive light displays, and so on. 

A fun activity will be the perfect incentive for seeing your study plans through. Of course, if you don’t meet your quota for the day, your exciting plans will have to wait. This little reward system will go a long way in encouraging you to work hard and play harder!

3. Revise and Get a Head Start for the Next Year

If you want to improve your grades, you may think that you should exclusively revise what you’ve already learned over the holidays. This is a good approach, but it’s not enough. 

In order to improve your grades, you must a) cover previous ground again and b) cover new ground from scratch. Once you strengthen previous knowledge and get a head start for the coming term, you’ll improve your academic performance from all angles. 

Avoid spending most of your holidays studying. Remember, this is your Christmas “break” after all. While adding studying to the mix is important, you should predominantly spend your time relaxing with your loved ones, exploring new hobbies and interests, indulging in exciting Christmastime activities, and just having a blast! 

Studying will be the cherry on top. However, the bulk of your time should be spent indulging in personal and social interests. If you strictly study the entire time, you’ll feel burned out once the new term begins. 

This is a much-needed break. Reward yourself for all the hard work you’ve done, and devote some time to refreshing old concepts and getting a good grasp of what’s to come. A healthy study-play balance will help you feel reinvigorated and rejuvenated over the holidays. 

Recommended Read: How to Stay Productive Over Winter Break: Student Edition

4. Use Online Resources

If you’re tired of consulting your books, take a break. Instead, explore exciting online resources, including videos, PowerPoint presentations, audiobooks, and so on. This is a great way to break the monotony of reading plain text and switch to something more visually and/or sonically pleasing. 

At CHS Online, we equip our students with 24/7 access to our online library: the eLibrary. Explore a wide collection of academic resources from your phone, tablet, laptop, or computer. 

As you watch and/or listen to these resources, you’ll gain knowledge without feeling bored. Consult our teachers to request the most beneficial, relevant, and power-packed resources for the specific topics and subtopics you’re interested in. You can also utilise these resources with your friends during group study. 

Pro tip: Spend minimal time studying indoors and maximum time studying outdoors! Exposure to sunlight increases serotonin levels. As a result, your memory, learning ability, sharpness, and alertness will improve significantly. You’ll feel more energised and ready to tackle a day of studying. 

Set up your study station outdoors. If you’re studying with friends, choose a quiet yet sunlit spot that helps everyone feel lively and ebullient. This little tip will help you fight lethargy and maximise efficiency.

About the Author

The author is a well-known education specialist at Cambridge Home School Online. As one of the most prestigious international online schools, CHS Online provides a quality Cambridge online education to students living in the UK, Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. 

The institution provides four competitive homeschooling programs: Primary Prep/Key Stage 2 (ages 7 to 10), Lower School/Key Stage 3 (ages 11 to 13), Upper School/IGCSEs (ages 14 to 16), and Sixth Form/AS & A-Levels (ages 17 to 19). Students can also sign up for the institution’s academic booster classes during the holidays.