Learn Vocabulary Over Fall Break: 5 Minutes Is Enough

Backpack in the corner, it's fall break! And somewhere in every parent's head the question pops up: should my kid be studying vocabulary now, or can they finally take a breather? Good news: learning vocabulary over fall break doesn't need a schedule on the fridge. Just think of the break in three parts.

Learn Vocabulary Over Fall Break: First, Nothing at All

Really. The first couple of days are for resting. A brain that gets to breathe after weeks of school learns better afterwards. No guilt.

Then: 5 Minutes, Almost Without Noticing

From the middle of the break, 5 minutes a day is enough to keep the words. Not a study session, more like a little game: five words at breakfast, "how do you say that in Spanish?" in the car, translating fruit at the grocery store. How long exactly: how long to study vocabulary each day.

The Last Two Days: Get Ready

The first vocabulary quiz often lands right after the break. Two quick rounds with the current unit on the last two days, and Monday loses its scare. Quiz, don't reread: what's solid can rest, only the shaky words come back.

Fall Break in 3 Parts

Here's how it looks:

A Vocabulary App for the Break

With VocaScan, an iOS app for the iPhone, your child photographs the vocabulary page and the app turns it into a quiz in both directions. Any textbook, any language. Weak words get their own quiz, which your kid starts alone, and if you enter the quiz date, reminders arrive 7, 3 and 1 day before. Handy on a break: the phone is coming along anyway, in the car, at grandma's or on a trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my kid need to study over fall break?

Not every day and not for long. A few days off are healthy, then 5 minutes a day keep the words fresh.

When should we review before school starts again?

On the last two days of the break, one short round with the current unit.

What if my kid doesn't want to?

Play instead of study. Ideas: vocabulary games for kids.