With the start of summer vacation in schools, students enter a three-month period of rest. This period is an important opportunity for both relaxation and personal development.
It is interesting how students should make effective use of their summer vacation and how much time they should spend studying during the day?
AzEdu.az learned the opinions of the “Young Teachers of the Year” on the topic.
Regarding the topic, the winner of the “Young Teacher of the Year” competition, primary school teacher Tarana Nuriyeva stated that summer vacation does not mean that children are completely away from the learning process; the main issue is not sitting at a desk for hours, but finding a balance between rest and development:
“In my opinion, summer vacation is one of the most favorable periods for students to both rest and develop themselves in various directions. Children who are quite intensively engaged during the academic year should first of all be provided with conditions for physical and psychological rest. However, this does not mean that they should be completely away from the learning process for three months.
I recommend students to read books every day during the summer months, conduct interesting research appropriate for their age, learn new skills, and spend more time outdoors. Today, digital platforms, artificial intelligence tools, and various educational resources make children's learning more interesting and fun. Summer vacation is a good opportunity to take advantage of these possibilities.
As for homework, the main issue here is not sitting at a desk for hours. For primary school students, approximately 20-30 minutes a day, and for high school students, 45 minutes to 1 hour of review and developmental activities are sufficient. It is especially advisable to pay attention to maintaining reading, writing, mathematical logic, and foreign language skills.”
Students who do not lose interest in learning during the summer months return to school more prepared and motivated:
“To avoid difficulties in the adaptation process when the new academic year begins, it is important to maintain a certain routine throughout the summer, engage in regular reading, intellectual games, project and creative activities. Experience shows that students who maintain their reading habits and do not lose interest in learning during the summer months return to school in September more prepared and motivated.
The most successful formula for summer vacation is balance: resting, having fun, learning, and developing. When this balance is maintained, the student both collects beautiful memories and starts the new academic year successfully.”
The winner of the “Young Teacher of the Year” competition, Azerbaijani language and literature teacher, Alihuseyn Yaqubov stated that reading in summer is important, but excessive workload can be difficult for children:
“The 3-month rest period is actually a very important time for children's motivation. This period is also extremely important in terms of personal development. To make effective use of this time, we usually recommend parents to take students on trips to certain historical places, interesting places located in nearby areas, and places that will boost their emotional state. Of course, this is very important for them.
As for reading, children can read their favorite books or read about topics that are interesting to them. Reading 1 hour a day is quite beneficial. If they feel good and their emotional state is high, it is even possible to increase this period up to 2 hours. That is, reading during the summer period is important, essential, even mandatory. But reading too much and tiring oneself too much can be a bit difficult for children.”
The positive emotions children gain in summer facilitate adaptation to the new school year:
“Of course, this issue is very important for the adaptation process to be smoother when the new school year begins. Because being completely away from school for 3 months and then starting the educational process again is a bit difficult for children. As for the question of which activities should be preferred, children can engage in various types of dance. It is also beneficial for them to voluntarily participate in simple sports, various entertainments and events.
All these depend on people's tastes and interests. We usually recommend children, as I mentioned, that one of the most important issues is their participation in travel programs. Even helping parents with certain household chores at home and allocating special time for these tasks can have a very positive effect on them. The most important point is for them to be completely refreshed emotionally, to accumulate positive emotions, and to end the summer vacation with pleasant impressions.”
