Snow Days: Five ways to help your teen study at home amid last-minute school closures

Following a weekend of freezing temperatures, schools across the country have been forced to close today as a thick blanket of snow covers many parts of the country. While students stay home from class, it’s important for them to keep up with their learning – whether through activities or educational programs – as to not fall behind, particularly as the Christmas break quickly approaches. Below, MyTutor – the UK’s largest tutoring platform – has compiled the top 5 tips on supporting your teen with their snow day studies,

Create a distraction-free work-space
The saying goes, ‘cluttered work-space, cluttered mind’ for a reason. It’s hard to find motivation to study with random bits and bobs all over the shop. If your child’s got room for a desk, help them transform it into an inviting work space.

Set up a cork board near their desk so that they’ve got a place to post important things like their revision timetable (a great way to keep track of what’s coming up!). A desk plant is a simple way to make the study space feel welcoming and calm.

You can also make organising a fun experience with colourful folders for your teen to file away their papers. Highlight tabs with playful designs and different coloured pens for effective note-taking, are other simple ways of jazzing up revision. Colours not only add a bit of flare to otherwise drab notes, but they’re also a great way to help your teen organise (and even retain!) key info.

Help them make a snow day timetable
Teens can be put off from studying if they don’t know where to start. And you can hardly blame them— with all the different subjects they’re taking, each with their own assessments and deadlines, it can get confusing and overwhelming to say the least. That’s what makes a revision timetable so handy!
There are different ways to go about making a revision timetable. A key thing for teens to keep in mind is to use the same planner (whether it’s an APP or physical calendar) so that all the info is in one place. You can help them mark upcoming deadlines for projects and exams in their planner and encourage them to break projects up into smaller bits. Chunking work helps make big projects feel more manageable. Have them tick every step off as they go along so that they feel a real sense of achievement.

Give them room to breathe
It can be easy to get carried away with helping your child as they study. Sometimes, they just need to figure things out on their own. Making mistakes is actually a part of the learning process. Of course, we’re not saying abandon them—far from it! But giving your teen some breathing room to work on their studies (while checking in from time to time) is actually more beneficial to them in the long run as they become resilient learners.

Make sure they relax too
Down time is not only important to your teen’s wellbeing, but it actually helps them with their learning. Looking away from a problem and returning to it a bit later can help bring about creative solutions. Surprisingly (and conveniently!) when your mind is at rest, it’s still busy working things out. So give your teen plenty of chances to switch off. Get a bowl of popcorn ready and watch some family festive films, or enjoy time outdoors in the snow together.

As different countdowns begin—to Christmas, New Year, mocks—MyTutor’s tips will help you make the most of your family time this holiday. With any luck, your teen will be going into the New Year feeling confident about their studies and raring to start spring term.

Bertie Hubbard, co-founder of MyTutor, comments on the pastoral care the platform can provide:

“Our tutors are all from UK universities, and because they’re just a few years older they can easily relate to what teens are going through. With their dedicated one-to-one support, teens get some much-needed reassurance and come out with a stronger self-belief – 88% say that lessons made them feel more confident.

“Rather than replacing teachers with robots, the biggest power of EdTech lies in enhancing person-to-person learning. At MyTutor, we provide online tuition that raises kids’ grades, boosts confidence and helps them fulfil their potential in life. Because it’s online, kids get access to amazing tutors from across the country, rather than whoever’s nearby. As there’s no travel for the student or the tutors, it also saves time and money travelling – reducing the cost and stress involved for parents.”