It has been a very busy week at work and at home but there is light at the end of the tunnel! Tuesday saw the last of my daughter’s GCSE exams and the release of revision pressure. What a lovely feeling to have the rest of the summer to wind down and chill out following a very intense school year. It has certainly relaxed our whole household and I had not realised how it had impacted on all of us.
Discussing her GCSE experience, my daughter told me about what my husband and I had done to help her stay calm during this last term:
- Leaving her alone, not coming into her room when she was working and respecting her space
- Easing off on household chores
- Organising fun things to do with family and friends to break up intense revision sessions
- Understanding her stress levels and not provoking her
She also said that her school had taught her that:
- Planning and preparation is key to keeping stress levels to a minimum
- Revision timetables definitely work
- Information is easier to memorise if it is based around fun facts
- It can be useful to peer-chat about the exam afterwards as long as you do it in a sensible and pragmatic fashion
Constructive feedback for me regarding future exams, is to be more aware of ‘where’ she is revising and to consider noise levels when putting on music or the TV to avoid distracting her. On reflection she felt her GCSE experience had not been as stressful as she was expecting. I will take that as a positive and successful result.
Now putting all that aside, BRING ON THE FUN!
We are now planning fun things to do over the long summer holidays. This kicked off yesterday with an Indoor Karting experience with friends at F1K in Berkshire to celebrate the end of the exams. Wow, what an experience and a great time was had by all. The adrenalin was certainly flowing and we have the bumps, bruises and aching bones today to prove it. I have not been Karting for 17 years and had forgotten how exciting it was and did frighten myself a few times but it was definitely worth it.
Changing our focus from revision to fun by having a variety of different activities to look forward to will certainly reduce pressure and stress levels as life returns to normal. The quicker they return to normal the more benefit they will get from the long summer holidays.
Enjoy your summer holiday freedom, use your time wisely, go and try something new, laugh and smile lots and be happy in whatever you choose to do.
If you know of someone that is still struggling with panic and anxiety please contact me.