We love learning more about the A Grade Ahead staff – and what better way to get to do that than to ask questions and listen to the answers! This time, we asked our staff about their favorite parts of winter break.

A Grade Ahead Winter Break Favorites 2018

 What is your favorite food that is special to this time of year?

The top pick in this category was cookies. From Christmas cookies to “Mom’s ginger cream cookies,” these sweet desserts are definitely a hit among A Grade Ahead workers.

My favorite answers were the ones that told a little bit of a story. Like “Chili – reminds me of my childhood” and “Mom’s cinnamon rolls.”

What are your favorite family traditions from this season?

This one had plenty of variation, but the most common thread was spending time with family and friends (with or without a holiday theme):

• Getting together with extended family
• Meals with friends
• Getting together for the holidays
• Spending Christmas Eve with my family
• We used to go to a farm as a family to get a tree for Christmas.
• Going Black Friday shopping with my mom
• Decorating for Christmas and going to German Village to see the lights.
• Family vacations
• Caroling as a family to neighbors, family, and friends
• Decorating the tree and baking cookie press cookies as a family
• Family parties

What is your favorite part of this season?

Time with family, seeing holiday lights, getting re-energized, and buying presents ranked at the top for this question. A couple of other great answers include sweaters, cozy blankets and movies, music/decorations, and playing games with family.

Oh, and there was one answer that definitely stood out from the rest:

my birthday 😉

What’s the best part of having a break from teaching?

Teachers and students alike love breaks from school. Besides the obvious (not going to work – yay!), we wondered what about the break our teachers liked best. To summarize their answers, our teachers like to have the extra time for other activities and the opportunity to relax.

If you want more specific answers, though, here are some of my personal favorite responses:

• Being able to catch up with your books and shows
• Both kids and teachers get a break from each other
• Recharging your batteries
• Playing outside in the snow

How did you spend your winter break when you were a kid (K-12)?

Our answers were all over the place with this one. Oh, there are some commonalities like playing in the snow, spending time with family, or reading (Surprise! Our teachers like to read a lot!), but there was also plenty of variation.

For example, one staff member was always sick during winter break as a child (poor thing!), some played with their neighbors (I didn’t even have any!), one didn’t even get a winter break!

What do you like best about the weather during winter break?

I could summarize the answers to this question in 4 big ideas:

• Snowy weather
• Cold-weather clothes
• Not driving, and
• Nothing (Some workers do not like the cold!)

What made some responses shine, however, was the poetic way they were written:

the sparkling of the snow in the sun

What are your favorite parts of winter break?

Author: Elizabeth F., Writer and Teacher at A Grade Ahead