Handling exam season stress and school requests

I faced this too last month. Honestly, I’ve started being very firm with the class teacher. I just send a polite but clear email stating that for the next ten days, we are focusing solely on core subjects to avoid burnout. Most teachers actually appreciate the honesty if you sound organized about it.

Exactly why I shifted my son to a school with a balanced curriculum. In our previous school, the extracurricular pressure during exams was too much. If they keep asking, just keep it brief and say you'll catch up after the papers are done. Don't feel guilty about saying no.

My strategy is to keep the routine as normal as possible. Don't over-pressure the child; just focus on the syllabus. If school asks for extra activities, I just say we are strictly following a revision schedule at home.

I have seen that teachers often don't realize how much other parents are overloading their kids. I usually reply saying, 'Noted, we will prioritize this once exams conclude.' It keeps the communication open without feeling like an argument.

It is really tough. My daughter is in Grade 3 and the project pile-up is insane right now. I just prioritize the marks-heavy assignments and ask the teacher for extensions on the 'extra' creative tasks. Have you tried asking if you can submit those later?