There is a lot that’s new and exciting about the first day of school, like new clothes, school supplies, friends, and teachers.
But what’s not exciting? Dusting the cobwebs off the knowledge and skills from the month of May.
This summer, be proactive and prevent your child from backsliding academically with these simple tips!
The Summer Slide
When school’s out, everyone wants to veg out. This is understandable, and everyone (parents, too!) deserves a break.
But very quickly–and quicker than parents realize–children lose the educational skills they’ve worked hard to build throughout the school year.
It’s estimated that children lose over one month of learning during the summer vacation months! On average over the summer, children:
- Lose 2.6 months of math skills
- Lose 2 months of reading skills
- Spend 6 weeks re-learning old material in the fall to make up for summer learning loss
While a short break is beneficial, the long months of doing little besides video games, playtime, and vacations can hinder your child’s education.
Avoiding the Summer Slide
Imagine your child walking into their first day of school feeling confident because they remember all the educational knowledge from last year. What a great way to start a new school year! And it’s easier than you may think.
Doing just a little educational work every day can prevent the summer slide and give your child a head start on their upcoming school year. Here are some fun and practical ways to accomplish this.
Join Your Library’s Summer Reading Program
This is one of the most practical ways to prevent the summer slide. Almost every library system has a summer reading program to keep kids learning, complete with weekly (or sometimes daily!) prizes, grand prize winners, fun activities, and more!
While picking any book of interest is sometimes necessary to keep your child interested in reading, your parental job is to guide your child toward choosing educational topics.
These requirements don’t have to be extensive and rigid. But your child should keep reading a range of educational topics, including math, science, history, and fiction. Covering these subjects can be easily accomplished in a week. For instance, pick five educational books and read one a day. This is manageable for most families.
Consider your child’s interests as you choose books. Perhaps they love bugs, LEGOs (which are excellent for math skills), or a certain time period in history. Choose books that interest them!
If your child finds an author or series they like, check out as many as you can. Your librarian can also give invaluable advice on selecting books or helping your child stay motivated with reading.
Remember that your child doesn’t have to physically read every book (unless they need to work on their reading skills!). Many children love to be read to and can listen for much longer than adults realize. Reading aloud while your children color or build LEGOs primes the pump for deeper learning.
Enjoy Nature
Let your child soak up nature, get their energy out, and learn educational concepts all at the same time! Parks are wonderful ways for children to enjoy the outdoors but try to plan times to get away from manmade play structures. Even in cities, there are accessible parks and nature preserves where your child can appreciate the beauty of nature.
Plan to walk a nature trail, take a hike, or visit a creek or river. You can make each visit new and exciting by:
- Take along a plant, bug, or bird field guide and identify what you see.
- Create or print a scavenger hunt list
- Using packing tape, wrap a strip around your child’s wrist so the sticky part faces out. Have your child stick flowers to their wristband for their very own nature wristband.
- Bring along a child’s camera so they can take their own photos
- If your child likes to draw, bring a sketchbook and pencils
- Collect special rocks, nuts, sticks, and fossils.
Plan a Trip to a Museum or Zoo
Many cities have art, history, or science museums. Zoos and aquariums are another excellent choice for a fun, educational outing. You can often get a discounted price when going with a group, so round up a group of friends and have your own field trip!
While at the museum, zoo, or aquarium, have your child make notes of things they find interesting. Then use your library’s app to find books that relate to these subjects and keep the learning going!
Math is Everywhere
Humans use math every day whether we realize it or not! Math is more than addition and subtraction; it’s shapes, patterns, measurements, dimensions, and much more. The more you can point out math in everyday life, the more motivated your child will be to learn these concepts.
For young children, books, playing with LEGOs or blocks, and discussing shapes and patterns are sufficient to retain math concepts. But for older children, you can download a math app that makes math fun for summer.
Have a Plan… and Stick With It!
Remember, you’re the parent and you set the rules! Carefully consider reasonable educational goals for the summer, set up a tantalizing reward system, and stick with the requirements you set forth.
Many parents choose to have children get their educational subjects accomplished before allowing access to technology. This is an excellent way for children to stay motivated. Additionally, it can be wise to set a time limit on how many video games or apps children play so they naturally find other things to do.
Write out your plan and print off a daily checklist. Just like everything else in parenting, consistency is key! If you and your child stay accountable to the summer plan–giving rewards and removing privileges as necessary–then your child will be more than ready for their next grade level.
Summer at Bright Start Louisville
At Bright Start Louisville, we have a daily routine that reviews learned educational concepts and introduces new ones! Our teachers love to read books to their students to maximize learning. When you enroll your child in Bright Start Louisville over the summer, you can rest assured that your child is getting all their summer education and preparing for the next school year.