Parents, this one’s for you! You’ve heard it before —“summer slide,” “summer slump,” “summer learning loss,” EEK! The few months kids have off don’t need to have a detrimental impact on their academic performance during the school year though the trend seems to lean that way.
Carson-Dellosa Publishing authored the a Summer Learning Loss Study among teachers and parents nationwide in early 2014 and discovered:
- 64% of parents surveyed are at least somewhat concerned about summer learning loss, and a 27% are very concerned.
- However, only 27% of parents say they feel well informed about summer learning loss and how to prevent it.
- As well, 76% of parents wish schools would do more to inform parents about summer learning loss and how to help prevent it.
A real opportunity presents itself to join a conversation among schools and parents about summer learning loss, providing them with information and resources to help. We know kids need a break during the summer though, so where do you find a cohesive middle ground that helps students enjoy their summer while still keeping their minds sharp?
Try These 5 Tips To Prevent Summer Learning Loss
1. Go out and learn! Look to your local public library, children’s museums, and science centers for free or low-cost events and camps for kids during the summer.
2. Pick up Summer Bridge Activity® books online or at your favorite retailer. For the last 15 years, Carson-Dellosa’s Summer Bridge Activities® workbooks have been the best-selling summer learning series and a well-loved resource among both parents and teachers.
You may be thinking that workbooks sound an awful lot like work, especially during summer break. How will you motivate your child to do math when it's hot and sunny? We've made it easy.
Each book is bursting with:
- Full-color pages and kid-friendly illustrations
- Summer reading lists
- Outdoor and fitness activities
- Science experiments (great boredom busters for indoor days)
- Social studies exercises
- Reward stickers
- Flash cards
- A completion certificate
In just 15 minutes a day—or about the time they have to wait between eating lunch and jumping back in the pool—kids can keep their brains sharp all summer long!
Try a sample of any grade book, for FREE! CLICK HERE
3. Read, read, read. Read with your children or encourage them to read on their own. Make it a part of the daily summertime routine, whether in the car, afternoon, or at night. Encourage them to explore new media formats, such as age-appropriate blogs and news websites, as well as books, magazines, and eBooks. Mix up their reading list with both fiction and non-fiction. Consider starting a neighbor reading club for kids!
Looking for grade appropriate reading lists? They are available in every free sample of Sumer Bridge Activities®. Click HERE
4. Travel Smart! Plan mind-bending games for the car or plane ride. Have educational apps and activity workbooks downloaded and ready to go on your kid’s mobile devices so they can have fun while learning on the go.
5. Make Preventing Summer Slide a Priority! Don’t let June and July fly by without another thought to your kid’s continued learning. Mark your fridge or online calendars with times set aside for working in activity books or reading together; do it regularly and it will become routine for your kids amidst all their other summer activities.
More resources:
*Average research findings report 2.5 months learning loss per student, the highest losses occurring in math and spelling. http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/Journals/spring2010/why-summer-learning
** Summer reading loss is cumulative; these children do not typically catch up in the fall. Their peers are progressing with their skills while they are making up for the summer learning loss. By the end of 6th grade, children who lose reading skills during the summer are on average two years behind their peers.
http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/78894.aspx
