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While many students view summer as a time to forget about school, if students don’t stay sharp and practice what they learned over the past year, research shows they can lose up to one month of learning in the short summer vacation period.
But summer break and learning can coexist in a fun, productive manner that keeps kids engaged! Here are five ways to prevent summer learning loss and help your student retain information to help them succeed when the new school year begins.
Create a Routine to Stay on Track
Many students receive summer work from their teachers, and procrastinating until the last moment can feel overwhelming to both children and parents. And it is easy for kids to forget what they've learned without routine practice. Help your child schedule regular time throughout the summer to learn and complete work. Even just 15-30 minutes a day will allow students to keep their skills sharp and knock out that summer work so they can enjoy their break worry-free!
How can you take this from a good idea to actually happening at home?
Empower your child by working with them to create a schedule that balances both schoolwork and play.
Decide on a duration and frequency, such as 15 minutes each day during the week, and give your child choices regarding when they can complete their work.
Post the schedule in a place where your children will see it, and consider adding boxes to log their time and track their progress. Perhaps even consider some rewards for going above and beyond.
Do the Math
Math skills are particularly susceptible to the “summer slide,” so it’s critical that parents help their children make time to exercise these technical skills regularly. Fortunately, there are many ways beyond the traditional math packet for your child to practice and avoid summer math loss.
Cook and bake together, which will require your child to calculate measurements.
Play card games or board games that encourage math skills for fun. Check out this list for inspiration.
Encourage your children to pursue “math in the wild” by asking them to calculate the tip, tax, or change required when paying for items.
Be Creative
While school work over the summer may not pique your child’s interest, engaging in other activities may stimulate imagination, renew interests, and motivate your child to tackle summer work without complaint.
Whether students are doing artwork, exploring the world around them, or presenting something they made, there are an abundance of activities children and parents can do to find inspiration.
Provide access to art supplies or collaborate with your child on projects around the house to get their creativity flowing.
Visit local museums, parks, zoos, and aquariums, and find ways to make them interactive (for example, create a scavenger hunt with a reward for finding the answers).
Encourage students to play music, sing, or perform, which activates and strengthens various areas of the brain.
Read Books
Encouraging your child to read over the summer is an efficient way to prevent learning loss. Your older child will likely have required summer reading, but reading for pleasure also has many inherent benefits.
When selecting reading material with your child, encourage them to choose books that relate to their interests and are challenging enough to keep their skills fresh.
Start a family book club, or help your child start a book club with friends.
Keep track of the books your child reads, and help them celebrate their progress.
Talk with your local librarian about your child’s needs and interests—they can help compile a list of suggestions.
Whether you are shopping online, visiting a bookstore, or checking books out at the library, empower your child to select books that grab their attention.
Help your child keep a reading log and reward them when they reach their goals.
Write Often
Writing is one of the most effective ways to keep young brains active. Research shows that writing with a pen and paper activates a part of the brain that allows students to understand concepts and material better. Furthermore, writing mechanics and grammatical concepts are often difficult to retain without practice, so students should frequently practice all forms of writing.
Encourage your child to stay on top of assigned summer book reports. They can also keep a journal, write poetry, or create a comic book. In addition to enhancing writing skills and decreasing stress, these activities promote mental well-being.
Play games with your child where you co-write a short story, make a combined collection of poetry, develop activities for younger siblings, or create a script for a play.
Incorporate small and manageable grammar practice activities into weekly work to stay on top of skills that may quickly diminish.
Providing a regular schedule, plenty of opportunities for creativity, and a variety of stimulating learning choices will help prevent summer learning loss so your child feels ready to go back to school in the fall!
