Every year, many students suffer from the “summer slide”, or learning loss over the summer months, when they aren’t in school and aren’t engaging in the activities they need to help keep their minds sharp. On average, students lose about a month’s worth of school year learning over the course of the summer, and they see more “slide” in math than they do in reading. Is there any way to avoid the summer slide?
This year, COVID-related learning gaps pose more challenges than ever. On average, students could lose as much as five to nine months of learning because of the difficulties they’ve faced throughout the school year, from swapping back and forth between in-person learning and virtual and the increased stress suffered by many students.
Do you have a plan in place to help reduce summer learning loss for your student? Luckily, there are several strategies you can use to avoid the summer slide and keep your child learning.
1. Read With Your Child (And Encourage Independent Reading)
Get in the habit of reading with your child on a regular basis through the summer to avoid the summer slide. Read books together that are slightly above your child’s reading level. Then, discuss them. Lastly, talk about what your child likes and doesn’t like in the book. What parts did he find amusing? What parts made him cringe along with the character?
Encourage your child to enjoy picking out their own books, too. Visit a local library or used book store together and let your child have free reign to pick out whatever they like. Don’t try to impose rules about the reading level they have to pick up or about whether they must choose fiction or non-fiction books. Instead, just encourage your child to read!
2. Try Out Some Educational Outings Together
Take your child grocery shopping with you and invite them to track your spending. (Hey, it’s a great way to teach budgeting along with math!) Go to a local zoo. Mask up and hit a local aquarium. Try out a science museum. Encourage your child to spend time with the exhibits she finds most interesting–and then ask questions about what she loved most! You could spark a fascinating new interest that will help your child stay busy and engaged all summer.
3. Enroll Your Child in a Summer Class
The Tenney School offers a variety of summer learning opportunities that will help keep your child engaged and interacting. Summer programs are not as demanding as the classes your child might face during the school year, but they will offer your child an opportunity to engage in additional learning opportunities. Summer classes can also serve as a vital catch-up opportunity for students who may have fallen behind during the school year.
4. Do Some Math Practice Together to Avoid the Summer Slide
No, this doesn’t mean pulling out the worksheets! For younger students, math practice could be as simple as doing some flashcards or practicing some fast facts with parents. You might also try baking together and halving or doubling a recipe to help your student work on some of those important math skills to avoid the summer slide.
5. Take Advantage of Some Learning Opportunities as You Plan Your Summer Trip
Are you trying to get away this summer to relax for a while with your kids? Try letting older kids help with planning the budget for the trip, managing overall costs, or planning when to stop for fuel. You can add in some geography by encouraging your student to help with mapping out your route–even if you’re planning to let your GPS do the majority of the work once you’re on the road!
6. Break Out Some STEM Activities
There are some great STEM activities that you can engage in with your kids over the summer months. Try:
- Creating your own bottle rockets
- Creating ramps out of cereal boxes and blocks
- Designing boats out of a variety of materials, from aluminum foil to Lego blocks
- Doing a printable escape room from the comfort of your own home
- Lastly, designing a robot hand
STEM activities are also a great way to keep kids busy on those long summer days when all you seem to hear is “I’m bored!” or, “I don’t want to do that again!”
Avoid the Summer Slide
Are you prepared to help your kids avoid learning loss this summer? Are you interested in an engaging summer program that will help them improve overall learning? Contact us today to learn more about our summer learning options and how to set your kids up for success this summer.