Learn Today

“Prevent the summer slide.” We’ve all heard the phrase.  We think we understand it.  Summer slide is the tendency for students to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year. As parents, we don’t want to put our children at a disadvantage by having them lose knowledge and skills. However, we frequently fail to provide learning opportunities during the summer months due to vacationing, visiting family, shuffling between camps, and simply having fun. After all, some of us played all summer and we turned out fine.  We “believe” we returned to school each fall and immersed ourselves into the learning culture without a hitch. So, if we give our children a break from learning during the summer months, they’ll be fine. Right?

Wrong! With this way of thinking, the summer slide is viewed on too small of a scale. Don’tsimply think of the summer slide as it relates to your child’s performance during the coming school year. Look at it in a broader sense, as it relates to lifelong learning.  Though used most frequently in reference to adult learners, the term “lifelong learning” applies to our K-12 children, as well. Lifelong learning is a continuing education experience that has been proven to positively impact brain engagement, physical activity, social relationships, and character. In light of its many benefits, do you want your child to be at recess during this time? 

In addition to losing up to two months of math  and reading skills during the summer months, children who take time off from learning between each grade level from kindergarten to twelfth grade miss up to two and a half years of extra learning opportunities. These losses have a long-term, cumulative effect. According to summerlearning.org, summer learning loss is “one of the strongest contributors to the high school dropout rate.” For many young people, the summer ‘opportunity gap’ contributes to gaps in achievement, employment and college and career success.” Whether a child’s progress during the school year is below, at, or above average, it can improve when learning occurs during the summer months.

Studies show that children who read beat the summer slide. During the school year, children spend up to seven hours per weekday in school. By reading for a mere fraction of this time (15 to 30 minutes a day), your child can prevent learning loss and still have lots of time to enjoy
loads of summer fun. The key is providing reading opportunities your child will enjoy. Here are some tips:

· Encourage your child to participate in summer reading programs.

· Help your child read anything and everything he or she finds interesting, even things around the house like food labels, sales flyers, recipes, and junk mail.

· Provide books that align with your child’s interests and reading level, i.e., not too easy but not too difficult. 

 Include technology (websites, mobile phone apps, e-books, etc.) to
make  reading fun and interactive.
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· Read with your child and/or have your child read with friends.

· Listen to audiobooks and read signs and billboards during long drives.

· Play board games.

· Offer your child perks/incentives for reading and learning

Additional tips for giving summer slide the slip include:

· Asking your child’s teacher or tutor for suggested reading materials, resources, and information on summer programs

· Setting aside special, protected time for learning

· Providing reading comprehension practice in workbooks or online

· Pinpointing and practicing concepts your child had difficulty learning the previous year

· Practicing a few math problems each day

· Taking your child on weekly trips to the library

· Having your child tell you what he or she read and learned each day

Your child has innate potential and motivation to learn. Tap into it and create an academic achiever and lifelong learner. Don’t delay. Start today!