10 Tips to Avoid Summer Slide
June 6, 2017
“Summer slide” is the tendency for students to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year. This can include social skills, reading skills, math facts, or other areas of learning loss. This loss of academic and social skills can be curtailed by following some advice from educators, therapists and scholars. Here are ten tips to avoid the summer slide this year.
- Read every day either with or to your child. Check out summer reading programs at your local library and encourage your child to read anything including magazines, comics, novels etc.
- Audio books on long road trips can keep children interested in literature as well as expand their vocabulary.
- Journaling – Ask your children to write a daily journal of all of the things that they learn each day. This will help with writing and organization skills.
- Social Skills – Arrange play dates or excursions to practice social skills.
- Summer Enrichment – Fill in learning gaps by visiting museums, historical locations, and other locations that can expand your child’s knowledge.
- Math Facts – It may seem like a drag to your child, but practice math facts and other math problems regularly throughout the course of the summer.
- Turn the Mundane into Learning – A trip to the grocery store, cooking or other daily chores can be learning experiences that include reasoning, math and social skills.
- Quality Camps – Try researching summer camps that will challenge your child. Many camps provide opportunities to expand their minds and sharpen their critical thinking skills.
- Use Technology – There are copious amounts of apps that can be used on mobile devices to sharpen skills that are easy to navigate and can be a lifesaver on road trips.
- Have Fun! Camps, reading and science experiments can be fun if you do it right. Make sure you are having fun with your child this summer.