Combat summer learning loss with programs and fun activities
Summer’s almost here, and it’s time to relax! Not so fast. Decades of research show that in order to do their best in school, kids must avoid the “summer slide.” This means they have to maintain skills they’ve worked hard to develop all year.
In fact, when kids lose learning summer after summer, it adds up, and that can lead to long-term problems. Make it a priority to:
Choose summer programs carefully. Look for activities that give kids individualized attention. Schools, community centers and libraries are good places to start. Many kids enjoy camps that mix academic and non-academic subjects.
Plan fun activities that use what your child learned in math, reading and other subjects. Before a family trip, your child might help with budgeting, research and mapping.
Source: J. Smink, “This Is Your Brain on Summer,” The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/opinion/28smink.html.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Learn the hard facts about “summer learning loss” 
It’s almost summertime, and the living may be easy, but don’t let the learning go out the window!According to research, “summer learning loss”–where kids forget much of the reading and math taught during the school year–is real. Even worse, each summer’s losses tend to pile on top of previous losses.
These losses hurt low-income kids the most. In fact, studies show that low-income students lose two months’ worth of reading skills each summer. But their higher-income peers? Those kids may actually gain skills because of access to things like high-quality summer camps and classes. If you’re concerned about your child’s math and reading skills slipping this summer, talk to his teachers. There may be an affordable, community-based enrichment program out there that’s perfect for him. Source: J. Smink, “This Is Your Brain on Summer,” The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/opinion/28smink.html. |
A mechanic would never work on a car without a good set of tools. Yet some parents send teens into the world without a “toolbox” of life skills.
The summer months are a great time to focus on important skills such as:
- Responsibility. Try turning over responsibility for one or two areas of your teen’s life this summer. If she hasn’t had experience managing finances, help her set up a checking and savings account.
- Autonomy. Some kids come home from college with a month’s worth of laundry. Be sure your teen knows how to care for her clothes. Also teach her to prepare simple meals.
- Focus. Your 17-year-old may not know what she wants to do as an adult. But a summer job (even if it’s unpaid) can help her figure it out.
Source: J. Townsend, Boundaries with Teens: When to Say Yes, How to Say No, Zondervian Publishers.
