Summer break is a great time to reconnect with your children, nature, and even yourself. It’s nice to relax but also keep in mind that including some educational activities throughout the summer is important to prevent summer learning loss known as summer slide.
Summer Slide? What?
I wasn’t sure what it was before I was a school psychologist either, it’s ok if you haven’t heard of it.
The concept of the summer slide is how kids can forget or lose reading and other academic skills over the summer break if they’re not practicing their academic skills during the summer months.
Let me tell you, my kids are against anything school-related right now as this is just their second week into their summer break, but I know how important it is to keep prevent summer learning loss.
Though we all just want to be outside all summer or if your kids are like mine, they want to be playing games on their iPads half the day, it’s important to incorporate some summer learning as well.
Research has shown that children can lose a whole grade level’s worth of academic skills during summer break, which then means they have to do extra work in the fall to catch up with their peers once the school year starts. I don’t think any of us want that to happen to our kids.
What About MY Kid?
My kids are quite bright, all three are above their grade level in reading and math BUT that doesn’t mean that they’re immune, and neither is your child. Think about it, even as adults, the less we use a skill, such as subtracting two-digit numbers without a calculator, the more we lose the skill.
With children who are just learning all these new skills, they need to keep practicing over the summer as well to keep them sharp and ready for the next school year.
Summer learning loss can happen with any children but especially elementary students since they’re just developing so many essential early learning skills.
Low-income students are disproportionately affected by summer learning loss and often have a more difficult time recouping their lost skills. That said, regardless of socioeconomic status, it’s important to continue learning experiences in the summer months.
My Kids Won’t Like This…
I hear you, mine don’t either. No kid wants to be all excited for summer break then hear they have to do some school-related activities instead of spending all their time outside playing or games on their iPads, etc.
I’m giving my kids a couple of weeks into their summer break before I introduce the activities that their school has suggested for them to do.
The good news is this doesn’t have to be some expensive formal summer programs in order to maintain their educational gains, it can be incorporated in simple, fun ways that you can do at home!
This Isn’t Summer School!
Agreed, this is not summer school at all and isn’t supposed to be. No matter if your child does well in school or struggles, it’s still important to practice academic skills during summer break but also balance that with fun summer activities.
The last thing we want to do is burn your child out from school completely!
They don’t have to be doing learning activities all day, every day, like during the school year, just find ways to pepper them in throughout the summer to help them stay sharp.
I’m working time into our schedule to do learning activities 2-3 days a week in the morning when it’s typically cooler and still wet in our yard due to the morning dew or overnight sprinklers. Right now I plan on my kids doing 1-2 hours these mornings but we’ll see how that goes. I’m guessing my twins won’t last more than an hour, which is totally fine. The main thing is just keeping up their academic skills, this doesn’t have to be intensive.
Fun Educational Resources
There are many ways to help prevent the summer slide learning loss throughout the summer months.
- Library Programs: go to your library’s website and see the programs they have this summer, or simply visit them in person! They typically have many free or low-cost programs throughout the summer to help children stay engaged in learning.
- Daily Reading Time: Encourage daily reading time for your children, especially elementary students who are just developing the skill. Our children read before bed and I’m also implementing reading time after breakfast and before any screentime or video games.
- Email your school and see if they have any resources. Keep in mind that once school is out, teachers are typically not answering emails so you may need to email the school secretary or principal who tend to work through much of the summer. Even with them, keep in mind they get some vacation time as well. Our kids go to online school and before the school year ended we were emailed all sorts of different activities they can still access throughout the summer break to prevent summer learning loss.
- Local Parks and Recreation: Check out your county and city parks to see if they have activities throughout the summer. Even if they aren’t formal summer programs, it’s still something that keeps your kids’ mind active!
- Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge: Scholastic has a great FREE summer reading challenge where kids can join and track their reading throughout the summer. The summer zone on their website is a free digital destination that includes stories, characters, games, and other readers! It is monitored for safety by staff 24/7. Scholastic has some other great resources here as well.
- Community Ed Programs: Check out the local community ed programs over the summer. Again, these might not be purely academic-based but are still a great way to help kids keep learning all summer. These often do have fees connected to them so keep that in mind.
- Board Games with reading and math: encouraging your children to play board games that incorporate reading and math can help as well, this doesn’t all have to be boring! Here are some FREE Math Games over on The Chocolate Teacher.
- Sidewalk Chalk Math and Writing: I’ve been having my kids work on sidewalk chalk math and writing for years. We’ll just be playing outside and I’ll write a simple math problem on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. Soon, they want to solve it and want me to write more. Before I know it, they are writing their own math equations and asking their brothers to solve it! This helps with math skills while making it a fun, interactive activity!
- Flash Cards: Have flash cards with math facts available for children to look through at the kitchen table while they’re eating, where they tend to hang out during the day, etc.
- Outschool Classes: Outschool is an online learning platform where your children can learn in small group interactive classes throughout the summer and school year. My oldest loves his Lego club which isn’t academic but works on social skills. You can check out Outschool and get a $20 credit through my link or using this referral code: vbykR5ra
Have a Great Summer!
There are so many ways to include learning opportunities throughout the summer to prevent summer learning loss. What will you be trying with your kids this summer? I’d love to hear in the comments!
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.