Top 3 Ways to Keep Your Child Learning Over the Summer
Educational research shows that children that don’t have ongoing opportunities to continue to practice and learn subject matter over the summer actually lose some of their skills and knowledge. This varies by age, grade level and academic subject area with math and reading loss over the summer estimated to be approximately 2 to 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency.
Parents can help children to retain their learning and skills without taking all the fun out of the summer. Finding ways to incorporate little “mini lessons” or teachable moments throughout the summer is a great way to keep kids thinking and to also help children to understand the practical aspects of academic learning.
Some fun ways to keep your children engaged and active in learning include:
- Have a daily reading time – this is a wonderful way for the whole family to appreciate how important reading is. For younger children parents can read out loud and the children can follow along. Older children will enjoy reading a book while Mom and Dad also share this time in a reading activity. You can also choose a classic and the entire family can read the book together, discussing different aspects of the book in more of a book study format.
- Math activities – there is always an option to have children practicing math basics such as counting, addition, subtraction and multiplication. Ask children to help you complete measurements, count change or even plan the budget for your vacation. On road trips you can have them calculate miles between cities or miles traveled; you will be surprised at how often math comes up.
- Vacation study – if your family is planning a vacation, or even a staycation, older children can do a research project or find out facts about where you are going and visiting. They can do this online, at the library or even by talking to friends and family members to get a history of a particular location. This project can include writing skills, reading, current events and geography.
On rainy days you can also have a variety of computer games that focus on specific math, reading or other academic skills, just make sure to make it a fun learning experience for maximum benefits.
