Help your kids combat 'summer slide'

Summer is the time for baseball, swimming, camp, family trips and just hanging out. It is also a time when students stop thinking about school. It’s a phenomenon called “summer slide,” and it can mean teachers have to spend a month or more every fall bringing students back up to speed.

The cumulative effect of summer slide has had a particularly negative impact on the achievement gap between students of lower and higher socioeconomic levels.

But summer slide is completely preventable, and that’s where the opportunity lies.

“The key is to make it fun,” said Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher. “It’s OK to take a vacation from school, but not from learning. By getting your children into a reading and math routine in the summer, you'll help ensure they succeed in school. And you’ll have fun with your kids in the process.”

Dooher suggests these tips:

Make reading fun. Have your child read books her or she might not ordinarily read. He or she can also read magazines and newspapers and other material. Read aloud with your children, especially younger ones.
Take advantage of nature. Reading or math while walking through the park or visiting a museum won’t feel like lessons at all.
Make time for math. Find ways to get age appropriate math skills into your summer routine. Measure things in the yard. Add and subtract while shopping or driving. Do fractions while cooking.
Read as much as possible. Encourage your child to read when he or she has free time or between activities, and make reading part of his or her daily routine. Magazines, short stories or novels. It doesn’t matter. Summer reading is about retaining skills, not learning new ones.
Make learning an adventure. Visit zoos, science museums, art museums, libraries … places that stimulate critical thinking.
Make family trips a learning experience. You can teach math with menus, geography with the route and spelling with place names.
Encourage your child to take a class he or she might not otherwise take at community education.
Encourage your child to write about his/her experiences. Writing will help keep their language skills sharp.
Talk with your child about what he or she learned during school: what they liked and what caused them to struggle. Work that into the reading and other activities they do during the summer.
Check out community resources available to parents: camps, parks, schools and community education and athletic programs.

So, how much reading is enough? Some research suggests reading as few as six self-selected books per summer will maintain a child’s reading skills. Ten to 20 books actually improve those skills.

Summer slide isn’t inevitable but it requires attention from parents, because without encouragement children aren’t likely to do that work on their own.

“A little bit of learning time can make all the difference,” Dooher said. “So have fun enjoying the summer and bring learning into your routine in new and different ways.”

June 08, 2011