Summer can be a young mind’s enemy.
Not only are kids discouraged from tackling new concepts during lazy days of pool time and backyard play, but the long break from school, if not reinforced with summer learning, erodes knowledge gained from the previous school year.
The Boston-based Family Education Network says that summer can be a “brain drain.” It points to a University of Missouri study suggesting that, when kids return to school after summer vacation, they’ve lost one month to three months of learning. And the decline is more pronounced in math than in other skills.
So how can parents keep the books open and knowledge fresh without hearing that the mere thought of summer learning is “borrrrrring.” Many parents appear to be taking advantage of free programs offered by libraries. For example, “Our programs are all packed,” said Kathy Casserly, youth services specialist for the Baltimore County Public Library. “Because of the economy, people don’t have the money to take their kids to some summer programs, and they’re taking advantage of our free programs.” Brenda McLaughlin, director for research and evaluation at Johns Hopkins University’s National Center for Summer Learning, said that family income levels play a part in how much schooling children retain over the summer, particularly with reading skills.
“Middle- and upper-income kids tend to either stagnate or make slight gains in skills, but lower-income kids lose two to three months of reading skills,” she said. “Access to books and activities has a lot to do with it. Middle- and upper-income kids tend to do a lot more activities to promote literacy skills.”
McLaughlin said that the cumulative loss of learning skills over summers can be so significant that “by the end of the fifth grade, lower-income kids are about 2 1/2 years behind middle- and upper-income kids in reading.” McLaughlin said that kids of all backgrounds can take advantage of resources available for summer learning, particularly those at local libraries.
She added that parents should not only take part in libraries’ summer reading programs, but should also discuss the books with their children. “One of the simplest things is to first find out what your child’s interests are at the moment,” she said, “then make it a goal to find out more about that topic. You have to meet kids where they are.”
The center’s website suggests that parents start by making sure that time spent on leisure activities such as watching television, playing video games or surfing the Web doesn’t increase.
Parents should maintain restrictions on such activities just as they would during the school year, it says.
While summer programs and education-based summer camps are ideal to ensure that school knowledge is retained over the summer, much retention can be ensured by performing simple tasks in and around the house, according to the center. For those looking to keep math skills sharp, the center suggests that students measure items around the house and yard, add and subtract prices at the grocery store, cook (a good way to learn fractions) and track daily temperatures.
The Family Education Network says on its website that retaining math skills is so crucial to long-time learning that “if you can’t decide whether to sign your child up for ‘Shakespeare’s Theater’ or ‘Math Magic’ at the local community center, go with the math.”
Avoiding kids’ summer slide
Use sports to reinforce math. For example, practice multiplication tables by making each point in a basketball game worth 7 points (or 8 or 9), says Reading Rockets, an Arlington, Va.-based educational resource project (readingrockets.org).
Learn outdoors. Set up a tent in the backyard and explore the surrounding geography, says Great Schools (greatschools.net), a nonprofit organization that helps parents choose schools.
Discuss books. The Boston-based Family Education Network (family ) says that parents should not only get involved with summer reading activities but come up with creative ways to bring stories to life, such as giving bedtime directions in the voice of your favorite storybook character. Parents and children can write short reviews of books.
Volunteer. It’s a good way to keep learning fresh, and “creates intentional learning experiences,” says Brenda McLaughlin, director for research and evaluation at the National Center for Summer Learning.
Play KenKen. TeachersFirst, a teachers’ resource website, suggests kids keep their skills sharp by playing this arithmetic and logic puzzle invented by Japanese math teacher Tetsuya Miyamoto. The game is similar to the math game sudoku.
