Summertime is a time for fun, sun, and playing outdoors. Unfortunately, it is also a time where many kids begin lose a lot of educational ground.
Without any proper schooling and practice during the summer months, many kids go back to school in the fall having to relearn many of the skills they mastered the year before.
Prevent Your Child From Losing Ground Over the Summer
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to help your child retain the information already learned – and perhaps learn a few new things.
Make time for learning
Actually schedule it on the calendar. Right now. It is important to make sure that your child does school work over the summer. If you schedule the time to study, it’s much more likely that you, and your child, will remember to do it.
Read daily
Make it fun by discovering new books at the library or the bookstore. If your child is younger, read to them. Even if they can read on their own, reading to a beginner could be beneficial for them. Hearing you read and listening to the information will help him become a better reader. Older children should have a little quiet time and read on their own.
Talk about the reading material
Discuss with your child what they read. Ask basic questions such as: what the story was about and who the main characters are. Also ask open ended questions such as what they liked about the story and what they did not like. This allows them to better engage in the reading.
Write daily
In addition to reading, have your child write. This is especially important for beginner writers. They can write anything they want. Make up stories, write letters to friends and family, write in a journal each day. It’s not difficult, but this lets your child practice spelling, grammar, and sentence formation.
Review past assignments
If your child came home with a bunch of assignments that were completed throughout the year, spend a few minutes reviewing them each day. You can use the worksheets as guidelines to make up something similar, or just go over the concepts with your child.
This allows them to practice, retain, and possibly better master the information they have worked so hard to learn over the past school year.
Sign up for academic enrichment
There are many types of classes offered each summer. From summer school, to art classes at the local art museum, there are many ways for your child to have a fun, enriched learning experience. Or learn more about academic enrichment.
Go on field trips
Learning doesn’t always have to happen in the house. Take your learning to other locations. Science? Check out a museum or take a nature walk. Math? A trip to the grocery store can be turned into a math lesson. There are many ways to incorporate learning into everyday life as well. this can help your child to stay engaged in the learning.
Use learning apps
While we don’t condone letting your child play on a device all day long, there is something to be said about the many educational apps on the market today.
There are literally hundreds of them, on just about any subject. Educational apps can turn learning into a game and sometimes kids don’t even realize they are learning! Download a few and give your child a little special technology time.
Hire a summer tutor
Even if it’s just a few months, hiring outside help to review subjects with your child will really help his chances of retaining the information and skills he’s mastered this past year. A tutor can go over old concepts and introduce new ones to better prepare your child for the upcoming year.
Many kids return to school after the summer having forgotten a lot of what they learned the previous year. Don’t let this happen to your child. Use these tips to prevent your child from losing ground over the summer and send him back with an advantage.
