Whether you call it summer learning loss, the summer slide, or the dog days of summer, many parents and teachers are concerned about our children losing precious learning over the summer.
So, the question becomes, how can we keep our children’s minds active and engaged without their parents losing their minds?
Here are some simple yet effective activities to help stop summer learning loss.
Reading
- Set aside 20 -30 uninterrupted minutes for reading every day.
- Let your child pick the reading material. Remember, “easy reading makes reading easy.” Include magazines, picture books, novels, and poetry.
- Read a book together. Take turns reading aloud to each other or read silently together and discuss it every few pages.
- Listen to an audiobook. Some kids dislike reading, but they may enjoy listening to a story. You can get free audiobooks from the library or on the Libby App.
- If your child is an independent and voracious reader, have them complete a novel study along with their reading to test comprehension. These are great because they are either self-correcting or come with an answer key. After all, not all parents have the time to read as much as they would like.
Writing
- Have your child write for a few uninterrupted minutes at least three times a week.
- Write a letter to a relative or friend.
- Write in a journal
- Write a story, poem, song, newspaper, or interview someone.
- Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, spelling, or even reading it. This activity is about putting thoughts on paper. (Or into a computer, whichever your child prefers)
Art
- Art does not have to be complicated. Blank paper, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, and glue are all you need.
- If your child prefers to draw rather than write, use One-Pagers
- to put their thoughts on paper creatively.
- Try an art class.
- Are you feeling brave? Let them create with clay, paint, or recyclables.
Math
- Have your child earn money for chores and create a budget.
- Let them help you with the grocery shopping budget.
- Cook with them
- Count money together
- Make a daily schedule using elapsed time.
- Color by Codes are fun math worksheets for skill practice.
- Digital Self-Correcting math practice is a fun way to practice math with a game feel.
Physical Activity
- Our kids don’t get enough outdoor time!
- Let them free play. As children play and work out disagreements with others, they develop important oral language and social skills.
- Go for a hike
- Go swimming
- Go to an arboretum or a plant nursery.
- Gave a picnic or BBQ and let them plan it.
- Ride bikes
Child Selected Learning
Child Selected Learning or Passion Projects are a great way to stop the summer learning loss while at the same time motivating a child to learn something new.
Here’s how Passion Projects work. Let your child find a problem or a subject they are passionate (or at least mildly) interested in. Let them plan, research, and present their learning. This could be a video, a brochure, a web page, or a trifold display. Give them free rein, but accountable!
Take a Class
Speaking of Passion Projects. Did you know there are some inexpensive online options for your child to learn something new and different?
Outschool offers classes in all kinds of areas. You can find classes in traditional subjects like math and reading to nontraditional such as debate, coding, or even hip hop. If you need financial assistance, they offer scholarships too.
Another option to slow the summer learning loss is to partner your elementary student with a high school mentor. Passion Project offers FREE classes taught by high school students to younger students.
Summer Learning Loss Reviews
There is nothing wrong with purchasing a few workbooks or Summer Review Activities. Summer Reviews are great for reducing the summer learning slide while keeping your child’s school-based skills up to date. As a parent, I often purchased a Summer Review Workbook or Packet and gave my kids incentives to work a few minutes a day. They are convenient and easy to implement, just don’t forget the incentives!
Have a fifth grader going into sixth grade? Here is the one I made and use.
Finally, parents, please don’t feel you have to micromanage your child’s learning over the summer. Give your child a few choices of activities and let them go. Take the time to enjoy the non-structured time together.
