Say Goodbye to the Summer Slide: Fun and Effective Strategies to Keep Kids Learning

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Are you ready to make this summer a season of learning and fun for your kids? Say goodbye to the summer slide—a term that describes the loss of academic skills over the summer break—and hello to engaging activities that will keep your children sharp and ready for the next school year!

The summer slide is a real concern for educators and parents, especially for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who may not have access to educational resources during the break. But don’t worry; with the right approach, you can turn summer learning into an exciting adventure for your kids!

Here are some fun and effective strategies to keep your kids learning all summer long:

  1. Student Choice: Let your children choose what they want to read or learn about. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, giving them a say in their learning will increase their motivation and engagement.
  2. Various Modes of Texts: Don’t limit learning to just books. Consider audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels, and magazines to cater to different interests and reading levels.
  3. Curriculum-based Activities: Check with your child’s school or teacher for materials that align with the previous year’s curriculum. This can include books, activities, or projects that reinforce what they’ve learned.
  4. Family Involvement: Start a weekly family book club where everyone reads and discusses a chosen book. Make it fun with snacks, cozy blankets, and maybe even a movie night based on the book!
  5. Real-life Connections: Connect reading material to your child’s interests or experiences. If they’re going to soccer camp, find books about soccer or soccer players. This makes learning more relevant and engaging.

By incorporating these strategies into your summer routine, you can help your children combat the summer slide while having a blast! So, grab some books, gather the family, and let the summer learning begin!

Summer Fun for Everyone

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Summer is here with the freedom that summer. No classes, no homework, no test preparation—the long days of summer belong to our kiddos.

And sure, it’s great to kick back for a few days…maybe even a week or two. But then comes the dreaded whine, “I’m bored!”

For students used to schooltime routines and deadlines, summer can be a long time to roam free. Much as students may be loathe to admit it, most of them long for a little guided inspiration and intellectual stimulation during this down time. The key is to make it fun!

Snap the Moment: Create a picture journal of summer travels and experiences. Write a word, sentence or narrative, based on your child’s age. Strengthens writing and thought sequencing.

Tackle DIY Projects: Build a scooter, sprinkler or obstacle course. Have your child purchase items from the store and discuss budgeting and money. Integrates math, planning, measuring.

Prepare a Family Dinner: Cook with your kids. Plan a menu, shop for ingredients, follow recipe. Incorporates reading, measurement and nutrition.

Plant a Garden: Choose flowers or fruits and vegetables. Ask your child to draw the plant and label its parts. Chart the plant’s growth, pollination and maturation.

Plan a Party or Trip: Have your child plan a back-to-school party or fun event with a budget and guidelines. Reinforces lessons on sequencing, breaking down larger tasks, math, money and responsibility.

Create a Blog: Have your child start a blog or send emails to family members updating them on their summer adventures. Strengthens writing skills, promotes creative self-expression and introduces technology usage.

Start a Family Book Club: Read classics together. Have kids visualize what was read and ask comprehension questions. Include fun activities based on the book’s theme: dress like the characters, eat a meal based on the book, watch the movie afterwards and discuss the differences.

Get Physical: Keep it moving; keep it fun. Decorate a beach ball with math facts or next year’s word wall words, and then throw the ball back and forth and answer the top question. Have a tug-of-war with spelling or historical facts. Take a hike and have kids read the map and plan the route.

Get Outdoors: Explore festivals. Learn together in a non-traditional way. No need to travel to an exotic land, as D.C. offers wonderful learning opportunities for diverse interests.

Volunteer: Explore a field of interest and gain valuable experience. Develop professional and personal skills and make career connections.

 

Small Steps to Help your Children Self-Advocate in a Big Way

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Self-advocacy is not an innate skill for everyone. Children are often unfamiliar with the concept because, for the most part, many of their needs are met before they even ask.

In order to introduce self-advocacy skills, parents have to ignore the natural instinct to step in and assist and instead allow their children to recognize, specify, and vocalize their needs.

These three aspects are crucial to help children self-advocate:

Children must have opportunities to recognize when they need something.

They then must practice identifying exactly what they need to help them through the task or challenge.

They need communicative skills to relay that information to others who can provide assistance.

Tips for Parents

Provide children with space to initiate a task or challenge on their own before stepping in to “solve it” for them. This small, hands-off practice allows for three things: (1) Children are given the opportunity to approach the task and problem-solve on their own. (2) They are required to ask for help when they need it, instead of simply waiting for and relying on an adult to intervene. (3) They subconsciously establish self-confidence by independently recognizing their capabilities.
Encourage children to feel comfortable discussing specific obstacles and struggles. Again, a major piece of self-advocacy involves self-awareness because children must know what they need before they can ask for it. It puts children in a vulnerable position when they need to open up about their needs and weaknesses; however, modeling the process shows them that everyone needs help sometimes. Talk about your own struggles in school, sports, social circles, etc. Discuss how you managed those prickly situations and provide examples of how you problem-solved. It is important for children to feel comfortable speaking up when they need help, so a little encouragement goes a long way.

Similarly, parents can help put their child’s self-doubt at ease by clarifying what it means to learn something new. Children often expect instant gratification—they want to “do it right” on the first try. Explain to them that success is sweeter after struggle, that, as they progress through their education, learning should be more and more challenging. Reassure them that they are not expected to know and do everything perfectly every time. They will be much more inclined to speak up and advocate for their needs when they know that immediate perfection is not the expectation, but rather, growth and grit indicate success.

Help your child to feel more comfortable speaking up by encouraging her voice and thanking her when she contributes to conversation and/or problem-solving. Positive reinforcement is great for encouraging the shy or timid child because it sends the message that her opinion has worth. When a reluctant child does speak up, it is important to praise that effort to show that her opinion is valued. Even asking something as simple as, “What movie do you think we should watch tonight?” opens the door for your child to share an opinion.

When applicable, remind children of their special education services and accommodations and when to advocate for those supports. Placing a laminated “at a glance” sheet in your child’s binder that lists his accommodations and supports is a great start when familiarizing him with his IEP or 504 plan. The reference sheet acts, not only as a reminder of the accommodations, but also as a prompt for a reluctant child to speak up for himself when his needs are not being met. Sometimes, especially for children with executive functioning or processing difficulties, students may struggle to specify exactly what they need to move forward in a complex task. They know that they’re stuck, but they don’t know what is tripping them up or how to move through the hurdle. Obviously, this can be frustrating for a child. The accommodations grid acts as a visual self-advocacy reminder that lists the child’s personal “tools” to support them in the classroom.