How to Combat Summer Learning Loss
Friday, May 20, 2016
For students, summer usually means almost three months of fun, relaxing and not worrying about grades. While kids are off at camps and going on family vacations, they are unknowingly losing the knowledge they learned during the school year. According to Oxford Learning, an equivalent of one month of overall learning is lost over the summer break, which leads to 6 weeks of relearning old material when they return. However, just 2-3 hours per week of subject focused study can help prevent learning loss.
An hour a day is not too much of a commitment for a child and a parent. It allows the parent to keep their child focused on a subject in an informal setting. Summer reading lists are a great place to start. Reading for even one hour a day can help increase learning skills. Public libraries usually offer summer reading groups for children. This is also great to keep up with social skills over the summer break. Another way for families to bod and keep children interested in reading is to organize a family book club.
Learning during the summer does not have to be all work and no play. There are many summer enrichment camps that offer programs to encourage kids to have fun while learning. Find out what subject your child excels in or is most interested in, and then check with local schools and museums to see what types of programs they offer. Bay Area Kid Fun has a great resource page for summer activities.
There are learning opportunities everywhere you go. Teaching kids doesn’t just occur in the classroom; find ways to incorporate lessons into your everyday routine or on vacation. Allow kids to plan a day trip. Give them a budget for the day and a map to figure out the best route. This will keep their math and critical thinking skills sharp. The summer should be fun! The goal is to get kids excited about learning all year round.
At Career Girls, we offer quick lesson plans and fun activities. They are easy to print at home, which makes them great for after dinner learning or rainy days! Here’s a link for our Empowerment Lessons, perfect for the self-starter!