Avoid Summer Learning Loss - Four Tips For Fun Summer Learning

Summer is not far off and finding an array of funchild help map out the trip to practice math and
summer learning activities will not only engagescience skills. Are you planning to visit historic
your child but can help ward off summer learningsites? Have your child write about these as well.
loss. You are like most families, preparing for theHe could create a play and become a character
summer vacation break from school. Your childfrom the historical time period. Encourage your
has progressed nicely through the academics ofchild to write about his summer activities in
the current school year and is looking forward toaddition to vacation. He may learn to do
a break. School provides a routine for learning andsomething new, like ride a bike, and a record of
practicing material. What happens to this routinehis progress would be interesting.
during the summer?Fun Summer Learning Tip #3- Having your child
Research shows that students lose a month ofhelp with cooking is a way to practice math and
academic achievement over the summer months.science skills. Following a recipe is a good way to
That means that they retain 8 months ofpractice following directions. Most recipes have
information from a typical 9 month school year.fractions for various amounts of ingredients. This,
For computational math and spelling, they mayof course, is math practice.
lose 2.6 months. Students retain only about 2/3 ofFun Summer Learning Tip #4- Consider tutoring
the information they learned in these subjects.for your child during the summer months. Your
How do you as a parent limit this summer learningchild can practice skills learned during the school
loss? Here are a few tips.year and get a deeper understanding of the
Fun Summer Learning Tip #1- Reading during theknowledge he acquired. He can also get a head
summer is important. Students are required tostart on the next school year. Online tutoring
read during the school year and should continue tooffers a convenient option. There is no
develop their reading abilities during the summer.commuting for you or the tutor. Tutoring sessions
Find out at the local library about summer readingfit more easily into your schedule. Online tutoring
programs. The librarians should be able touses technology that students love, computers
recommend books for your child that are ageand the internet.
appropriate as well as those that are of interestWriting about summer activities, reading age
to your child. You should try to be a good roleappropriate books, adult supervised cooking, and
model and read as well. Let your child see yoututoring are all fun summer learning activities that
read. Children who frequently read often havecan reinforce what your child learned during the
parents who also read.school year. By incorporating subjects like reading,
Fun Summer Learning Tip #2- Are you planning awriting, math, and science into activities in which
summer vacation away from home? Encourageyou participate during the summer, you can limit
your child to make a journal about the trip. This isthe summer learning loss for your child.
a good way to practice writing skills. Have your