How to Keep Kids Learning During the Summer
If kids don’t continue learning during the summer vacation, they can forget many of the things they learned at school. This is known as The Summer Slide and to avoid it, you should keep their minds busy during their break. After summer is over, they’ll be ready to start the next school term.
If children aren’t involved in educational activities during the summer, they can forget what they learned during the school year. Teachers should dedicate 4 or 5 weeks to go through everything kids may have forgotten during the break.
The importance of education during summer vacation
Many people can say that they didn’t forget anything from school during the summer vacation. At the same time, teachers will probably say they have enough work and don’t have time to go back and review their classwork.
Children can forget up to a third of what they learned the previous course. This is a lot of information; it’s almost 60 days of school. When children don’t keep learning during the holidays or don’t practice what they learned, they’ll have disadvantages in class.
What does the research show?
Research proves the importance of keeping learning during the holidays. When students are involved in educational activities during the summer break, they’ll improve their learning process. As they grow older, they’re likely to choose activities that they can learn something from.
Researchers have determined that students who keep learning during the holidays during elementary school, are more likely to finish high school.
What can you do?
Encourage your children to be involved in activities during the summer. Dedicate time and help them work on their learning activities. Even the simple things like reading together, spending time at the local library, or even cooking together will be helpful.
It’s not just about doing homework, but also discovering new things, experiencing things in life, visiting a park, etc. Treasure these memories together.
Among all of this, you can include a 10-minute math session. In just 10 minutes, you can help them memorize what they learned.
It’s not just about being with them and doing math. You can switch the schedule. One day, study after dinner. Another day, study a little before going to the pool. Read a little while you’re at it.
For pedagogy experts, the main thing is that children don’t get bored. For example, it’s not just about watching TV for a whole day. Summer can be a great moment to dedicate time to your children and help them become better learners.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Seth Gershenson. (2013). Do Summer Time-Use Gaps Vary by Socioeconomic Status? American Educational Research Journal.
- G. D. Borman & M. Boulay. (2004). Summer learning: Research, policies, and programs. Routledge.