Four Ways to Avoid Summer Slide

April 23, 2019
Written by:
Guest Author
Elementary Homeschool, Homeschooling Curriculum, Summer and Travel

This post is sponsored by Laurel Springs.

Believe it or not, the highly anticipated sunny days of summer are right around the corner. For some children, that might mean carefree days spent with friends, an epic family vacation, earning money through a summer job, or devoting extended time on an extracurricular activity or passion. While these are all noble pursuits, it’s important to remain vigilant in avoiding what education researchers refer to as the “Summer Slide.”

What Is the Summer Slide?

Also commonly known as summer learning loss, the summer slide phenomenon occurs when students lose the skills or knowledge they’ve acquired due to a prolonged absence from academically enriching activities. Studies have shown that this loss can amount to as much as a month’s worth of material, which will need to be retaught.

Preventing the Summer Slide

The simple solution to avoiding the summer slide is to have children remain engaged in academic activities during the summer months, which will help ease the transition when returning to their coursework. The challenge that families often struggle with is finding time within busy summer schedules.

The good news is there are plenty of ways to avoid the summer slide that are convenient and allow plenty of time for everything on your summer to-do list.

Four Easy Ways to Combat the Summer Slide

Reading

Struggles with reading, particularly among young readers, is one of the most common effects of summer slide, but it’s also one of the easiest to prevent since books can travel with you anywhere. Take time to visit your local public library to stock up on the reading material your children will enjoy. It’s important that books aren’t too easy to read, which can result in a bored reader, nor so challenging that they get frustrated and want to give up. Consult with a teacher or librarian if you have questions concerning the reading level best suited to your child.

Writing

Every child has a story to tell and in today’s digital age, there’s no better way to tell it than in the form of a blog. A blog gives children the perfect opportunity to practice reading and writing skills by identifying the things they’re passionate about, thinking about them in depth, and articulating them in written form. In addition to free blogging sites like WordPress and Tumblr, Edublogs offer teachers and students blog space as well as appropriate security.

Enriching a Family Vacation

Whether you’re traveling near or far, visiting somewhere new presents you and your child with a great opportunity to learn more about your surroundings. Going to the beach? Take some time collecting seashells and researching the different types and what makes them unique. Heading into the great outdoors? Learn about the types of trees, plants, and animals you might encounter.

Even a routine trip to visit family presents a valuable learning opportunity to research personal genealogy by interviewing older relatives about their childhood and your family’s unique history.

Enroll in a Summer Course

Families looking for a flexible academic opportunity can take advantage of registering for an online course like the ones offered at Laurel Springs School. We offer an extensive catalog of summer courses, including College Prep, AP, and Honors courses, as well as world language options and dynamic elective courses that are great for acquiring a new skill.

The 2019 Laurel Springs Summer Program offers both semester-long courses (6 weeks) and year-long courses (12 weeks), with convenient sessions that can accommodate busy summer schedules. To learn more about this unique opportunity, contact an Admissions Coordinator at 1-800-377-5890.

#SUMMER LEARNING