It is easy for any child to get into the habit of sleeping late and video games in the summer months. This summer, vow to stay on track with these 7 tips for beating summer brain drain. Your child can still have a fun and festive summer while using their brain to its fullest. Give these tips a try!
7 Tips for Beating Summer Brain Drain
1. Set a goal.
At the start of summer, set a goal of what skills you want to keep fresh. Multiplication? Addition? Reading? Whatever the case is, write your skills down and share your ideas with your child.
2. Get them on board.
You want your children to be on board with idea of beating brain drain. Have them share what their ideas are. Do they want to read before bed? In the morning? Do they want to join a book club? Have them give their input and plan accordingly.
3. Be creative.
Find ways to surprise your child with learning moments. Plan silly science experiments or find local clubs and camps that offer these experiences in a child friendly way.
4. Use all of their senses.
Make activities you do visual, tasty, etc. Try to appeal to all of the senses to make the activity as enjoyable as possible. Use manipulative when teaching math, dive into nature when learning science, and listen to fun songs when learning language skills.
5. Buddy up.
Have your child pair up with another child to practice skills. Team work is always more fun and will also offer a social experience for the child to engage in. Even joining a local play group is a great idea.
6. Create a learning journal.
Have your child write down one thing they learned each day. At the end of the summer, you will have a beautiful journal full of all the wonderful things your child absorbed over the summer.
7. Don’t forget to take a break.
Learning is important, but don’t forget to take a break. It is summer after all, so you want to slow down and enjoy it as much as possible. Find ways to enjoy some down time between activities and just relax.
Bonus Tip
Lead by example. There are two good reasons for making the effort to beat your own summer brain drain. Firstly, children are very quick to pick up on whether or not adults are leading by example. Secondly, keeping your brain active does you good.
For example, you may be concerned about maintaining your children’s skills in math and English. What about your own? Do you reach for a percentage calculator because it’s convenient or because you’ve forgotten how to calculate percentages? When was the last time you read a book that really challenged you?
Even if you’re comfortable that you’re maintaining your existing skills, are you making time to learn new ones? Learning new skills not only keeps your brain active, but it can also help to make you more employable. Modern employers often want to see that employees can absorb and adapt to change and learn on the job. Keeping learning in your own time demonstrates that.
When you give these tips a try, you can prevent brain drain from happening in your household. Good luck!
Looking for some science activities? Ways to practice math skills, or keep your child reading this summer?