In 1996, a study was popularized in which summer learning loss aka the summer slide was highlighted that projected that kids lost at least one month’s worth of learning in both math and reading over each summer break. Teachers then spent approximately one month each fall re-educating the kids on some of the things they had forgotten. Some researchers point out that the learning loss may be trivial, but other educators still argue that summer learning loss is quite real. After all, if you had just learned how to read a new language or perform a certain task, and then didn’t use it for 3 months, there’s a chance you’d forget a lot of it as well, right? Thanks to our guest posters for this informative post!
Image by Виктория Бородинова from Pixabay
Ways to Reduce Learning Loss over Summer Break
If you want your children to be able to reduce that learning loss, you may be able to do so pretty easily with a few handy websites. In fact, you may even be able to convince your kids that they’re having fun while learning. Also, if you’re concerned about how to make sure your kids are getting the most out of learning from home, check out an earlier blog on ten ways that parents can make distance learning easier for kids.
Reading and Writing
To encourage your kids to think creatively when it comes to reading and writing, check out Word Unscrambler. You can focus on unscrambling words with a set amount of letters if your kids are just starting to read, but there are other fun ways to use it as well. Have your kids enter their names and see what fun words can be made out of them. If your kids are at a higher reading level but still struggling to find how to make reading, spelling, and writing a fun event, this is great. It shows kids how much fun it is to use words to make other words.
In a similar vein, rhyming can help kids recognize how simple it can be to write their own poetry or songs. If you’ve got a musical genius on your hands, try giving the website Poetry 4 Kids a try. To make it less like homework, ask your kids to perform their songs after they’ve composed them. Every parent knows that kids love a good performance…extra points if they incorporate an outfit change.
Math
In regards to math, how many times have your kids asked you, “when am I going to use this in real life?” When they’re young, you may have an off the cuff answer, but as they get into more difficult math, it can be hard to give direct answers on when they’ll actually use math concepts in real life. The website Fun Brain has a math zone that fun math games that can get kids excited about applying math to their lives.
Kids learn a lot just by living, playing, and participating in normal everyday activities, so don’t think that if they aren’t sitting still for 8 hours a day that they are regressing rapidly. By having your kids do a couple of hours of fun “homework” a week over summer break, you’ll be able to improve their reading and math capabilities online without the stress of school.