Summer Slide - Here’s How You Can Avoid it

Contents

Summer break is for fun. It is a time to travel, meet family and friends and make memories in the backyard. But this time can also be regressive for a child’s academics.

Various studies have proven that no school and no studies during the break, can lead to learning losses in children of all age groups. This phenomenon of experiencing learning loss during the summer is known as the summer slide.

Here are some solutions that can help you keep the summer slide at bay. Here is a small list to help you out this year.

Summer Course

A simple solution that can help parents and students avoid summer slides is a summer course. Yes, just an hour or two of studies can ensure that there is no or minimal learning loss. Summer courses can also be used to learn ahead (lessons for the upcoming academic year) to improve performance at school. Some of the top online tutoring platforms include eTutorWorld, Chegg.com, Tutorme, Wyzant, etc.

Handwriting Practice

Handwriting is a common foe of school going kids, especially the young ones. The pandemic has also made things worse with online classes and homework submissions. This summer, consider giving your child some good handwriting practice.

It will improve their hand-eye coordination while boosting fine motor skills. One page a day is often enough. You can also encourage them to write daily journals to get some creative juices flowing while fine-tuning their handwriting.

3. Reading Practice

Reading is one of the most beneficial activities for a student (all age groups). It stimulates memory and enhances imagination skills while of course increasing knowledge about various topics. Reading also increases vocabulary, which is very crucial for acing various standardized tests and getting into top gifted programs.

Reading will help your child effectively avoid the summer slide by increasing concentration and providing a chance to fill in learning gaps that may have occurred in the previous academic year.

4. Cooking Lessons

Cooking is a crucial life skill that can be taught to children during the summer break. It can keep the summer slide at bay by keeping children busy with this productive task. Scientifically, cooking enhances creativity while taking care of important aspects such as motor development, science lessons, art, social skills, and even senses.

It also teaches children the act of multi-tasking and taking responsibility. Younger kids (kindergarten and primary) can learn about different vegetables and fruits, their nutritional content, and even basics such as names, shapes, and colors.

5. Drawing Class

You can choose to enroll your child in a drawing class this summer. Drawing increases a child’s creativity while fixing issues with fine motor skills. For many children, a drawing book works as a platform where they can vent out their thoughts and feelings.

If you have young kids, you can use drawing classes to teach your child about colors, shapes, and more. Drawing efficiently boosts a child’s imagination and indirectly improves observation and problem-solving capability.

6. Games

Yes, games can also help you avoid the summer slide. For starters, you can invest in some good educational board games/indoor games. There are also several websites where you can find educational games, quizzes, etc. The idea is to ensure that there is no break in learning and you can very well achieve that through games.