Ideas to Prevent the Summer Slide

Summer should be a time for kids to relax, have fun and hopefully make positive memories. Unfortunately, the extended break from school also leads to something often referred to as the “summer slide,” or summer learning loss. One might think that a child would just pick up in the fall where they left off at the end of the school year. Research shows this is not true.

On average, students’ achievement scores declined over summer vacation by one month’s worth of school-year learning. The declines were sharper for math than for reading and the extent of loss was larger at higher grade levels (Quinn, Polikoff 2017). This always creeps in as a concern to me during the summer months.

My kids will be in 6th and 8th grades, and I feel like my concern is rising on the topic. But while it concerns me, I also live in the reality that I am not going to be able to completely commit to a robust at-home summer academic program.

There are a few things I implemented in past summers that seem to work. It doesn’t mean my kids love it; it definitely involves begging from them to not have to do anything remotely academic in those summer months. But it also hasn’t caused too much annoyance to them, and I honestly think the older they are, the more they don’t want to start the fall feeling behind.

Here are eleven ideas to help ease the summer slide.

Look into your Work Benefits. My benefits at work cover virtual one-on-one tutoring. I have enough “credits” for each of my kids to have weekly individual one-hour long math, writing or reading sessions each calendar year. We use a company called Varsity Tutors. My kids do initially grumble about it but always end up enjoying the sessions because they got connected with tutors who are a great fit for them. I have to basically do nothing so it’s an extra win taking the work off my plate. It’s only once a week so it’s not overwhelming but still way better than nothing.

Bribe them. Shameful? Perhaps. But I am ok with bribing my kids and not being embarrassed about it. My kids are too young for an actual job, but they love earning and spending money. Last summer, my son made an Excel spreadsheet with academic based items. We decided we will throw $1 here and $1 there for him completing certain things like writing assignments and math worksheets.

Write a Business Case. My daughter hates writing. As someone who has always loved writing, this pains me to have my daughter just flat out hate it. I started having her write out her “business case” anytime she wants something like a later bedtime, to have a slumber party; you get the idea. For some reason, this worked and she is much more likely to write if it has something in it for her. Might be in the “bribe” category but it works so I am ok with that.

Create a Business Plan. We did this last summer and our kids had a lot of fun. It could also be a solo activity but we wanted ours to utilize team work. Here is an example but you basically have them develop a plan for starting a business. For us, any type of business is acceptable so we let them be creative and silly. I like it because it combines math, writing, creativity and presentation skills. Click Here to see the template we use.

Practice What You Preach. This is the hardest one for me. I tell the kids most nights to read yet I honestly cannot recall the last time I read a whole book. This summer, I committed to an all household reading hour (ok it’s not a full hour) some days of the week. Not all days and not even necessarily most days. But some days, we all take a break to read and the rule is that we all do it. If you have younger kids, they could read to you.

Let them read whatever they want. My son is and always has been an avid reader. From an early age he just loved it and I have never had to remind him to read. Even in the summer he reads every single day. My daughter is a different story (pun intended). It’s not something she enjoys. But it is critical that she continues with her reading skills. I always let her read whatever she wants. Sometimes that means reading a magazine article to me which she thinks is fun and I know that at least she is reading something.

Math facts. I don’t know why but even things like daily math facts (quick memorization type problems like times tables and simple addition) are hard for me to make my kids do daily. It seems so easy. But it’s not. However, I am vowing that my kids will do math facts over the summer. Flash cards and out loud drills take a few minutes a day and are something teachers are constantly begging parents to be doing with our children. Even as they get older, re-reviewing multiplication or division is encouraged.

Free worksheets. This is hands down my favorite site for free worksheets. Almost any subject and you can sort by grade.

Hire a neighborhood student to help. In summers past, I have called in help for math because my kids don’t listen to me like they do someone else. It is cheaper to hire a junior high or high schooler than most of those tutoring centers and I find value in having someone young because they have more recently learned the material. Even just 30-minute sessions can be super helpful without burning your kid out.

Have them set a plan. Now that my kids are a little older, I decided to put the task on them. I said either I can or they can; they chose the latter. They each put together things they would commit to most days and also agreed they would work together on a complex business plan to present to my husband and I. If they start to slip, then they know I get to come up with worksheets etc for them to do.

Neighborhood work. My son will be entering 8th grade. That is old enough to be pretty helpful with things like household chores and yard work. Last summer, he started painting address numbers on curbs for our neighbors. He is doing the same this summer but kicking it up a notch by advertising a little. This also keeps his mind at work as he manages things like money he is making, commitments he made as far as what day and time he said he would be at a customers house etc. To me, all these things are contributing to helping the summer slide just by keeping his mind active.

Do you have any tips to help with the summer slide? We’d love to hear!