It’s that time of the year when parents scramble for activities to keep students busy, both physically and mentally. If your child doesn’t find a meaningful summer job, or isn’t taking summer classes offered through your local school or community, what should you do to keep kids busy and stimulated?
When children are not engaged in active learning over the summer, they loose skills in reading and mathematics. Many years of research confirms that by not having schools open during the summer months, it contributes to academic underachievement.
More than half of the achievement gap between the middle and low-income families can be attributed directly to the summer break. The summer break also contributes to nutrition problems because of irregular eating habits (what they loose in knowledge, they gain in weight).
School counselors can provide information for various summer activities to keep students’ brains stimulated and learning. A long relaxing summer vacation may be a tradition but it no longer fits the demands of today’s society.
Look for reading lists from the school, local library, or on the Internet – Goodreads.com is one place to start a search. If digital learning is not part of a student’s home life, computers may be found in local libraries or community centers.
Today’s society has a focus on global competitiveness. The summer learning loss is a fact that is proven. Students, parents, and teachers should find time to keep their minds active. Finding ways to continue to learn while enjoying a couple of months from the typical routine of the school year will keep everyone ‘tuned up’ to begin the new school year.
Besides reading, engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics make learned during the school year relevant in the real world.
Keeping learning alive during the summer months can be as simple as a friendly sleepover or a local campground retreat. It all begins with a book and someone to take the lead in a discussion or oral reading. Summer learning activities should be family and/or community oriented with churches or local colleges.
The responsibility to close the achievement gap and keep brains stimulated while schools are closed is our responsibility. Let’s change the course of the summer learning loss and find ways to engage our students while school is closed. Reading, playing board games, learning music, playing sports, and learning a new language are activities that stimulate to the brain. All of society can improve, learn, and engage while still having a great summer vacation.
