Good
Parenting Advice - Do Not Put Education On Summer Vacation
The
words "Schools Out For Summer" strike joy into the hearts of
children and often a sigh of relief for parents who are just as
eager to take a break from homework as their progeny. However
taking a complete break from the books for the entire summer can
be problematic.
Studies have shown that children forget between 1 and 3 months
of school during the summer vacation. While reading is the least
effected, the most impacted subjects are spelling and math.
Obviously it is important for children to have time to play and
relax -- to just enjoy being kids during the summer. Children
should not be pushed into a high-pressure study schedule over
summer vacation. But parents can take steps to slow down that
loss of knowledge and erosion of skills.
First and foremost, keep children reading over the summer but
try to work in some nonfiction as well as fiction onto the
reading list. Take a lesson from many experienced teachers and
pick a few spelling words from the books children are reading.
Perhaps tie test results into some special summer reward and you
will have eagerly awaited spelling bees.
Writing is one skill that often erodes during summer, but you
can give children a writing journal and a weekly goal. They can
write about whatever you think will interest your child. They
can report on their baseball games, make up elaborate games, or
simply report on the books they are reading. There are lots of
great writing prompts out there for kids if you run dry of
ideas. It does not matter so much what your child writes so long
as they spend time writing so they can work on handwriting
skills as well as keep in the groove of putting words on paper.
One easy writing prompt is to have the child describe people,
places, objects, pets and other animals, insects, and games.
Lists are another easy writing prompt -- favorite things, worst
things, etc. Then on another day you can use those descriptions
and lists to generate another writing prompt.
Math skills might seem the hardest thing to work on during
summer but in fact these can be the easiest. Math does not have
to come out of a book and you can easily work a lot of math
lessons into those long car rides or plane trips as you go on a
family vacation. Try counting car headlights (counting by 2s) as
you drive or fingers in a restaurant or plane (counting by 5s).
Find various shapes around the house and then trace them to
create yet more complex forms. Get the kids involved in cooking
and learning about measurements. Give the kids a ruler and
notebook and tell them to measure various objects around the
house. Empty out your pocket change and have the kids sort it
and create word problems with the coins.
There are lots of activities you can do at home without the
expense of special tools, workbooks or programs that will
actively engage your child in learning and help keep their
school skills sharp. They will not even notice they are learning
because they will enjoy these projects so much.
