Summer is upon us and many of us are making plans that include travel and vacation joy. Your plans may even include a visit to the pool and a fun trip down the slide into some refreshing pool water. Although that slide may be enjoyable, there is another slide that you want to avoid and that is the summer slide.
Yes, the summer is often thought of as a break for children, but it is also a time when some children, without the routine of attending daily classes, fall behind. So much so, that educators refer to this dip as the summer slide.
The Brookings Institute defines the summer slide as a phenomenon when students “start the academic year with achievement levels lower than where they were at the beginning of the summer break.”
The slide can affect children of all backgrounds because time away from school often signals time away from learning.
The good news is that parents can take an active role in stopping or minimizing the impact of the summer slide. The key is having an educational plan in place for the summer.
The following quick guide provides low, or no-cost, options that can help parents position their children to be successful when school starts again in the fall.
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Visit the library
The local public library is a gold mine for those who want to keep their children’s brains active throughout the summer. Many libraries have guest speakers, children’s programs, and even reading incentive programs for the youth.
Invest in a tutor
We often think of tutors when students are not doing well in school.
However, summer tutoring often hones in on enrichment and supplementation. In fact, this would be a great time for your child to