How To Deal With Summer Learning Loss in Your Kids

Summer learning loss (summer slide) is a real thing. Kids can lose a lot of ground if they don’t stay engaged in learning. If you’re worried about how to deal with summer learning loss in your kids, check out our tips!

How To Deal With Summer Learning Loss in Your Kids

This post contains affiliate links.  Teachers coined the phrase “summer slide,” because the progress your child has made during the school year does just that–slides–0ver long breaks from school. Summer learning loss statistics can be frightening. On average, elementary school children lose about two months’ worth of math skills, and one month’s worth of reading and spelling over the course of summer break! There’s a lot you can do to be proactive, and help your child recover from the summer slide. It doesn’t mean forcing your kids to grind their way through textbooks over the summer, either. Nor does it require hours and hours of specialty tutors once school is back in session.

Deal With Summer Learning Loss in Your Kids

Igniting your child’s love of learning can and should be fun! We all love summer break — sleeping in, vacations, too much ice cream, and lots of free play. The winding down in the summer months is important for your children. Just make sure you use the moments that make summer so special to ignite your child’s imagination and challenge them to use their brains in unique ways.

Tips For Preventing Summer Slide

There are plenty of ways to keep your kids thinking, engaged, and learning all year long!

• Have a Back to School Game Night! Use traditional board games as a way to involve your kids in counting and math. Count the Monopoly Squares, and name all the colors as you move your pieces around the board. Play Battleship (our personal favorite!) to work on logic and problem-solving. Don’t forget Connect Four and Yahtzee! for math and counting.
• Arrange seashells from your vacation from smallest to largest, or group them by color and texture — don’t forget to count as you go!
• Have your children paint a picture of their favorite summer activity. Or, journal their favorite summer memories with words and pictures.

• Do your kids love to cook? Invite them to do the measuring and stay to lick the bowl. They can also help as you meal plan, make your grocery list, prep any coupons, and shop (especially at the farmer’s market)! This is a great way to teach them the reality of budgets and working within them.
• Let your kids pick books they love, and they will never know they are learning! Make time to read with them every day no matter their ages. Your local library has summer programs, and book stores sometimes offer promotions to help encourage summer reading in children. 
• Have a family-wide reading challenge! Whoever spends the most time reading in a week gets to pick the ice cream flavor for Family Sundae Night.

Fun Family Activities That Prevent Summer Slide

I always buy my daughter this workbook (each year it’s a different grade level, of course!). We also love Brain Quest cards, and reading as many books as we can! We also make a summer bucket list of things we really want to do over summer break! When we can afford to, we take 1 or 2 day road trips to check out historical sites (this year, we are looking forward to visiting Susan B. Anthony’s home!). I usually try to tie it in with things she has studied this year, or will be studying next school year.  You don’t have to travel to be a tourist! Check out the touristy historical spots that make your hometown a fun place to visit!

Ways to Keep Kids Learning Over Summer Break

• 25 Screen-Free Activities for Kids That Are Perfect for Summer Break! 
• Create a Summer Reading Program
• Summer Learning Ideas for Kids 
• See these Public Speaking Activities

What educational activities do you share with your kids over summer break? Comment below!