How to Stop the Summer Slide
Written by: Eric L. Zielinski
When I was first asked how I was going to help my kids prevent “summer slide” I was a little confused. Why would I prevent them from going down slides this summer? Isn’t that what summer is about? Playgrounds, swings, slides, pools, you know the deal. But after I did some research online I quickly found out what they meant.
Basically, summer slide is when children lose learning concepts that were gained while in school during the summer because they are focused on fun and playtime; not on reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Summer Slide
Research has proven that summer slide is a big deal and shouldn’t be ignored. According to the National Summer Learning Association,
- All young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer.
- Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months.
- Parents consistently cite summer as the most difficult time to ensure that their children have productive things to do.
Setting the Stage For Your Children’s Success
Here are some good tips:
- Encourage your kids to read books that they love.
- Carve out at least 20 minutes in your kid’s schedule everyday that they can devote to reading.
- Provide a quiet, well lit environment where they can read alone; away from tempting distractions like television and video games.
- Regularly read with your children and make story-time part of your day.
- Seek out FREE online reading tools, like our online kid’s book library.
MagicBlox For Everyone!
MagicBlox is a fantastic online tool to help prevent summer slide for all kids, regardless if you can afford to buy a library of books or not. According to the National Summer Learning Association, money is a significant issue that contributes greatly to learning loss.
- Low-income students also lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains.
- More than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. As a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college.
To beat summer slide, regardless of your income status, consider MagicBlox. In essence, MagicBlox gives you access to an always growing, online collection of fun and exciting material that allows you to discover new books with your kids at the click of a button. Not only do you have access to read 1 new book every month for FREE, you can upgrade to get unlimited access to all of the precious stories for a very reasonable price.
Visit our Pricing Page to learn more.
Tips
According to Scholastic, “Research shows that reading just six books during the summer may keep a struggling reader from regressing.” When choosing the six, take the baby bear approach. They mustn’t be too hard, nor too light. They have to be “just right.”
Sources:
http://eric.ed.gov/?q=summer+slide&id=EJ963116
http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/keeping-kids-off-the-summer-slide.html
http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=know_the_facts