When we talk about the “Summer Slide”, we aren’t just referring to everyone’s favorite playground piece! Did you know that during the summer months, if children aren’t exposed to the same academic challenges they were during school time, they may lose up to 2.6 months of progress in math and up to 2 months of progress in language learning? This downward learning slump is what professionals call the “Summer Slide”.

While the Summer Slide can have some adverse effects, don’t panic! Here at The Learning Experience®, our experts have identified that simply keeping your child’s wheels in motion will combat the effects of the Summer Slide! While many of the activities your children participate in during our CampTLE summer program are designed for just this, there are a host of things you and your little ones can do at home as well!

Here are just a few ideas that we came up with that will help you and your children stay sharp and fresh during the Summer! Let us know what worked for you or what ideas you could add!

Summer Reading: Keep your child reading all summer long to develop their skills. Let them select what book or story they want to read and they will be more interested! Check out our Summer Reading list for some fun suggestions!

• Make Summer Snacks: Cooking is a great way to mix math, reading and creativity into one tasty activity! Find some pinspiration on our Pinterest recipe board.
• Field Trips: Engage your child with trips to the zoo, the park, the aquarium or a children’s museum!
• Road Trip Reading: Going for a long ride? Challenge your child to read aloud while you drive, or put on an audiobook that you can listen to and discuss together!
• Get into Nature: Take your child camping or on a hike and use this opportunity to teach them all about nature and outdoor skills!
• Art Projects: Creativity is a huge part of learning. Find various arts and craft projects for you and your children to do together! If you’re looking for ideas, we have a great Pinterest board with fun art projects!
• Turn Errands into Education: Take your little one with you on errands such as the bank or the grocery store and use these as teachable moments! Have them help you add up your receipts or coupons!
• There’s an App for That: There are tons of educational apps made for young children. Have you downloaded Bubbles U?
• Summer Learning: Ask your child’s teacher for learning activities you can do during the summer to prepare for the school year ahead.
• Play: Have fun with creative games and make-believe to stimulate their imaginations!

Whether you and your children try to recreate science experiments you saw on Pinterest, or you spend a day at the Aquarium, this and the above steps will help ensure you keep them sharp and ready for the school year to come! What tricks have you used personally to avoid the Summer Slide?

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