Beat the Summer Slide
Here’s a quick quiz for all parents on the summer slide. Test your knowledge with RCS!
The summer slide is…
- A really fun playground feature.
- The loss of learning that happens over summer break.
- The learning gains that happen over summer break.
What percentage of teachers have to reteach material when school starts?
- 50 percent
- 75 percent
- 90 percent
How much knowledge does a student lose on average over the summer?
- One month
- Two months
- Three months
How’d You Do?
The correct answers are b) The loss of learning that happens over summer break, c) 90 percent, and b) Two months.
No matter how you did, our private elementary school is glad that you’re invested in your child’s education. It might feel crazy to think about the upcoming school year already, but summer is a pivotal time for students to maintain, gain, or lose knowledge.
We want to make sure every student starts each school year ready to grow and build on the following year’s material. Otherwise, precious time and learning is lost — if weeks are spent reteaching content, students won’t be able to advance to new learning objectives.
As such, our private elementary, middle, and high school has composed some tips that your family should start putting into place, and have ready to roll out over the summer. No one wants their kids or students to fall behind. It’s so much more difficult trying to regain lost ground, especially when expected to move forward at grade level pace. Check out Resurrection Christian School’s tips for slowing down the summer slide, and give your child the best in education by applying for elementary, middle, or high school today.
Make a Plan
What is your family’s schedule looking like this summer? What commitments are already on the calendar, and when can you make time for your child to keep up with their studies? If you’re working and your teenager is home, what are the expectations for their math work, reading, etc. — what do you expect to be completed each day (or week)?
The first thing to do is to figure out what building academics into the summer routine looks like. It can vary for each family, but here’s what we recommend:
- Read every day, for at least 20-30 uninterrupted minutes.
- Practice math skills 2-3 times a week.
- Engage in art and science projects.
- Continue with an existing hobby (like piano lessons) or take on something new.
Learning happens both in and outside of the classroom. There are plenty of academic opportunities that don’t need to be confined to workbooks (though those are also good to have on hand).
Set Some Goals
What subjects does your child struggle with? What areas do they want to excel in? Use these questions as a way to set some goals for the summer. Our private elementary school recommends writing down these goals, and keeping them in a place where your child is easily reminded of them (such as posting on the fridge or bulletin board).
If you’re particularly worried about your child falling behind and don’t think their self-directed independent practice is going to be enough to keep them on track, look into summer tutoring. You can also chat with their RCS teachers to see what they recommend. Setting goals is one of the best ways to drive motivation and direction for academics over the summer.
Target All Areas
You might have a reader on your hands, or a mad scientist. It’s important to let them expand on their academic interests over the summer (writing, science, and music camps are all great ways to do so!). However, you don’t want certain subjects to get left behind and end up being affected by the summer slide.
Find ways to motivate your child to grow in other areas. If they struggle in math and hate doing it, come up with a celebration for intentionally completing a math workbook, such as going to Water World at the end of the summer. If they’re not fans of social studies, find another celebration activity for completing five biography presentations over the summer. Your kids will learn, have fun, and get to take charge of their learning with some fun rewards to boot.
Get a Library Card
Our private elementary school cannot stress this enough: Every family should have library cards. Going to the library year-round should be commonplace, but summer is the perfect time to get reinvested with books and your local public library.
Libraries often have summer reading programs that encourage kids to read tons of books. This is one of the best ways you can beat the summer slide. Loss of literacy skills affects every other subject area, so keeping up with reading is essential. Make weekly or every-other-week trips to the library over the summer.
Be Consistent
It’s easy for kids to jump into doing some math problems the first week of summer or rushing to get their books or writing assignments done. But the best way to prepare children for all their future academics is to instill consistency in their learning. Help your kids pace themselves so that the first week of August looks like the third week of June. This makes it easier to jump back into school once that time rolls around — but don’t worry, we’re not rushing into school just yet!
Talk With Their Teacher
Most teachers already prepare summer work materials for students, or will be happy to upon request. Our RCS teachers think about the school community as a whole, and know that we only individually succeed when we all succeed. Just make sure you talk to your child’s teacher a few weeks before the end of the school year, as that time of year tends to get hectic.
The summer slide can creep up on everyone, but it doesn’t have to. By keeping academics and learning a focus of your family’s life, you’ll be able to keep the summer slide at bay. Try out these tips, and contact our private elementary school if you have any other questions about enrollment or bettering your child’s academic future.