“Walk away!”
“Take a break!”
“Try again later!”
If you’ve ever been overwhelmed, beat up, burnt out, or just plain over it, you’ve probably heard one or two of the above — and for a good reason. After all, there’s a reason the expressions “beating a dead horse” and “pounding sand” have stuck around through the years. When the mind is overwhelmed, it’s often an excellent time to take a break, clear the air, and try again later. With summer approaching, our kiddos are on the cusp of nearly two months away from the rigors of school, and I’m betting that many of them couldn’t be happier (the jury is still out on mom and dad).
With vacation, however, comes the inevitable “summer slide” or “brain drain”–a failure for students to retain what they’ve learned over the school year. This theory isn’t exactly new, and while there are ongoing discussions about the finer points of the issue (for example, some educators claim that learning lost in two months was never really “learned” in the first place), this summer’s potential learning loss has been further exacerbated from to the ongoing effects of COVID-19. Many students started the year further behind than ever before, making retention even more critical.
Fortunately, you don’t necessarily need to hire a tutor or look into summer schools (two words that will send most kids into hiding faster than you can say, “Labor Day”). Opportunities are everywhere to help your child practice what they’ve learned in school — and in many cases, they won’t even know they are doing it until you point it out. And this is just what you want: short, meaningful practice in an environment different from the classroom. Think of it as an academic sneak attack!
Cook Together
Cooking can be one of the best ways to make mathematical concepts like fractions, addition, and number sense more tangible. Additionally, it’s a great way to practice fluent reading and associated comprehension skills, such as sequencing. One of the best things about this activity is that the kitchen is about as far from the schoolroom as one can get in most kids’ minds. Taking those pesky fractions and presenting them in an unassociated way is a great opportunity to give kids a fresh perspective on the topic.
Embrace Your Inner Handyman
Suppose your child struggles with reading a ruler, operations, or general numbers sense. In that case, a mini-home improvement project can be a great way to motivate and help their understanding along. It’s about taking their attention away from something they associate with struggle and repackaging it into something understandable and fun. A different mindset brings a new approach to skill, which is sometimes all kids need.
Practicing complex skills can often be more effective when placed within a greater context because a skill is much more tangible when seen as part of a whole — consider the difference between the meaning of the number 7 ½ versus measuring and cutting something to 7 ½ inches as part of a woodworking project.
Ask for Their Help
You can apply this to situations, but this particular approach can be great for those who struggle with handwriting. Ask them to write part of a grocery list while you’re looking through cabinets. It doesn’t have to be groceries — any topic will do. The short nature of the writing, coupled with the helpful nature of lists, makes this a small way to practice often — which is the best way to practice.
Summer Reading
For kids of all ages, but especially those old enough to read, summer reading programs can be a great way to encourage screen-less entertainment. One of the best ways to encourage reading is regular trips to the library. Struggling readers should be allowed to check out books on whatever interests them to help promote a positive relationship with books, even if it seems too difficult for them.
Check out our article on summer reading programs at local libraries on pages 16-17 for information on incentives to make summer reading extra fun for your kids.
Play a Game
A quick Google search will bring up tons of educational games. The problem with some of these is that they are educational games. It’s worth remembering that many games we play (or used to play) incorporate many valuable skills and can be a great way to sneak in casual practice. Just having your child read the directions to a game (or pretty much anything, for that matter) is an opportunity to practice reading, for example. A little exposure, often, can go a long way.
Card games can be beneficial for math skills. Hundreds of variations of Go Fish, Crazy Eights, and others can be found on the web, turning well-known games into effective mental math practice.
Here are some great games and associated skills they support:
- Boggle (spelling/vocabulary)
- Scrabble (spelling/vocabulary)
- Bananagrams (spelling/vocabulary)
- Kibbit (language/cognition)
- Silly Sentences (syntax/grammar)
- The World Game (geography)
- Guess In Ten — States of America (geography/social studies)
- Memory - World Geography Edition (geography, social studies)
- Gravity Maze (STEM)
- Suspend (STEM/problem solving)
- Monopoly (number sense, money, operations)
- Train of Thought (brainstorming/creative thinking)
Let the Task be the Teacher
It’s a natural human tendency to avoid what is unpleasant, and the average kid is no exception. If a child struggles with something, it’s not a surprise when they try to avoid it both in and outside of school. Trying to sit down and review long division in mid-July will be like trying to tie down a wild boar. Worse, though, is the chance that such forced learning time will make them resent the topic even more than they already might, making any possible improvement needlessly more difficult.
Think of summer as a chance to repackage a past learning experience. Keep it fun, keep it light, and try to reintroduce areas of struggle in a new, unassociated light. You might be pleasantly surprised at the result, and your child may find that what they used to dislike is now a favorite topic.
Originally from New England, Matt Desenberg is a writer living in Monterey.