School is out for the summer, but with parents’ help, informal summer learning can be in with kids. Simple, low-cost steps like turning off the TV and visiting the local public library or nature center can introduce children to new ideas and interests that will keep their minds active and engaged when they away from the classroom.
Research from the Centre for Summer Learning at The Johns Hopkins University shows that teachers spend a good deal of time in the fall re-teaching skills that were lost during the summer, The Telegraph reported. Students fall an average of almost 2.6 months behind in math skills, but for low-income children, the slide in reading is particularly harmful. They fall behind an average of two months in reading while their middle- income peers tend to make slight gains. By fifth grade, low-income children can be as much as 2.5 years behind in reading. And a recent study of Baltimore students by Johns Hopkins researchers showed that 65 percent of the achievement gap between poor and affluent children can be explained by unequal summer learning experiences during the elementary school years. Fairchild encourages parents to make the most of children’s summer vacation with the following suggestions.
There are high-quality summer camps and programs in almost every price range.
