How to Put a Stop to the Summer Slide
Summer is a great time for relaxing, but it can also be a time of exploration and reinforcing what kids learned throughout the year.
At this point in the school year, most kids are dreaming about water slides, playground slides or sliding into home base. Summer break is so close we can almost touch it. Little do they know, another type of slide is ahead of them as well. The dreaded “summer slide.”
What is the Summer Slide?
Students will lose academic skills over the summer months and come back to the classroom in the autumn with lower scores than they had in the spring. This is frustrating for teachers, parents, and the students themselves. Studies show that after third grade students will lose 20% of their school-year gains in reading, but by the time they reach seventh grade, they will lose 36% of their reading skill gains. The statistics are even worse for math. After third grade, they will lose 27% of the math gains and by seventh grade will lose 50% of their math gains. Students also lose physical fitness and are more likely to gain weight over the summer. These are alarming trends that need to be addressed. Luckily, there are things parents and teachers can do to help prevent summer learning loss for students of all ages.
Things teachers can do to keep students engaged over the summer
- Make sure families know how to access the local library.
- Share websites like Epic with families. Organize them in easy-to-find locations like a Google Doc or a Google Site.
- Share the tech tools you are using in your class with families so students can continue using them at home in the summer. Not all screen time is equal and there are great ways to keep students engaged over the summer using their devices.
- Communicate throughout the summer. Use Remind or SeeSaw to send a “reading strategy of the week” or alert families about educational opportunities.
- Assign activities using platforms like Newsela or Flocabulary.
- Create a catalog of resources. White Bear Lake High School teachers are compiling a Google Doc full of resources for students to access and explore over the summer. Ninth, tenth and eleventh graders will have the opportunity to keep their school-issued Chromebooks over the summer to access these activities while also working on college applications, taking summer classes, or digging deeper into topics of interest.
- Open the school media center. Otter Lake Elementary hosts a Playground Day once a month during the summer so students can get books, play on the playground, and connect with teachers.
- Create a reading website. Otter Lake Reads website has recordings of teachers reading books and also has reading logs for students.
- Align summer reading with the school curriculum.
Things parents can do to keep kids engaged over the summer
- Take advantage of the public library programs. Ramsey County Library’s 2019 Summer Learning Program is designed to inspire and encourage children of all ages to read, explore, create and discover throughout the summer. There are weekly drawings for prizes including gift cards, State Fair tickets, and water park tickets. Check out the calendar for events hosted by the library including computer and technology classes and story times. Libraries also have State Parks passes to borrow for free.
- Summer recreation classes — The recreation department offers a variety of school-age-care, field trips, youth enrichment camps and clubs, and special events. There is also a calendar of local community events.
- Video Game Design Camp —A Saint Paul College camp for high school students who want to create their very own video games.
- School of Rock — These music camps and workshops offer a wide selection of various music experiences to further a student’s musical foundation.
- The Works Museum Camps — Engineering camps for ages Pre-K through 13 years old.
- Young Innovators Camp — A camp for 10–14-year-olds to create, innovate and develop their entrepreneurial skills.
- Fun online resources include NY Times: What’s Going on In This Picture, Prodigy Math (K-8), Puzzlements, and learn how to code with Hour of Code. MN Department of Education offers links for extra math, reading, STEM, and art opportunities.
- Today at Apple — The Apple store offers free sessions including photography, coding, video, and design.
Things to do as a family to keep kids active and involved
- Volunteer together. Make a difference in your community while learning beyond the classroom and spending quality time together. Doing Good Together can help connect you with volunteer opportunities in the Twin Cities.
- Go camping. The National Parks Service cites many benefits of camping including building traditions, exploring nature, improving health, taking a digital detox, strengthening relationships, and developing life skills.
- Cook a meal. Explore a new recipe from a different culture or outside the family norm.
- Host a family game night. The board game industry is booming right now. It is so much more than Monopoly and Trouble. There are tons of amazing cooperative games in which players play together against the game.
- Fantasy Flight Games (Roseville) — This location offers tons of new games to try for free, big tables to play at, and food to order.
- Can Can Wonderland — A fun, indoor miniature golf experience with artist-created holes. There is also an arcade and food and drinks.
- Crayola Experience — Interactive, creative play with Crayola products. (An added bonus is that teachers get in free!)
- Visit an escape room — Groups use patience, teamwork, and creativity as they work together to solve clues to “escape” a room. Puzzle Works, Trapped Puzzle Rooms, Lock and Key Escape Rooms are three great venues in the Twin Cities.
- “Stay-cation” and visit MN sites — Our favorites include Fort Snelling, Itasca State Park, Minnesota State Capitol, Minnehaha Falls, Paddle the St. Croix, Split Rock Lighthouse, River Boat Cruise on the Mississippi, Franconia Sculpture Park, Tamarack Nature Center. Most of these options are inexpensive (or free!) and get the family outdoors. Visit zoos (Como Park, MN Zoo) and museums. Family Fun Twin Cities is another great resource for family-centered activities around town and Explore Minnesota offers suggestions for trips, activities, and adventures.
- Adventure course — Spend an afternoon testing your skills and agility on a ropes course.
Stepping it up this summer
Summer is a great time to relax and unwind. It is also important to keep minds and bodies active, and the change in schedules often allow an opportunity to explore things that we don’t have time to do during the school year. Instead of letting the kids slide the summer away, let’s take the opportunity to move upward with fun, engaging, and educational experiences.
