| It is obvious that the school year is based on the | | | | months per year. You would see a significant drop |
| agricultural cycle; students don't attend school | | | | in performance or conditioning. |
| during what has traditionally been the summer | | | | The brain is no different. It needs to be exercised. |
| growing season. | | | | So how can you keep Summer Learning Loss to |
| What may be less obvious, however, is that kids | | | | a minimum? Some ideas: |
| experience a phenomenon called Summer | | | | - Use educational workbooks. These are available |
| Learning Loss. Essentially, they forget much of | | | | at most bookstores, and geared towards |
| what they learned in the previous school year, | | | | different grades. Have your child do about an hour |
| over the summer months which are usually filled | | | | per day. |
| with anything but academics. In fact, studies have | | | | - Visit the library regularly. Find books that interest |
| shown kids lose two and a half months worth of | | | | your child so that they are really engaged in |
| math skills in the summertime. For kids already | | | | reading. |
| struggling in math, this means they will start off | | | | - Visit museums, zoos and historical sites. Help |
| the next school year even further disadvantaged. | | | | your child learn more about the world they live in. |
| However it's not just math; overall, kids lose an | | | | - Consider summer tutoring. Especially for children |
| average of 1 month of learning in other subjects | | | | struggling academically, summer is the perfect |
| during the summer. | | | | time to focus on shoring up foundations, in |
| Imagine if athletes simply stopped training, or if | | | | preparation for the upcoming school year. |
| you stopped making it to the gym for 2-3 | | | | |