June is over, and summer programs at Horizon Academy have wrapped up, which means we are officially halfway through the summer! As we enter the final weeks of the break, it is so important to start or maintain habits that help your family in preventing summer slide. 

What is the summer slide? It is the decline in reading ability or other academic skills that is neglected over the summer. The literature indicates that students, on average, lose between 25 and 30% of the skills learned during the previous school year over the summer, which makes for a difficult transition back to school in the fall. 

This gap becomes even wider for students with dyslexia or another learning disability. Preventing the summer slide is incredibly important for students at Horizon Academy, who work hard through the year to learn and retain literacy skills. A months-long unstructured break can lead to significant setbacks in reading fluency, spelling, and vocabulary.

The solution for preventing summer slide is to keep learning! Here are a few great ways to keep kids engaged in the learning process over the summer.

Preventing Summer Slide:

If your student is interested in blogging or commenting on events throughout the summer, encourage them to record themselves speaking into a microphone, on video, or on a journal/blog site to sum up their summer experiences. Having a thought-out plan to create a well-written blog or video will get them thinking about the sequence of events. WordPress.com is a great way to get started!

3. Turn on subtitles.

By turning on closed captions for your child’s favorite TV show or movie, you can passively reinforce word recognition and reading speed. 

4. Get cooking.

Help your student make recipes that call for specific ingredient amounts. Energy bites, trail mix, breakfast bars, and granola all make for great, balanced recipes that are easy to make and enjoy.

Pro Tip: If your child needs a little extra math practice, either double or halve the recipe! 

5. Learn by the pool.

Make everything in the pool a game! Some great options are fox and chicken with Orton-Gillingham skills, HORSE using math facts and spelling rules, and diving to retrieve numbered floating items to solve math problems. With adult supervision, these activities can help children enjoy learning while also working out some energy in the sun. 

6. Use your surroundings.

Have your child navigate a ballpark, museum, new city, maps, etc., by reading the signs around them to follow directions. You can also create math problems based on your surroundings (If 2,885 people are at the ballpark and 252 people leave before the 8th inning, how many people are left?) Use probability, multiplication, fractions, etc.

7. Go on an adventure.

Sometimes the great outdoors can be one of the best classrooms. Visit neighborhood parks or gardens, hike local trails, or picnic beside a lake. All of these activities allow your student to make observations, identify plants and bugs, and learn about ecosystems.

8. Board game night

Students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities often struggle with sequencing events. Board games have many rules and a specific sequence of events that can help our students practice this skill. 

Pro Tip: Certain board games like Yahtzee, Uno, and Battleship can be great for subtly practicing math, probability, and number recognition. 

9. Lead by example.

This is one of the most important things you can do for your child this summer. Make time to read, listen to educational podcasts or audiobooks, explore your interests by visiting museums or watching documentaries, and practice the same reading and math skills alongside your student. When children observe their parents doing this, they internalize the belief that education extends far beyond the classroom.

Parents who set an example of lifelong learning instill natural curiosity, build resilience, and normalize making mistakes in their children.

It is amazing just how easy it can be to prevent the summer slide when you incorporate these activities into your day-to-day life! Just don’t forget to discuss summer learning with your student before you bring academics into their summer activities. Springing this on your child can be stressful or overwhelming, and the last thing your summer needs is a failed learning experience or an argument that makes your student reluctant to try again. In our experience, these activities work best when you prepare them in advance, manage expectations, and gamify them when you can. Just explain that critical thinking, learning, and reviewing are ongoing processes, even during the summer!

Here are some more ideas to try over the summer that will help your child feel confident when school starts back up in August:

• Go to a bookstore to get lost in books or attend reading events.
• Have your kids help you plan a trip - get them writing. (Why should we go to Florida over Colorado?)
• Word of the Day! Dictionary.com - Use the word 3 different times a day
• Have your kids write their own scripts and act out the play.
• Track plant growth with charts and observations.
• Play Sparkle at the dinner table.
• Play audiobooks or read aloud while on long car rides. 
• Write words and math problems in the sand at the beach!

Preventing summer slide is an important goal for your family, just don’t forget to have fun learning with your kids and enjoy the rest of the break together! 

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