Summer Break

As parents many of us know that summer break is one of our favorite times of the year. Why? The rush of getting the kids up in the morning, making breakfast, packing lunch, attending school activities BUT especially the days of homework calm down for about 2 whole months. This is what I want to talk to you about today. We call it the “summer slump”. Many students tend to fall behind because school is out, the day-to-day consistency of academic skills are not being taught. I am here to tell you to please do not allow the summer slump to get the best of you. During summer break your child should still be exposed to the basics, reading at least 1 book a day, reviewing math skills and keeping their writing skills going by journaling. I am not saying to have your child do this for 5 hours a day NOPE, we all need a break BUT do not let them go weeks without maintaining what was already taught throughout the school year. Remember, I am speaking from experience as a previous classroom teacher for 10 years and a mom myself. Summer slump is no joke. It’s why I had many parents in the beginning of October say, “My child was reading chapter books when they left 2nd grade, why are they no longer able to read with fluency?”. Well, during summer they did not pick up a book for 2 months. We know anything we do in life if we stop just for a few weeks to jump back into it-it pretty much feels as though we are starting brand new again. Imagine a kindergartener – 3rd grader not practicing reading, math or writing for 2-months, many skills will be forgotten if the student is not practicing. As a tip, prepare a Monday-Thursday schedule that must be consistent, something like this: read 1 book, set a timer for 30 minutes to work on a math skill, 15-20 minutes of journaling. This is about an hour and a half of your child continuing there learning that will limit the summer slump.