The children in some districts have already sung “No more teachers, no more books…” while others are still a couple of weeks away. It’s entirely too early to start talking about the next school year, right?
Well, sort of.
No one wants to talk about curricula or reading scores right now. But summer brain drain is serious business. In the three short months of summer, it’s been proven that your child might lose half of what they learned in math class last year. Here are some ideas to keep that brain fresh while still capturing the essence of summer.
Keep them learning
Far too many kids park themselves in front of the TV or video game system from mid-June to late August, only leaving for food and sleep. Although summer is the time for resting, that is simply a bad practice.
Instead, try to stoke some curiosity while still allowing them freedom. Tell them they can explore any topic they wish (use your best judgment, of course) as long as they are learning something new. Show them how to watch TED talks or Coursera videos. Even if it’s something related to video games, like coding, it’s better than nothing and it keeps the cogs in the brain turning.
Let them plan a family activity
Part of brain drain is that kids actually aren’t used to the freedom of summer, so they shut down. If their topical explorations from the last idea go well enough, perhaps they will want to explore something related to their interest out in the real world. If that’s the case, let them refocus that freedom into something productive.
Depending on the age of your child, let them plan everything having to do with a trip including the budget, travel arrangements, and itineraries. The brain often wants a project when one is not available. Giving them control provides both a project and an outlet for their curiosity.
Get started on summer work now
In an effort to fight the summer brain drain, many teachers and schools assign summer projects and reading lists. Most are ignored until the very last minute, if completed at all.
Even if your school doesn’t assign much weight to summer work, it’s important to show your kids that responsibility doesn’t stop during the summer. Help them break up the work into super-manageable pieces (something like 15 minutes per day) rather than saving it for the week before school starts. Reward them for being diligent. Many parents don’t agree with summer work, but it carries with it an opportunity for some valuable life lessons.
Finally, bulk up on weak subjects
Summer is an opportunity for students to backtrack to bolster weaknesses they might have had during the year without falling behind on new content. Some topics, especially in math and science, have a habit of coming up again and again, year after year. If your student struggles in one of those topics, they will probably continue to struggle.
Believe it or not, tutoring centers are quite busy during the summer. If they need help, sell them on tutoring by pointing out that this is an opportunity to receive help without it cutting into the limited free time they have during the school year. It’s definitely worth consideration.