BEAT SUMMER SLUMP WITH A DAILY LEARNING PLAN DURING YOUR KIDS’ SUMMER VACATION

Nothing excites kids more than summer vacation, and speaking as a 40-year educator, I can tell you that nothing excites teachers and principals more either. The problem with students taking off 2+ months for summer vacation is this creates “summer slump” – an actual occurrence where students return to school in the fall with lower ability in academic skills such as in reading and math than at the level they finished that prior spring. Summer slump is caused by children not “exercising” their brains over summer vacation and thus forgetting educational facts, knowledge, and skills by the time their return to school in the fall. 

One study of elementary school students concluded that children who read more books over the summer scored higher on reading comprehension tests in the fall than those who did not read over the summer. Another study revealed that kids can lose over two months of math skills they learned in the just-completed school year if they don’t partake in any math education during summer vacation. And anecdotally, I can attest that teachers have to spend most if not all of the first month of the new school year reviewing the previous year’s grade level curricula and knowledge before they feel confident enough that their students are ready to start learning at their new grade level.

To combat summer slump, between traditional summer fun and family trips, parents should work reading, math, writing, and other academic and study skills into each week of vacation so their kids don’t lose too much learning. This doesn’t have to look like “real” school where the youngsters feel like they really don’t get a vacation but are more like being enrolled in a type of summer “bootcamp.” But there does need to be structure. One of the reasons kids have developed a slump when they return to school at the end of summer is because they have gone 10 weeks with no structure and then are expected to flip a switch the day they return to school. 

Structure is created by having a Monday through Friday schedule of learning-related lessons and activities that you and your kids follow. Structure during the summer should also incorporate basic schedules such as these:

• As a family eat at least two of the three main meals at the same time each day;
• Go to bed at a set time and wake up at a set time;
• Incorporate one daily chore or a number of weekly chores.

Following is one sample of what that schedule could look like for a family. Of course, flexibility is allowed to take into account family trips and special events. On those occasions, forget the schedule of lessons and activities below and instead build in educational-fun that day, such as having your children journal about their trip, study history when visiting historical places, and “unintentionally” work on math skills by helping to calculate mileage to and from locales.

MONDAYS

READING: 

Children who will be entering grades K-5 should read for at least 20 minutes every weekday in the summer, practicing the reading strategies they learned over the preceding nine months. Middle and high school aged kids should read independently for at least 30 minutes daily. These 20-30 minutes do not have to be continuous. If it works better for your family’s schedule to build in some minutes in the morning and some later in the evening, that’s fine. Of course, for younger children, these minutes will include a combination of times parents both read to and read with them.  

It may motivate your children to read a certain number of pages or chapters each day, and keep track on their personal reading logs. It’s also motivating if reading is a family activity, with mom and/or dad reading at the same time as the kids, perhaps each comfortably set up with their specific reading “nooks” in the house, such as the couch, a beanbag chair, or even an outdoor lounge chair.

Children are more likely to read if they have a say in what they read, so you will want to let them choose their own books at the public library or to occasionally buy at a bookstore. However, if you have a child who gravitates toward comic books or “graphic novels,” these should only be read in moderation. You’ll hear librarians and teachers these days say, “I don’t care what the kids read, as long as they’re reading,” but this sells their students short. That is similar to a parent saying, “I don’t care what my child eats, as long as he/she eats.” No, you do care, and thus you make sure there are fruits and vegetables sprinkled in with the carbs and sugar snacks.

Comic books and graphic novels don’t develop children’s abilities to sustain the kinds of attention and concentration demanded by traditional books. Intellectual stamina isn’t likely to result if kids solely or mainly read comic books and graphic novels, since reading these styles of books looks like this: read 15 words and look at a picture; then read 10 more words and look at another picture; then read 1 interjection and look at another picture; etc. You want to challenge your youngsters to read hundreds and even thousands of words at a run. 

MATH:

Play at least one math game with your kids at some time every weekday to reinforce the just-completed year’s addition, subtraction, multiplication, and/or division facts that your child learned. Some game ideas include using flashcards, using a deck of cards, and playing free games you can find online.

Every weekday give each child a two-minute timed-test on paper using the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and/or division facts appropriate for each child’s grade level. The goal is to solve at least one more problem in two-minute’s time as the day prior. Here are some resources for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division timed-tests.

On both Mondays and Wednesdays (two times each week, alternating days of completing a tangible math workbook page), have the kids complete free online math lessons on the Khan Academy website.   Khan offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study math at their own pace. 

OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

Just as “recess” is a youngster’s favorite part of the school day, so too should outdoor play be the best part of every summer day. Make sure there is a large amount of time daily for your children to go outside and get the heart pumping while improving their small and large motor skills. A day shouldn’t go by that your kids aren’t doing one or more of these; bike riding; jumping rope; shooting the basketball; playing catch with the football or baseball; swimming; kicking the soccer ball; playing an old-fashioned game such as tag or red light/green light.

KEYBOARDING:

Typing skills are essential in today’s technology dependent learning environment. Your kids need to learn to type using the QWERTY keyboard and emphasizing proper keyboard finger placement. As your children develop in age and finger dexterity, they should be increasing the level of speed and accuracy while typing. Have your children practice proper keyboarding fingering over the summer by using an online program two days each week such as this or this one. 

Just as learning to play a sport or an instrument with correct form is vital, it’s also essential that youngsters use the correct finger positions on the keyboard to build accurate muscle memory. Here are the minimum words per minute students should be typing accurately:

• By the end of 3rd grade, 15 words per minute
• By the end of 4th grade, 20 words per minute
• By the end of 5th grade, 25 words per minute
• By the end of 6th grade, 30 words per minute
• By the end of 7th grade, 35 words per minute

TUESDAYS

READING:

Children who will be entering grades K-5 should read for at least 20 minutes every weekday, and middle and high school aged kids should read independently for at least 30 minutes daily (as explained above on “MONDAYS”).

MATH:

Play at least one math game with your kids and give each child a two-minute timed-test on paper (as explained above on “MONDAYS”).

On both Tuesdays and Thursdays (two times each week, alternating days of completing an online Khan Academy lesson), have the kids complete one workbook page a day from math workbooks you print out online or purchase at a bookstore or find online, such as this one.

OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: (See explanation on “MONDAYS” above.)

PENMANSHIP/CURSIVE:

Keyboarding is important, but handwriting with a paper and pen/pencil is a skill that should never be pushed aside. Depending on your children’s ages, they should either be working on their manuscript printing or their cursive handwriting throughout the summer.

On two different days each week have your children take at least 10 minutes to sit upright in proper position and practice their penmanship. One option is to complete one workbook page from a booklet you purchase or print out online. You can even kill two birds with one stone by using penmanship books that have your kids practice by writing Bible verses and Catholic doctrine, such as this source. 

Another option is to help your children pick out stationery from the store and go “old-school” by writing letters. No texting or emailing allowed!  With your help in locating addresses and buying stamps, the kids can choose a different grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other relative each week to whom to write a friendly letter. By doing this, they better understand the bond of family, and they can get your help in retaining proper punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, and of course, penmanship. 

WEDNESDAYS

READING:

Children who will be entering grades K-5 should read for at least 20 minutes every weekday, and middle and high school aged kids should read independently for at least 30 minutes daily (as explained above on “MONDAYS”).

MATH:

Play at least one math game with your kids and give each child a two-minute timed-test on paper (as explained above on “MONDAYS”).

On both Mondays and Wednesdays (two times each week, alternating days of completing a tangible math workbook page), have the kids complete free online math lessons on the Khan Academy website. 

OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: (See explanation on “MONDAYS” above.)

KEYBOARDING: (See explanation on “MONDAYS” above.)

THURSDAYS

READING:

Children who will be entering grades K-5 should read for at least 20 minutes every weekday, and middle and high school aged kids should read independently for at least 30 minutes daily (as explained above on “MONDAYS”).

MATH:

Play at least one math game with your kids and give each child a two-minute timed-test on paper (as explained above on “MONDAYS”).

On both Tuesdays and Thursdays (two times each week, alternating days of completing an online Khan Academy lesson), have the kids complete one workbook page a day from math workbooks you print out online or purchase at a bookstore or find online.

OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: (See explanation on “MONDAYS” above.)

PENMANSHIP/CURSIVE: (See explanation on “TUESDAYS” above.)

FRIDAYS

READING:

Children who will be entering grades K-5 should read for at least 20 minutes every weekday, and middle and high school aged kids should read independently for at least 30 minutes daily (as explained above on “MONDAYS”).

FAITH FORMATION:

With the assumption that seven days a week you and your children say their daily prayers, Friday is a good day to set up a faith formation lesson, as you can prepare your children for understanding what readings will be heard at Mass that Sunday. There is a great, free resource  – The Kids’ Bulletins – that your youngsters will have fun using to learn the upcoming readings. Depending on your children’s ages, you may have to sit down and work on this bulletin together, but older kids can accomplish it on their own. 

OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: (See explanation on “MONDAYS” above.)

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS

So the kids don’t resent having to do summer learning, make sure you make most of their weekends un-scheduled for impromptu fun and/or planned family outings. Saturday is a great day to make sure your children complete their weekly chores, such as cleaning their bedrooms, and help out with one outside chore as appropriate for their age, such as helping with a yardwork project, sweeping the porch/patio, or watering plants. 

Sunday is the day to appreciate the sun and the Son. After attending Mass as a family, take it easy the rest of the day such as by playing a board game, heading to the beach or a playground, getting a neighborhood kickball game going, or enjoying a family movie from the couch. 

PICK ONE DAY

One day each week, try to incorporate one of the following activities:

1. Cooking not only involves math, science, reading skills as well as reinforcing the importance of following step-by-step directions, but it has the best incentive – you get to eat what you create! Pick one day of the week for mom or dad and the kids to find/read/complete a recipe, and don’t forget cleaning-up afterward is a required task. 

• Engaging in arts and crafts projects during the summer nurtures your child’s creativity. Set up a dedicated art space at home where your kids can explore various artistic mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpting, or crafting, working on at least one art project at least one day each week.

• As a way to teach science lessons along with celebrating the “magic” of growing something, help your children grow flowers or vegetables outside in a small garden of their own in your yard or in pots on the patio/porch/deck. This may involve daily watering by your kids, and on at least one day each week they will need to tend to their garden with weed-pulling, harvesting, etc.

• When you do your weekly grocery shopping, employ your youngsters in helping find items for you in the store. You can give them a grocery list and let them loose in the store, developing their independence and navigational skills. Or you can make it a kind of one-item-at-a-time scavenger hunt such as saying, “I need a 16 ounce bottle of olive oil, and it needs to cost less than $0.50 an ounce.” In this latter way, you can develop their math, critical thinking, and economic literacy skills.

Finally, if there are effective summer programs in your community, take advantage of signing up your kids so they can learn while working on social skills in playing and teaming with others. Perhaps there is a 4-H Club or sports camp, and your parish is most likely holding a Vacation Bible School. Many public libraries have reading events and incentives to check out books, but be forewarned – today’s public libraries are more often than not very “woke” in terms of censoring Christianity-connected books and programs while promoting secular and sometimes immoral books and programs. 

If you follow your own interpretation of my sample weekly schedule above, you will accomplish three things this summer. You will better set up your children to have a successful start to the upcoming new school year because they will not have lost any learning over the summer. You will enjoy doing fun activities together as a family, such as the cooking, grocery-shopping, and card-game-playing activities sprinkled throughout each week. And most valuably for most moms and dads, you will eliminate your children whining the once-popular declaration, “I’m bored!”