5 Ways to Make Sure Your Child is Learning Over Summer
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With summer coming up, most parents may worry about a learning slump in their children known as the summer slide or summer learning loss. Simply put, it’s the idea of your child’s knowledge fading through summer break – especially if it’s a piece of new knowledge or skill that they’ve just picked up. If you want to avoid the summer slide in your child, one of the best ways is to make sure that your child is still learning throughout the summer even if it isn’t based on the regular school curriculum. In today’s article, we’ll take a quick look at the 5 ways to make sure your child is learning over summer.
Tip 1: Keep learning fun and interesting
One of the most important things to remember is that your child may not want to run through the regular school curriculum as it is the summer break after all. To encourage learning over summer, you’ll want to keep the education of choice fun and interesting. Try having games that can help keep your child’s mind stimulated, and where possible, keep it close to regular school curriculum but with a twist. This way, your child won’t resist learning as much during summer break and still be able to enjoy the holidays.
Tip 2: Let your child learn something new
Beyond classroom learning, summer breaks are also a good time to let your child learn something new. For example, learning to code online is a great way to expand your child’s knowledge in computer science. Because coding encourages logical thinking, this would allow your child to develop strong analytical and problem-solving skills. In time, your child’s mind would be more prepared to seek solutions from the root up, especially if they’re facing academic difficulties in the future.
Tip 3: Take time to learn with your child
Children often pick up habits from adults and come summer, they’re bound to learn a thing or two from you. One such encouragement to further push your child to learn over summer is to take some time off to learn together. By showing your enthusiasm for learning, you will be able to show your child the benefits of picking up new skills whenever and wherever you go. Over time, you may even see a stronger bond between you and your child as you discover new things together all summer.
Tip 4: Allow your child to pick what they want to learn
Very often, your child may not be able to choose what they want to learn when it comes to the school curriculum. As a result, some children may dislike the process of learning as they are simply disinterested, or they feel out of control. If you want to encourage your child to learn over summer, it may be a good idea to let them pick out what they want to learn. By giving them a choice, you’ll see your child learn quicker and better as it is what they’re likely to choose something they’re highly interested in. This is also a great way to help instill independence and responsibility in your child.
Tip 5: Remember to celebrate your child’s achievements
Finally, don’t forget to also celebrate your child’s achievements. Whether it’s completing a coding course over summer or picking up a new skill such as swimming or cycling, the act of appreciating your child’s efforts can further encourage them to want to learn more. Remember that your child would need a break too, so don’t be afraid to let loose occasionally and allow them to enjoy some fun times across summer before a new school term begins.
David van der Ende is a full-time blogger and part-time graphic design enthusiast. He loves to write about a broad range of topics, but his professional background in both legal and finance drives him to write on these two subjects most frequently.