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SUMMER SLIDE is a phrase used to describe the slide backwards that many children make in reading and math skills over the summer break.
When I was a classroom teacher, the SUMMER SLIDE was to be expected. And reviewing for several weeks in the fall in order to combat the SUMMER SLIDE was also to be expected. It’s common practice for classroom teachers to build in several weeks of review at the start of each new school year. Unfortunately, it is impossible to target each kid’s specific “slide issues” so, instead, entire classes receive the same review. Sally might’ve slid back twelve steps in math and three steps in reading while Billy slid back two steps in math and twenty steps in reading. But both Billy and Sally {plus their twenty classmates} would have to sit through the same review lessons.
But, one of the many benefits of homeschooling is that we don’t release our students into the wild summer with nothing but a library card and and our sincere hopes that they’ll do more than just watch TV, play video games and sleep late. We actually get to shape their schedules and continue to place expectations on their educations.
But, unless our kids have no break in their school routines at all, homeschool kids are still prone to the SUMMER SLIDE.
So, why not be purposeful in making sure our kids don’t lose too much over the summer break? Below are five of our top suggestions for slowing the SUMMER SLIDE.
ONE: DO FUN UNIT STUDIES
This is always my favorite educational activity to do over the summer because we get to learn about all sorts of subjects, people and events that we didn’t have time for during the regular school year. The variety of unit studies that is available is endless and also fairly inexpensive. Plus, they are easy to add to/subtract from as fits your family’s needs and schedule. Teachers Pay Teachers has an enormous selection of unit studies on all sorts of subjects including some great current event topics including the 2020 Summer Olympics, the Presidential Election and Sharks!
TWO: PLAY REVIEW GAMES
In order to keep school at least a wee bit fun during the school year, we try to play at least one educational game per week but, sadly, the weekly game is always the first thing to get cut when we are running short of time. But, summer is the perfect time to be diligent about playing educational games. Whether you want to review math, science, spelling or history, there are several educational games that are both fun AND serve as a very purposeful review. Some of our favorites include Four Way Countdown {which covers all four mathematical operations so it’s perfect for nearly all ages/skill levels,} Game of the States {geography,} Wordical {spelling} and Totally Gross {science}.
THREE: SHARE a BACK & FORTH JOURNAL
We’ve done this off and on for years and not only is it a fun way for my son to practice his least favorite subject, writing, it also provides us with a wonderful keepsake. You can make this super simple with a plain spiral notebook or much more elaborate with a fancy personalized journal. Either way, the concept is to have your child write to you about whatever he/she wants and then to for you to write back. This way, your kid is not only reading AND writing, he/she is doing it on a very personal level. And, as we know, the more personalized we can make the lesson, the more educational value will be found in it. My son, who is now 13 and HATES writing, truly loves when we do a back & forth journal. He especially loves asking me questions that I always take the time to answer and I love the fact that I have a precious journal to keep for the future. {Plus I seem to be able to show more interest in things like MineCraft, dragons and baseball through writing than I do in person.}
FOUR: FIND NEW SOURCES FOR RESOURCES
Sign your kids up for the summer reading program at the library. Or, finally look into their digital resources that you bookmarked in your web browser months ago {like me.} Do a deep dive into Netflix or Disney+ in search of a “new to you” educational series. Sign your kids up for an old fashioned magazine subscription or, instead, a modern subscription box {I don’t even need to subscribe to anything….we can just dig out the 24 editions of Zoobooks my son has accumulated but hasn’t read yet.} I always have a stash of ideas that I wish we could get to but save “for when we have more time”. Well, summer is the perfect time to dig into that stash!
FIVE: USE LEFTOVER CURRICULUM PAGES
This is an idea that I came by accidentally but have used every year since I discovered it. As the school year winds down, I always go through all of our son’s work in order to finalize grades and organize things for storage. Inevitably, I discover incomplete pages amidst his finished work, additional practice pages in the rear of his textbooks, alternate test versions in the teacher’s manual and fun/trivial items that I purposely had him skip in the interest of time. All of these items make great review pages during the summer months. And because they tie in perfectly to what was just learned during the school year, they are not busy work, but rather purposeful pieces redesigned to serve as a review.
What will you do with your kids to slow the SUMMER SLIDE? Let me know in the comments below!
