Avoid the “The Summer Slide” Smart ways to spend the summer The “summer slide” may sound like fun, but it’s definitely something you’ll want to keep your kids far away from this summer! During the summer, kids lose an average 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency in math computation skills and 25 percent of their reading skills. That explains why teachers usually spend four to six weeks re-teaching materials in the fall. So what’s a parent to do? Fight back against the summer slide with these tips. In many ways, the brain is like a muscle and the old adage “use it or lose it” certainly holds true. Mental exercise can keep the brain strong, just as physical exercise can keep the body strong. So, here are some ways to keep your kids from “losing it” this summer. These exercises keep the brain energized while building cognitive skills, the underlying mental abilities needed to learn. · 20 Questions: Think of a person or thing and give your child 20 chances to narrow down what it is by asking yes or no questions. To help them improve their logic and reasoning, teach them to strategize by using questions that will significantly narrow down the categories, such as “Are they alive?” or “Do we have one at home?” What it helps: Logic and reasoning and memory · Speed Cards – Take a regular deck of cards and time your child as they separate it into two piles (red and black) or four piles (spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds). What it helps: Processing speed, divided attention, selective attention and visual processing Mental Tic Tac Toe: Similar to traditional Tic Tac Toe, this game uses a ‘mental’ grid numbered 1 to 9. Players remember where their opponent has already been and call out an unoccupied space. The player who calls an occupied space loses. What it helps: Attention, logic and reasoning and working memory Needle in a Haystack: Take a page from a newspaper and time your child as she circles all occurrences of a specific letter. Focus on increasing both accuracy and speed. What it helps: Visual processing speed Poetry: Have your child choose four words that rhyme and then ask them to use those words to create a poem or a rhyming song. What it helps: Auditory analysis, verbal rhythm, memory The Game of Lists – This activity has endless possibilities. On beat to an activity like jumping rope or swinging, name 15 words that start with “B”, nine types of sports, seven kinds of candy, eight dinosaurs, etc. What it helps: processing speed, divided attention, working memory and logic and reasoning Simply getting your child to read every day is another powerful way to slow the summer slide. According to Scholastic Parents Online, reading just six books during the summer can keep a struggling reader from regressing. When choosing the six, make sure they’re the right level – not too hard or too easy. (www.rif.org/documents/us/choosing_books.pdf) has a great brochure that offers basic tips on what to look for. And don’t assume that your kids will roll their eyes when you suggest ideas to keep their brain skills strong all summer. More than half of students surveyed say they want to be involved in a summer program that helps them keep up with schoolwork or prepare them for the next grade. Besides, unlike abdominal crunches, exercise for your brain is actually FUN! If you want to build a ramp rather than prevent the slide, contact us to learn how a summer brain training program can help your child strengthen their brain over the summer to provide them with the skills to start the next school year ahead.