Have you heard of the “summer slide”? Unfortunately, it’s not the fun kind of slide you’ll find at a water park or playground. This slide is different. It’s a slide that no mom wants her child to ride.
The summer slide is a decline in reading ability and other academic skills that can occur over the summer months when school isn’t in session.
Numerous studies show that kids who don’t read during summer vacation actually slip in reading ability by the time autumn rolls around.
But as parents, we don’t need studies to tell us this, do we? It’s evident in all sorts of situations. For example, if your child plays the violin but stops practicing for three months, his skills will decline more than the skills of a child who continued to practice and play the violin over the summer, right? So what can we do to avoid this common problem?
Here’s the secret to preventing the summer slide: Keep learning all summer long. (Now, don’t panic, I’m not talking about year-round schooling, although for some homeschool families, year-round schooling may be a good solution.)
I’m talking about consciously striving to provide learning opportunities throughout the summer to keep kids’ academic skills sharp. Check out the infographic below for a big list of ideas to help you put an end to the summer slide!
Want to keep your child’s reading and spelling skills sharp over the summer? Check out the blog posts, free downloads, and review materials below and say goodbye to the summer slide forever.
What do you plan to do with your children to beat the summer slide? Share in the comments below!
Rebecca M
says:We read a lot, although I do relax required reading in the summer!
Diana N
says:We spend time reading together almost every day. One of my youngest favorites to reread is the Open Rink one in Level 2 book1… we do voices for the different characters.
Amy
says:We have our daughter read 20-30 minutes every day (started her on that habit in 1st & 2nd grade –she is now in 5th). I just downloaded the Chapter Book Library Lists to use for our homeschooling! There are some great suggestions on there!
Liz
says:Great ideas!
Jenny Ham
says:Interesting thanks for sharing this very helpful.
Amanda S
says:We’ve been enjoying reviewing reading the lower leveled readers!
April J
says:Great ideas!
Svetlana
says:Love everything from you guys. We are using the All About Reading with my reluctant reader and it’s like magic. The resources here are great and very engaging for the kids. Thank you!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Svetlana! It’s great to hear that All About Reading is helping your reader become not reluctant!
Katie
says:I have my kiddos read 30 min a day, 30 min online learning program of their choice, and all about spelling. They actually ask to work on spelling now! Its quick and they love it. I was very surprised as my kids have dyslexia and autism so spelling is usually a challenge they can’t stand.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI love that All About Spelling is helping your kids enjoy spelling now, Katie!
M Bouwman
says:Loving All About Spelling and all the feee ‘extras’ they offer. I’m going to start child number two on it that fall. Very thorough and answers the ‘why’ words are spelled the way they are.
Rebecca
says:Great tips!
Annika
says:Great resources and ideas here!
Alyssa L
says:I was happy to see cooking with kids as an idea to prevent the summer slide. I plan to pick lots of berries at a local farm then bake pies with my kids! Thanks for the tips!
Kristin Rickerson
says:Thanks for that great list of resources. We are always looking for new ways to prevent the summer slide.
StacyB
says:Thanks for the great resources!
Lin
says:We love pairing audio books with the actual book! They can listen and read along. These are great for the car, or on those mornings they like to wake to up early but I still need a few minutes to get myself together!
kwannakorn
says:Great idea to teach chidren to read
Jessica
says:So many great ideas. I look forward to trying some of them out.
Myra Goodemote
says:I take advantage of the summer to encourage more physical activity
Andrea
says:Always appreciate your insight and helpful tips.
Tara
says:Love these ideas! Thank you!
Brittany C.
says:Very helpful! Thank you so much!
Cassandra
says:Thanks for the book recommendations!
Becky Barrett
says:great ideas to help
Tanya
says:Truly the most motivating reason our kids read during the summer (or any other time) is because they see us reading, and reading with them also.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYes, excellent point, Tanya. I think the best way to encourage a behavior for a child is to model the behavior yourself!
Amanda
says:As a Kinder teacher, this are great ideas I can do with my littles during breaks.
Michelle
says:What a great post! Full of fun ideas to keep kids learning in the summer.
Melanie R
says:My kids read in their beds for an hour every night. They also have a subscription to adventure academy learning program that they spend time on a few times a week.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThanks for sharing, Melanie. Before bed reading is wonderful!
Lindsay
says:So many great ideas to combat the summer slide here! We independent read daily as well as read aloud and try to keep up practicing different subject areas at a slow summer pace.
JoKasta
says:Summer slide has been so much harder to fight this year!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceJoKasta,
Yes, things are so unsettled this year and so many summer resources are closed or limited. It’s years like these that we need to even more committed to fight the slide.