Commentary: Keep kids learning STEM to avoid ‘summer slide’

Your children may already be experiencing the consequences of summer slide, which is the progressive loss of academic abilities they acquired during the previous year, particularly in reading and math, as summer vacation gets underway. According to a number of studies, youngsters who take longer breaks may lose one to three months’ worth of learning.

Summer decline isn’t unavoidable, though. At Seminole Science Charter School, we discover that it can be avoided if parents continue to teach their children to read, write, and do math on a daily basis and integrate STEM and critical thinking into imaginative projects and activities. Here are some suggestions to get your child’s summer study going if you’re looking for ways to boost it or get it back on track:

• School s out, so get outdoors. More and more of today s learning is digital, but summer is a great opportunity to create your own stimulating learning environment. It s easy to set up a scavenger hunt in your local park, botanical garden, or even in your own backyard or neighborhood. For a young child, it could be as simple as spotting different colors while older kids can go on a hunt to see who can identify the most kinds of bugs, plants, or animals.
• Embrace the summer spirit. Have a beach day planned? Spend a little time with your child learning about marine ecosystems or making a diorama. Headed to the pool? Experiment with wave physics in a bottle or a tray, or bring different floating and sinking toys to learn about density. Too hot to go outside? It s the perfect chance to try building a solar oven or stay indoors seeing who can design a paper airplane that flies the farthest.
• Multiply the fun with card games. If you have a deck of cards at home, you have all the tools you need to deepen your child s knowledge of math concepts. Younger kids might enjoy playing a competitive game of War and learning about higher and lower numbers while older kids might play it with a times tables twist: Whoever can multiply the played numbers fastest gets the card. Or play pattern matching: draw four cards and see how you can relate the first three mathematically to equal the last number.

Consistency is key, regardless of the type of learning you undertake with your child. Set a goal to learn with them for an hour each day, incorporating both new academic subjects and STEM activities. Additionally, if you are having trouble creating a curriculum, there are a variety of in-person and online educational programs available for children, ranging from more in-depth science summer camps and robotics clubs to the entertaining and free Hour of Code at Code.org.

Above all, enjoy yourself! Summer learning encompasses more than just preventing summer decline. Our team has witnessed directly how a student’s full potential may be unlocked by fostering their natural curiosity and establishing a lifetime passion of learning. Your child will continue to grow, explore, and succeed throughout the year with that interest, which is just as significant as reading or arithmetic.

Seminole Science Charter School’s principal is Heather Wence.