How to Prevent Summer Brain Drain

We are excited to be partnering up with Expect More Arizona to bring you a post all about keeping your child’s brain sharp throughout the summer! Did you know that the average child loses two and a half months of math skills during the summer months and research shows teachers typically spend four to six weeks re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer(aka Summer Brain Drain!)?! I had no idea! While summer is definitely a time of fun, there is also something to be said about continuing to learn and invest in challenging your children throughout these long summer months. Can I get an amen from our local teachers?! 😉

Here are some tips that can help you achieve just that! Since summer is now in full swing, it is important to incorporate learning into fun activities for you kids. With just a little planning, parents can help reduce learning loss during the summer.

•  Take your kids to get a library card and encourage them to read at least 20 minutes each day. Encourage older kids to talk to you about what they’ve read.
• Get the whole family involved in the planning of a trip/vacation. Determine a budget for souvenirs; Count down days until the trip; Learn the basics of reading a map.
•  Play “brain” games in the car on a road trip, such as I Spy or What Animal Am I Thinking Of?
• While on vacation, have your kids write out and send a postcard to grandma and grandpa or a friend
• Have your kids keep a summer diary of all their favorite moments and activities
• Have your kids help make meals and grocery shop with you. Younger kids can help identify food items, while older kids can practice math basics such as weights and measurements
• Summer is a great time to encourage your kids, especially older ones, to explore new interests and activities
• Encourage older kids to get a summer job or do volunteer work
• Start a family book club

Expect More Arizona’s Today campaign offers families daily ideas and activities to ensure all children are successful in school and life. For more simple and fun ideas on how to prevent the summer brain drain, visit TodayInAZ.org.  I am loving today’s learning suggestions on Expect More Arizona:

Build a Recycle Robot. Kids can create robots out of recycled household items to help them practice their math skills. Robots can be very basic or very complex based on the age of the child. Kids can build their robots and then identify the number of angles, planes, cylinders, cubes, squares, rectangles, etc. Simply dig through your recycle bin at home for old bottles, cans, paper towel rolls, cardboard and more, and then be creative!”

I know I for one am ALWAYS looking for more ways to fill up my summer! Make sure you go and “like”  Expect More Arizona on Facebook  to stay up to date and to get your learning activity  in for the day 🙂