The Summer Brain Drain

Like many teachers, I have a love/hate relationship with summer; I love the time off, but I hate the progress that’s lost during the ten- week lull. I relish vacation and relaxation as much as anyone, but I know each day off means more effort that I’ll have to put in when they new school year starts. There’s a reason that so much of the beginning of a new school year begins with review of last year’s concepts. During the ten-week stretch of trips, camps, and hanging out, everything teachers have painstakingly crammed into their students’ brains during the previous nine months is slowly wafting out of the students’ ears.

Now, this isn’t always the case—some parents use the break to impose their own learning curriculum. More often than not though, parents take the meaning of summer break literally, as a break from school and learning. Taking too much of a break can may mean that your child falls behind when the rigors of school begin again. Fortunately, it’s not hard to keep your child intellectually stimulated during the long, hot summer.

Here are a few ideas to keep summer from being a brain-free time for your child.

• Schedule reading time each day—the amount of time dependent on the age of the child. Your child doesn’t have to read War and Peace, but make sure it involves a little more looking at pictures.
• Summer is a great time to work on any skills that need more practice. Let’s face it: if your child struggles in math, not practicing math all summer certainly won’t prepare him for next school year. Consider having your child work on their skills for a few minutes each day. You won’t be sorry the when the next school year rolls around.
  
• Consider intellectually stimulating field trips. Water parks are fun, but don’t involve using much gray matter. Mix in a trip to the zoo (you’d be surprised what you can learn at the zoo!), take a nature hike, or visit a museum.
• Have your child write. Letters to grandma, postcards from vacation, and emails to friends all help a child practice their critical writing skills. Take it from an English teacher—most students need all the practice that they can get.
  
  There are many ways to keep a break intellectually stimulating. How you choose to do it will depend on your child’s interests and needs.