The end of the school year is quickly approaching and if you are like most parents, you’re trying to figure out how your child will spend summer vacation. From the perspective of teachers and schools, one of the biggest concerns is that children who fail to engage in new learning activities over the summer often forget many of the lessons they learned during the school year.

For instance, students who stop reading during the summer may lose some of the gains they made in spelling, vocabulary and writing. When school begins again in mid-August, they may have to re-learn key mathematical functions like division. Instead of starting on new material, schools often begin the school year with a great deal of review. Advocates of year-round schooling argue that two or three months is too long for children to be away from schoolwork. If we are honest with ourselves, we know they are probably right.

Budget cuts have forced most public school systems to cut out summer enrichment classes, so parents must be more creative in bringing their children up to grade level or getting them ahead. If your child has failed a class, you may have to pay for summer school for him to make up the course. On the other hand, if you simply want to make sure that your child maintains and builds upon what he or she learned last school year while doing something besides playing video games all summer, here are some suggestions for you.

Summer Camps

Begin researching summer camps offered by your town or county immediately. Most counties offer summer camps through their parks and recreation department for children between the ages of 6 and 12 that are reasonably priced. One caveat: Some of these programs end at 3PM, so be prepared to pay extra if your child needs to arrive early or stay late. Summer camps offered through parks and recreation departments will make sure that your children are supervised, give them an opportunity to use their creative side through arts and crafts and, hopefully, keep them in shape through sports and swimming. Other similar programs may be offered by the Girl and Boy Scouts, the Boys and Girls Club, and local churches. While these camps may focus on children’s physical, emotional and creative needs, they may not have a formal academic component. That leaves extending their summer academic learning up to you.

Weekly Library Visits

Whether your children are in a daylong camp or staying with grandma, it will be up to you to ensure that they keep working on their three R’s while they are on vacation. Since you may be your child’s primary teacher during the summer, set up a schedule to make sure that your children are exercising their brains. Take them to the library once a week and allow them to pick their own age-appropriate books. Escort your elementary-age students to your library’s reading hour (these are often scheduled on weekends or during after-work hours). If your children start out reading Barbie books, that is not necessarily bad. Your first goal is to get them to enjoy reading, so let them choose the majority of books while you suggest one.

Field Trips and Essays

Another way to keep kids learning during the summer is to expose them to new places. Most local museums, zoos and cultural centers have either weekly or monthly activities geared toward young people. Many of these activities are free or have a reduced price on certain days of the week. Make a list of these places and see what types of programs they offer during the summer. After taking your child to a museum exhibit, have him reflect on what he learned in a “What I Did This Summer” journal.

Whatever activities you choose, help to make the summer your child’s bridge to the next school year instead of a barrier to getting off to a great start in the fall.

About the Author
Stephanie Wright is an assistant professor of history at the University of West Georgia. She can be reached at lilac670@yahoo.com