How Parents Can Prevent Summer Slide

Keeping kids engaged and learning during the summer is often a struggle. Check out these tips from News-O-Matic‘s Education Editor, Samantha Rosenberg for preventing the summer slide.

VISIT THE LIBRARY REGULARLY

Visit your local library each week with your child to pick out fresh, new books. This will create an exciting reading routine.

KEEP A JOURNAL

Reading and writing go hand-in-hand. Have your child record the details of a summer day’s fun activities with words, drawings and pictures. Then he or she can read it before bed or on rainy summer days.

CREATE A READING WHEEL

Using paper plates and a tack, make a spinning wheel that you can attach to the wall. Draw lines on the plate to make pie-shaped pieces. Write a reading activity on each slice. Some options: Visit the Library; Read Aloud; Act out a Story; Quiet Reading Time; or Write a Story. Rotate the wheel each day or week for a variety of reading fun.

PLAY MAD LIBS

Do you remember that fill-in-the-blank game where you had to write words to complete the sentences? Mad Libs and other fill-in-the-blank activities are a fun (and silly) way to continue reading and create a basic understanding of parts of speech.

BECOME A REPORTER

Have your child record important details of a baseball game or conduct and interview at a museum. Whatever the activity, have him or her write a news article about it!

READ SOMETHING EVERY DAY

It can be a book, newspaper, TV Guide, recipe, or label. What is most important is regular reading practice.

Reading newspapers daily help create a regular reading routine. Even one article a day will keep it short and light while making sure your child remains knowledgeable of the world around them. With this, they will most definitely be better prepared for the next school year.

Samantha Rosenberg is a former classroom teacher who wants to change the world! She writes and reviews stories for News-O-Matic, a daily digital news publication for kids. Rosenberg also manages teacher outreach, creates teacher guides, and implements the Junior Editor-in-Chief Program in schools.