As parents begin planning for a summer without a school schedule, it can be daunting to imagine filling your child’s day. Dreams of days filled with family, friends, and freedom are in your child’s head as another school year comes to a close. But if you’re worried about learning loss and how to prevent this, there’s good news: a half an hour a day can help your child close learning gaps as well as perform at higher level during the upcoming year!
Make Time for Learning: Set aside 15 to 30 minutes a day for your child to read. Since there is more time to read for enjoyment, this offers a great opportunity to strengthen those reading skills. Check out books from the library, read old favorites, or ask around for some recommendations. Use a calendar or our summer reading tracker so this time is not overlooked.
Learn and Practice Affixes: Most multi-syllable words include prefixes and affixes added to a base word, so practicing affixes can improve reading and spelling skills. Turn it into a memory guessing game by using flash cards: one side has the affix while the other has the meaning.
Develop Math Skills: It might not seem fun, but only three to four math problems a day can prevent your child’s math skills from getting rusty. This can be a daily “to-do” to check off a calendar or a daily challenge. Change up the problems daily and remember to throw in word problems!
Improve Reading Comprehension: Reading comprehension can be built by using workbooks or worksheets, or through talking. After your child reads, ask them some questions about what they read. Find quizzes online or make up your own!
Encourage Creative Writing: Creative writing is a fun way to improve your child’s writing skills and get their imagination working! You can choose a topic and have your child write a paragraph or a few sentences about it, or your child can write about whatever they want.
Focus on Specific Skills: Maybe your child is having a harder time in reading or math or science. Whatever you child is having difficulties in, concentrate on that during your 15 to 30 minutes.
