• By Sandy Rizzo, PhD
• Posted in Sandy Rizzo
• On April 18, 2016
• No Comments.

How do you solve the Summer Slide? Hit the ground running! Parents can be proactive in preventing their children’s academic regression of skills by giving them productive educational opportunities throughout the summer. Summer academic interventions can focus on bridging the gap for a child but it can also can prevent the child from losing skills not practiced enough.

Students who regress during the summer are at risk when school resumes. Parents have the ability to decrease their child’s learning loss and slow the summer slide by signing their child up for individualized enrichment or academic interventions this summer. There is still plenty of time to play and even have a lazy summer. Parents have the power to foster positive self-esteem in their child and build the child’s confidence as well as motivation. Children can increase reading or math proficiency and be better prepared for the next school year. If a child is starting kindergarten and there is concern whether he or she is ready, summer is the perfect time to be aggressive with the academic interventions. Parents will breathe easier knowing their child is better prepared for the start of the school year.

In addition to signing the child up for academic interventions, the following activities are suggestions to the parents to increase their children’s reading and math skills over the summer:

1. Child’s Choice – Have your child choose what he wants to read for 30 minutes each day. This will help the child become more motivated. Often times we choose for the child, so try this recommendation.
2. Make it Social – Read out loud or tell stories together. Making reading enjoyable helps improve reading skills.
3. Secret Code – Give each letter of the alphabet a value from 1 to 26 (a=1, b=2, etc) and write a note using this secret code instead of using letters. Have your child do this too when leaving messages for someone.
4. License Plate Math – When your child is in the car with you, he can add up the numbers on license plates of other cars. If your child is older and learning multiplication, have him multiply the numbers.
5. Grocery Store Math – There are lots of opportunities here to practice math skills from budgeting, making change, estimating, percent decrease on sale items, etc. Take advantage of the endless possibilities.
6. Weather Watch – Children can keep track of the weather/temperatures and make a graph. Older children can practice mean, median, mode and range.

Now is the time to start planning for your child’s summer activities. Take the initiative to sign your child up for academic interventions to stop the summer slide. For more information or to schedule your child’s summer sessions, contact me at drsandy@customizedinterventions.com .