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WORDS: Jennifer Colombo, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist
Summer break should include
Jennifer Colombo, M.S., CCC-SLP
Owner of Therapeutic Potentials, Inc.
www.TPIKids.com
the three R’s of a well-deserved
vacation - relaxation, rest, and
recreation! However, it is not a time to
completely abandon all learning and mind
work. A well-balanced summer schedule
is critical to avoid the “summer slide”.
Research has demonstrated that summer
breaks will cause the average student
to lose up to one month of instruction
(Cooper, 1996). Karl Alexander, a
researcher at John Hopkins University,
states there are serious setbacks for
children without some form of summer
educational opportunities.
A study from the Harvard raduate School
of Education indicated the powerful effect
reading has over the summer break.
Incorporating weekly reading goals
and fun, educational, activities into your
family's summer vacation are effective
tools to enhancing a student’s academics
for the upcoming school year.
Whether your child is advanced in their
learning abilities, or has academic
challenges, summer is an excellent time
to encourage continued growth and
development. The primary challenge is
to nd activities that are both educational
and motivating. When a child has a
positive learning experience, they are
more likely able to retain the information.
Suggestions for incorporating both
learning and enjoyment include:
Visit a State Park, Zoo, Museum,
or Theme Parks: This is a great
opportunity for children to follow maps,
read important facts, problem solve, use
executive functions such as organization,
scheduling, and time management. After
the adventure, students can create a
scrapbook and write captions to describe
their experiences.
Scavenger Hunts: Develop reading,
listening, and inferencing with
individualized clues for your children.
Young children can partner with an older
sibling, or parent. Using clues to discover
where their treasure is hidden gives
children a sense of accomplishment.
Water Day:
Whether you
have a pool,
sprinkler, or water
balloons, fun can
be had by all. Working
on vocabulary and
sentence building by
putting words on dive
sticks, and practicing
spelling rules and words
with water balloon
tosses, are fun ways
to learn and stay cool
during the hot summer
months.
Cooking: Your little chef
can create yummy snacks
such as mini pizzas, ants on a
log, or smoothies, and not even
know they are working on their
reading, math, and receptive
language skills. Cooking is also
excellent for the development of
critical thinking skills.
In summer, it is
important to make compromises with
book selections. Allow your child to
make some reasonable choices so
they can learn to read for enjoyment.
Develop a “book club” with your
child and have fun discussing the
characters and plot. BookRags.
com is an excellent source for study
guides, essays, and quizzes.
Summer Camps: Choosing a summer
camp that provides multi-sensory
experiences with “incognito” learning
activities for reading, writing, processing,
socialization, and overall language skill
development is extremely beneficial. If a
student has delays in their reading and writing
skills, summer camps that are run by trained
professionals will help to close gaps in the
delays, and better prepare your child for the
upcoming school year.
This summer, be sure to have fun while also
pushing back against the summer slide with the
most important tools - books and inspiring
activities that make summertime learning
enjoyable!
/www.TPIKids.com