Tips for Preventing the Summer Slide

06/10/2022

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy . . . " This may be good news for many, but the bad news for kids is the "summer slide" in their learning. It is a well-documented phenomenon that kids "lose significant knowledge in reading and math over summer break" (Scholastic.com, 2021) which means that when they start back at school in the fall, teachers need to spend several weeks getting them back to where they were when school let out in the spring. This loss is especially pronounced in kids from lower-income families. What can parents and caregivers do to help assuage this learning loss?

1. Give kids unlimited access to books that they want to read. When kids can choose the books they want to read and read all that they want, they exhibit gains in reading comprehension and vocabulary, and they find reading more enjoyable. (Colorado Dept. of Education, 2015)  All of these things combine to keep the summer slide at bay. 
2. Read together! Studies show that kids who see adults around them read are more likely to be readers themselves.  (summerlearning.org, 2022) As with most behaviors, modeling the act of reading as an adult shows kids that reading is fun, normal, and a regular part of life. Reading together can be time reading aloud, reading different books silently in the same room, or listening to an audiobook together while on the way to a family vacation.
3. Take it outside! Read about zoo animals and then go to the zoo, or read about birds and then go birdwatching.  Tying what you've read to an outdoor activity makes books come alive and increases interest in reading even more. (Scholastic, 2021)
4. Read for rewards! That's what the library summer reading programs are all about! There are other online resources where kids can enter their reading minutes for recognition and digital rewards, such as Scholastic's Read-A-Palooza Summer Reading Challenge. 

Any way you look at it, reading is what makes the difference for kids whose learning slips over the summer and kids whose doesn't. At Penworthy, we are glad to offer resources to help combat the summer slide, like activity sheets that support summer reading, a plethora of books for the summer reading programs, and a catalog full of books guaranteed to circulate and endure.  When our Penworthy logo is on the spine, you know kids will want to read it!