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Academic Summer Backslide is a real thing for all students from struggling reading/math students to advanced placement kids. Students begin the school year several months behind where they ended the year in June. What can we do as parents to build our kids confidence and prevent the loss of knowledge or skills over the summer? As parents how do we actively involve ourselves in our child’s education, especially over the summer? Summer is a great time for enrichment, hands-on activities tied to reading, history, science and mathematics. It provides a time to bond and model the behavior we know their student will need when they move into the college and career world. We must reinforce the principles that some skills are harder to learn, but with the extra effort, they can master the most challenging subjects. It is up to the parents to take the lead in providing activities and learning experiences for their children. Here are some ways parents can do that:Model the behavior you want to see: The best way to get your student to commit to learning about a topic is to learn it together. This will build a bond that will carry itself into the new school year. Rebuild an engine together, and research how to do it. Read a book together. If your student is a struggling reader, then you read a paragraph, then they read a paragraph. Eventually, you can build that into a page each, then a chapter each. Before you know it, the book will be finished. Spend time writing about and discussing the reading. Have a daily family reading time, where all electronics are turned off and reading is the focus. Research says that if your student sees you reading regularly, then he/she is more likely to read regularly. You get what you expect. Identify their interests and goals for the future: Students learn best when they learn about topics that interest them. This is based on the principle of WII-FM (what’s in it for me?). Make the learning multi-disciplinary. Pick topics from cars, to fashion, to travel, to science, to history. Have them teach you about the topic. Then, focus the learning around the topic they like. Use the learning to create a product. Focus on magazines, not just book. Research the topics together, competing to see who learns more. Discuss where they got their research and the reliability of the source. Reinforce the concept that not everything on the internet is a good source. There are a variety of ways to learn. Use your imagination and they will use theirs. Create a learning plan together: We are more likely to commit to a plan that we helped develop. Take out the calendar and pencil-in activities, from travel plans to trips to the library. Tie the learning to what the family is doing. Plan an activity for each day, from Family Reading Time, to research, to hands-on activities, or shopping for supplies. Designate a specific time of day that will be spent on the activity. Keep a log, journal or diary just like scientists do. Record what you’ve learned together, missteps, successes, opinions, observations, and conclusions. Have them include newly learned terms in their writing. Create the expectation that they are writing a professional journal; therefore, the writing should be academic in nature (complete sentences, proper punctuation, academic terms, definitions, measurements, directions/procedures, etc.). Model the behavior you want to see. At the end of the summer, they can write an article to submit to their school newspaper. Get their buy-in. Research and schedule events that support the learning: Look into workshops at local museums, fashion shows, art exhibits, specialty camps, leadership summits, travel learning, day trips to botanical gardens, and treasure hunts. Again, add these experiences to the journal you keep together. Document the experience with pictures. Share your discoveries with others-families, friends, colleagues, social media. We move our learning from our heads to our hearts through our hands. Have follow-up discussions: After family reading time, follow-up with discussions on what each person read and understood. Focus on questions that are raised by the reading and what the main focus of the article or chapter was. Ask questions such as: “what was your favorite part?” “What did you like least and why?” “What would you have done differently and why?” In addition to non-fiction, reading fiction can add to the learning, such as historical fiction novels. Often the background or setting of the story is historically accurate. Make that part of the discussions and research to see if it is. Take your discussions to a higher level with higher-order questioning such as “what do you think will happen next?”, “what can you infer from the events?”, “what questions are not answered by the article?”, “how can you apply this information to your own life?”, “why was this written?”, and “what do you already know?”. Discussions help us clarify our understanding and opinions on topics.Build in practice for skills: Before school gets out, ask their reading, English, mathematic, and science teachers, in what skills do they need to build their proficiency. Especially in subjects they struggled, find the specific skills and make regular practice in that skill a weekly habit. Again, record and discuss areas of confusion and misunderstandings, as well as new learning. Keep building on the skill and chart in their journal any progress throughout the summer. Build in rewards as they meet new levels. Make it a game, in which they level up and receive prizes. Make the goals small and obtainable. Remember, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. We all need additional time to perfect those weak areas. Students can practice online for free math, reading, and grammar via Khan Academy. Use baby steps.Use screen time academically: During the summer, teens can get lost in cyber world, so make their screen time academic. Pair up with other parents and have a joint learning project. Have each family share online their new learning, but put the teens in charge of this. Start a blog together. Include in the learning how to start a blog. Bring in a friend, who is an expert to teach you both. As part of your plan, come to an agreement to limit their screen time to academic time, and earned social time based on their academic progress. Many schools have books available electronically via their website, as well as summer reading lists. Have your student read current event articles of their choosing on Newsela (all students) or Achieve 3000 (for students enrolled in WBHS Reading Program). Students entering 9th/10th grade should begin practicing for PSAT, and incoming 11th/12th graders should prepare for the SAT or ACT via Khan Academy or other online practice services. Khan Academy is a free service, while other services may be fee based. Screen time can be a valuable tool, if used strategically.Exercise their mind and bodies: Don’t forget the get up and move part of this. Include hikes, treasure hunts, nature walks, day trips with learning, yoga classes, swim aerobics, etc. Don’t forget to take plenty of pictures, which you will treasure for a life time. Feed the mind, body and spirit. ................
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