Overcoming Summer Learning Loss

3 fun and easy ways to prevent summer loss

Summer for most kids is usually associated with waking up late, playing and enjoying two months off from school. As parents, it’s sometimes hard to find the perfect activities to keep our kids engaged while having fun without being glued to electronics the whole summer.

At Super Noah Super Math, we believe learning isn’t just for school. It happens everywhere, every day. Yes, even during summer break.

During the last two years of inconsistent academic teaching, questions such as, did they learn enough or how I could continue fostering their learning might be questions you also have. You might also think about summer learning loss and how it impacts your child/children. The parents of Super Noah Super Math have those same concerns too. But do not fret, activities such as reading, creative play and our Super Noah Super Math card game are simple and fun ways you can help enrich your child’s learning and prevent summer loss.

If this is you…. keep reading!!!

What is summer loss?

Summer learning loss or summer slide is the phenomenon where students lose ground academically during the summer break. Teachers have talked about summer loss since 1906.

Researchers have been trying to answer, how does summer loss affect students? The study “School´s out: The role of summers in understanding achievement disparities” published in May 2020 found the average student lost 17-34% of the prior year´s learning gains during summer break. The study also found that student learning flattens during the summer after kindergarten and first grade, especially in math and reading.

So how can we help our child’s learning during summer? Below are three and easy, fun activities to foster your child’s learning.

Math

Math skills are necessary to navigate the world. Super Noah Super Math has found a way we believe will make math fun for your child and they may not even realize they are learning while playing.

Fun and engaging activities are the best way for our children to practice their skills. A study in 2013 by Dr. Robert Siegler found that playing board games that foster math skills for 80 minutes for two weeks, significantly improved math skills. This improvement was evident even nine weeks after having played.

Our Super Noah Super Math is a Stem based card game using addition and subtraction.

Students/players choose between Team Vickers “The Hero’s” or team X-Evil “The Villains”. The goal of the hero is to collect 25 points before the villain get the hero to 0 points.

When Team Vickers, the hero, plays a card, points are added but when Team X-Evil plays a card, points are subtracted. The game is a challenging yet engaging way to practice addition and subtraction. It promotes mental math skills, critical thinking and number recognition.

To see more of how Super Noah Super Math card game works, click here.

Reading

Reading is one of the biggest predictors of academic success. Reading to your child or your child reading for 20 minutes three time a week results in:

• 90% higher rate of success in standardized tests,
• 12 months of cognitive development above their peers
• Exposure to 2 million words more than their peers
• Twice as likely to score in the top 25% percent in reading

Children have many interests, and we can take advantages of those interests by introducing them to books. This is a great way to foster reading in your child. Establishing a time to read to or have your child read, establishes reading as a priority in your child’s mind.

Visiting the library or bookstore can be activities done as a family, where your child gets to pick and choose the books they will read. Connecting and communicating with your child through their reading is also a great way to have daily conversations with them. What is the book about? Who is your favorite character? What has been your favorite part? Are questions that help your child’s communication skills, analytical skills and vocabulary. Books are full of knowledge and can help your child continue to dig deep on their areas of interest.

Creative play

Creative play or creative opportunities can be varied by your child’s interest: playing a musical instrument, writing, art and crafts, and role play are all forms of creative play. Creative opportunities allow skills such as attention, memory retention, problem solving, critical thinking, self-regulation and self-confidence be stimulated.

During the day, allow your child to participate in singing, creating a drawing, painting, or building with materials you might have at home. Allow them to start a band with loose parts in the back yard, providing a canvas as big as your garden, painting what they see outside are all creative play opportunities.

Incorporating these activities daily will foster their creativity and imagination. It will also introduce them to the idea of a process. We can begin our art today, but we can add something else tomorrow, or change it and make it better.

Conclusion

Summer loss is a real thing and we as parents have to find ways to overcome it. These are just some simple ways to reduce that loss of 17 to 34% of the school year’s prior learning is a significant percentage.

With these simple ideas you can keep summer fun while learning. At Super Noah Super Math, we believe learning happens every day and all around us. Implementing activities like our Super Noah Super Math card game, fostering reading at home and providing opportunities for creative play are all fun, easy and engaging ways to keep learning during the summer. Don’t let the summer stop the learning!