Newsroom

Sidestepping the Summer Slide

Summer is in full swing at the McRae household! Summer camps. Pool parties. T-ball games. The works. With all the memories being made during summer, however, it’s important to keep the kids’ brains engaged too. The summer slide is real – especially as screen time dominates young people’s spare time.

On average, researchers find that students lose one to three months of academic knowledge during summer vacation – often in mathematics, a fundamental building block for a well-rounded education.

With the state’s dramatic education transformation (familiarly, the Mississippi Miracle), we have made huge strides in our state’s education scores during a time when other states’ assessments were falling quickly. In fact, Mississippi has gone from almost dead last in national education ratings to the top ten.

But we must not lose that momentum simply because our kids are “being kids” over the summer. Of course, the solution is not to force kids back into a classroom during the summer months. Instead, it’s shifting the focus to practical learning while they’re enjoying their free time. Let me give you a few ideas.

First, consider launching a regular family game night. A few hours of Monopoly can teach kids critical thinking and money management. Yahtzee can up their mental math skills. Scrabble can get them thinking about spelling. Even a card game can teach problem solving and pattern recognition. Sneak in a few games a week, and the kids won’t even notice they’re getting a few hours of education at the same time.

Second, make reading a daily habit. During the heat of the day, bring the kids inside to sit down with a good book. Challenge them to read from different genres and authors. Take a lesson from technology: keep track of their reading streak and let them earn small prizes throughout summer as they reach key milestones.

Third, consider welcoming the kids into the kitchen. Cooking with parents is a great way for kids to learn addition and fractions – and sometimes, even chemistry! A simple Google search will produce hundreds of options for age-appropriate cooking.

Finally, take advantage of the Mississippi Treasury’s financial wellness series. At treasury.ms.gov/FinancialEducation, you can find brain games and activities for kids of all ages to understand more about money management.

Avoiding the summer slide doesn’t mean spending the kids’ break emersed in a textbook. Instead, there are opportunities to build math, money management, and reading skills all around us. So, enjoy the pool, the summer camps, and T-ball practices. Just find a little time every day to offer kids practical learning in a family setting, and they’ll be more than caught up by Labor Day.

Have a safe and fun-filled summer!