Dear Dr. Debbie,
Summer laziness is starting to set in at our house. It’s partly my fault. I’m happy to have a break from the rushed schedule the kids have during the school year so most of our summer days have no planned activities. No wake ups are needed in the mornings. There’s no urgency to get to bed at a particular time either. During the day the children mostly play with video games or Legos; sometimes alone, sometimes with a sibling, and rarely with a friend. (I can’t keep track of camp schedules, family vacation schedules, and swapping homes between divorced parents.)
I’m a little concerned that a lack of mental stimulation and a very loose daily routine will have a negative impact if we keep this up all summer.
Brains Are Turning to Mush
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Dear BATtM.,
Educators use the term “Summer Slide” to describe the 17-34% loss of the prior year’s leaning over the summer, particularly in reading and math. This seems to be more critical among younger children. Studies are inconclusive, however there may be more loss among children who already struggle with academic achievement and managing all the expectations of the school environment (i.e. a child with learning differences and or behavioral difficulties). Regardless of who slides more, the first days and weeks of school are taken up with reviews of skills and drills and reminders of the rules.
Help out your children and their teachers with these tips for including beneficial experiences this summer.
Projects
A looser schedule can allow for ongoing projects, such as a garden, to give a child the opportunity to set a goal, lay out a plan, gather materials, ask for assistance, carry out the plan, assess and make adjustments, and evaluate her success.
Inspiration might come from a hobby you enjoy currently – just ask your child to join you – or one that you enjoyed when you were their age. Jewelry making? Bread baking? Building a bat box to help reduce the mosquito population in the backyard? Sewing new curtains and pillow shams for the bedroom? The library https://www.aacpl.net/ is a great place to find ideas and instructions for a wide variety of projects a child can do at home.
Any project can involve reading and math skills as well as creative problem solving. Maybe a budget is involved. Or measuring. Or a timeline. Communication and social skills are honed when the project is a collaboration between two siblings or two friends. A parent’s assistance may need to be coordinated if any driving is required (to get supplies, for example), or when appliances and tools are called for.
Special Events
Any size group of family members and or friends constitutes the basis for a Special Event. This could be a performance, such as a puppet show, play, poetry recital, or concert. Or a challenge such as a Scavenger Hunt, Field Day, Lego competition, etc. wherein suitable acknowledgement is given for effort and achievement. (Adult assistance can help to maximize good sportsmanship and minimize hurt feelings.) Or the children could organize a summer picnic / cook-out – with adult help as needed for a few days’ planning, invitations, food preparation, and carrying out the event.
Be sure to mark the family calendar for the event and help the children block out the time needed for accomplishing the essential tasks in advance. Time management is a critical skill for students as they advance through the grades, and an important life skill.
Day Trips
The summer break is an ideal time to do some weekday exploring with day trips. Not being bound to a schedule, it’s easy enough to avoid rush hour traffic. As with special events at home, day trips should be planned at least a day or two in advance. Weather predictions can aid in the planning with choices between indoor and outdoor destinations and appropriate clothing and supplies. Two school-age grandchildren and I delighted in a day at the zoo last summer – with a prediction for temperatures in the nineties – by packing small ice cubes in one of our food containers in the insulated lunch box. The ice not only helped to keep our water bottles, hard boiled eggs, baby carrots, and sugar snap peas nicely chilled, it supplied us for “ice breaks” in the shade as we hiked from habitat to habitat.
Look for places to go in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and the greater Annapolis area.
Books, Books, Books
Experts agree that the best way to keep reading skills sharp over the summer is to use them. If your children need a little encouragement or structure sign them up for the Summer Reading Quest at any branch of Anne Arundel Public Library. This will help them to log each book they read and track other activities as they accumulate stickers, collect tickets, and achieve age-appropriate prizes. (A Grand Prize Drawing of all the participants will take place on September 11).
Make time for uninterrupted reading for everyone in the family. Needless to say, this is a fine replacement for too much screen time. A reasonable balance is no more than one hour of screen time per day and a minimum of one hour of book time. A beginning reader might enjoy reading aloud to you, discussing the story as it’s read. A child who is reading “chapter books” could give a brief report at dinner time.
Instead of exhausting yourselves through the school year and collapsing on the couch all summer, reflect on changes to institute. For the school year plan for fewer after school activities, more carpooling, and closer communication with the children’s friends for arranging play dates. For the summer, add enriching experiences and just enough structure to assure smooth bedtimes and eager wake ups in the morning. Keep a steadier pace year-round to keep family life in balance.
Dr. Debbie
Deborah Wood, Ph.D. is a child development specialist and founding director of Chesapeake Children’s Museum.
The museum is open 10 am to 5 pm with online reservations preferred or call: 410-990-1993. Each Art and Story Times are on Monday mornings at 10:30 am. Thursday there is a guided nature walk at 10:30 am.
Read more of Dr. Wood’s Good Parenting columns by clicking here.
