Rebooting  your summer learning schedule: Let’s get our students ready for the fall

Guest Author: Magdalena Ganias, Ed.D
Manager of Curriculum & Professional Learning, Worcester Public Schools Worcester, Massachusetts 

Do kids need academic work over the summer?
The short (and easy) answer is yes!
The more nuanced question is: how much work is necessary?

Research “summer slide” and you will find a wide array of opinions. Add the articles on the “COVID slide” and you have a recipe for frustration for both kids and parents.

As a parent and educator, I’m deeply immersed in the research.  Let me save you some time: it all points to the dramatic effect parents can have on their children’s academic success.

Just as we adults thrive on a schedule, structure sets up our kids to stay engaged, focused, and ready to excel.

A fantastic formula to “summer school” success is being flexible and making it your own. As parents, the role of teacher is the most powerful one we play. While we unconsciously teach our children new things all the time, we can all use some tools for purposeful advances to their skills. My commitment to my daughter has been to foster a love of learning so she may always be a curious, lifelong student.

Since we are roughly half way through summer, I urge you to recommit to bolstering your student’s readiness for fall. It’s not too late!

Here are some concrete steps to help:

  • Establish a schedule together. On most days, my daughter works right after breakfast. This gets the work out of the way and leaves the rest of the day free.
  • Allow for “choice and voice.” She chooses the books to read and I make sure they are age-appropriate. We use a mix of online and offline options for math. Our third activity is free choice, which helps her be creative and stay interested.
  • Keep a log to track and celebrate learning. My daughter loves her learning notebook, in which she logs the number of pages read, science experiments, math calculations, and any new, cool facts. Every week, we review the notebook and celebrate her progress and new interests.
  • Share your own love of learning. Don’t underestimate how critical you are to the process. Talk about the successes and challenges in your own day, and show up as much as possible on your child’s journey. It can be as simple as reading together, doing an experiment together, or making dinner side by side.

At age 8 and going into 4th grade, we have agreed on 30 minutes of daily reading.  Whatever time you allot, know that reading is the most important thing for every student.  It is an absolute non-negotiable in our house! Then we set aside 30 minutes for math, and 30 minutes of an additional topic that she chooses.

The parameters for your family are up to you. As a parent, you know your child best and how much time to dedicate to a task.

When it comes to student-led, or “free choice” learning, savor the special opportunity to observe your child. I’m so intrigued by the choices my daughter makes and by her excited reaction when she discovers something new. 

For example, her favorite thing to learn about is science. She watches Mystery Doug almost every day and has a special science journal to list her discoveries. Doug answers questions in an engaging and accessible way – and parents will be shocked by how much they learn too.  Perhaps the best part is the multi-sensory experience: she is hearing, writing, and then teaching me, all reinforcing what she learned. Truly, it doesn’t get any better than that!

Another important reminder for parents is to foster social-emotional learning and physical activity. Each day looks different, of course, but these can often be the best opportunities for connection. Sometimes, I’m cheering my daughter on during hours of dance lessons, while other days we take a 15-minute walk together and reflect on the day.

Although my daughter will tell you she gets to take the weekend “off” from her daily schedule, she is constantly engaged.  Remember, the simple joy of doing tasks together is schooling in itself! Cooking, gardening, tracking weather, learning about cars are just some of our favorite pastimes.

Incorporating learning thoughtfully and in collaboration with your child is key to fostering a love of learning, all while maintaining skills.

Here are some outstanding, free resources I urge you to try:

  • Google Art & Culture: Can’t say enough about this! Scroll through for details.
  • Khan Academy: The online platform fills in gaps and then accelerates learning for grade K-12 in math.
  • Common Lit: This features a collection of reading passages in all literary and nonfiction genres for grades 3-12.
  • iCivics: Check out this free resource to engage students in meaningful civic learning.
  • Little Kids Rock: Learn to play a song or take a lesson online.
  • Mystery Doug: Doug answers kids science questions in an engaging and accessible way using short videos.
5704 replies
  1. indirmeden
    indirmeden says:

    Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really irritating. A good blog with interesting content, this is what I need. Thanks for making this web site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email? Charlotta Spencer Nisse

    Reply
  2. diziler
    diziler says:

    Read this post on a nightbug and related to it in so many ways. Have I told you about the #bridgesnotwalls action on Trump day, 20 Jan? You should come along and represent! bridgesnotwalls.uk Dyanna Baudoin Duwalt

    Reply
  3. wyze camera
    wyze camera says:

    Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!

    Reply
  4. best buy cell phones
    best buy cell phones says:

    Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!

    Reply
  5. CAFE DiZAYN
    CAFE DiZAYN says:

    Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.

    Reply
  6. office 2019 pro kaufen
    office 2019 pro kaufen says:

    Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.

    Reply
  7. fake mail
    fake mail says:

    Forget about spam and advertising mailings.Keep your real inbox clean and secure. 10 Minute Mail provides temporary, secure, anonymous, free, disposable email address for 10 minutes.

    Reply
  8. ip sorgulama
    ip sorgulama says:

    ip adresleri kullanıcıların kullanarak internette gezinebilmelerine imkan tanıyan ve numaralardan meydana gelen , internet servis sağlayıcısı tarafından sağlanan bir hizmettir.İp adresinin takibi çok kolaydır.Bu yüzden VPN , proxy ve dns değiştirme gibi yöntemleri sizlere öneriyoruz.0 güvenli hale gelmeyeceksiniz ancak takiniz zorlaşacaktır.VPN hizmetleri ücretli yada ücretsiz 3. taraflar tarafından sağlandığı için güvenli sayılmazsınız ve bu hizmet ile birlikte başka sitelere giriş yaptığınız şifreler görülebilir giriş yaptığınız sitelerin bir listesi yada aktiviteleriniz başkaları tarafından görülebilir.

    Reply
  9. is fikirleri
    is fikirleri says:

    Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!

    Reply
  10. Babar Ali
    Babar Ali says:

    Your style is so unique in comparison to other folks I’ve read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just book mark this web site.|

    Reply
  11. Sportsbet.io
    Sportsbet.io says:

    I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks

    Reply
  12. sohbet
    sohbet says:

    Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.

    Reply
  13. islami sohbet
    islami sohbet says:

    Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  14. Cervical Cancer
    Cervical Cancer says:

    Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  15. internet download manager 2021
    internet download manager 2021 says:

    This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen

    Reply
  16. Aşk Duası
    Aşk Duası says:

    I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a good example of it.!!!

    Reply
  17. Mariobet
    Mariobet says:

    Mariobet, dünyanın önde gelen çevrimiçi spor bahis platformudur. 5 yılı aşkın süredir hizmet vermektedir. Mariobet, en sevdiğiniz spor etkinliklerine bahis .

    Reply
  18. Sevgi Duası
    Sevgi Duası says:

    It is rare to discover a specialist in whom you might have some faith. In the world these days, nobody genuinely cares about showing others exactly how in this issue. How fortunate I am to have now found such a wonderful website as this. It is people like you that make a genuine difference currently through the suggestions they discuss.!!

    Reply
  19. En Ağır Aşk Büyüsü
    En Ağır Aşk Büyüsü says:

    Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.>>>>

    Reply
  20. Köpek Gibi Aşık Etme Duası
    Köpek Gibi Aşık Etme Duası says:

    Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier……!:

    Reply
  21. Aşk Büyüsü Belirtileri Nelerdir
    Aşk Büyüsü Belirtileri Nelerdir says:

    Simply desire to say your article is as amazing. The clarity to your publish is simply great and i can think you are an expert in this subject. Well along with your permission allow me to snatch your RSS feed to stay updated with drawing close post. Thank you one million and please continue the rewarding work.|…

    Reply
  22. Bağlama Büyüsü
    Bağlama Büyüsü says:

    Thanks for another informative site. The place else may just I am getting that type of info written in such an ideal way? I’ve a project that I am just now operating on, and I’ve been at the look out for such information..!

    Reply
  23. Antalya all inclusive resorts
    Antalya all inclusive resorts says:

    This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen

    Reply
  24. Restbett
    Restbett says:

    Restbet giriş yapacak kullanıcıların tercih ettiği firma onaylı bir siteyiz. Öncelikle site adresinden bahsetmek gerekirsek 2015 yılında açılmış bir bahis ve

    Reply
  25. esin group
    esin group says:

    Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

    Reply
  26. Soguk Hava Deposu
    Soguk Hava Deposu says:

    Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

    Reply
  27. akustik kumas panel
    akustik kumas panel says:

    Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.

    Reply
  28. Aşık Etme Duası
    Aşık Etme Duası says:

    Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!!……

    Reply
  29. SOHBET HATLARI
    SOHBET HATLARI says:

    Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

    Reply
  30. sohbet numara
    sohbet numara says:

    Hi! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having problems finding one? Thanks a lot!

    Reply
  31. Free Account
    Free Account says:

    It is now very easy to access premium accounts at no cost. Get instant access to the premium account you’re looking for by visiting the Free account website. You can access the most up-to-date accounts instantly by visiting Freeaccount.website now. Free Account

    Reply
  32. Premium Accounts Free
    Premium Accounts Free says:

    Don’t want to pay for a premium app? Then go to the free account website and get the premium membership you are looking for instantly. Moreover, you get 1-month access to all premium memberships without paying any fees. Get 100 working accounts for free by visiting freeaccount.website now. Free Accounts

    Reply
  33. free account website
    free account website says:

    Don’t want to pay for a premium app? Then go to the free account website and get the premium membership you are looking for instantly. Moreover, you get 1-month access to all premium memberships without paying any fees. Get 100 working accounts for free by visiting freeaccount.website now. Free Accounts

    Reply
  34. Free Account
    Free Account says:

    It is now very easy to access premium accounts at no cost. Get instant access to the premium account you’re looking for by visiting the Free account website. You can access the most up-to-date accounts instantly by visiting Freeaccount.website now. Free Account

    Reply
  35. Free Account
    Free Account says:

    Don’t want to pay for a premium app? Then go to the free account website and get the premium membership you are looking for instantly. Moreover, you get 1-month access to all premium memberships without paying any fees. Get 100 working accounts for free by visiting freeaccount.website now. Free Accounts

    Reply