National Summer Learning Week, July 8 – 13, is a celebration of keeping kids learning, safe, and healthy every summer, ensuring they return to school in the fall ready to succeed in the year. Established over 25 years ago by the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), the celebration this year will have a daily focus on a different theme: Literacy, STEM, Arts, College & Career Readiness, and Nutrition and Wellness.
Today is “Discovery Day”, with a focus on STEM. Did you know that most students lose two months of math skills, along with a lot of other valuable academic skills, every summer? You’ll find lots of STEM resources for parents and fun family STEM related activities on the NSLA website. There are helpful resources here which you and your kids can use throughout the summer. Check out Masterpiece Day tomorrow, which focuses on art, and Future Leaders Day on Thursday, which targets career and college readiness. Bookworm Day on Friday offers good sources for summer reading, and Saturday is Winning at Wellness Day, which features resources on nutrition and wellness.
As we’ve noted in earlier GCP posts, LearningHeroes.org is very focused on combatting summer slide. They’ve partnered with NSLA, the National PTA and Univision to create Summer Stride, which is also chock full of tips and resources to help your children stay sharp over the summer.
Celebrate National Summer Learning Week this week with your children. Even if they are too old (or too cool) to appreciate the themed week, make a special effort this week to engage them in activities which will help them combat summer slide. It is real, and it is preventable!
