Across the country, school's either out or about to let out for the summer ... And while many parents have likely spent time planning the family's summer vacation, now's also a critical time to formulate a summer learning game plan for your child. Ok, not to be too righteous. Ours isn't done either;) But, am driven by research showing kids can lose up to three months of acquired learning over the summer. That's a third of a school year. SCARY, but makes sense. Feels like this phenom happens every weekend in our home.


Tips for Creating a Manageable Summer Learning Game Plan for Your Children
It's a phenomenon known as Summer Learning Loss or "Summer Brain Drain." There's been a lot of research done on the topic and it's clear when it comes to academics, it's a use it or lose it proposition.

Writing, reading, spelling and in particular, math skills, are all impacted by summer learning loss. And younger children are more susceptible to losing these basic skills because they have less of a foundation than older students. (See: Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer Learning)


The first step in establishing a solid summer learning game plan:
Go to your child's current teacher and ask for suggested summer assignments, workbooks, reading lists – anything they can give you. If possible, talk to a teacher the next grade level up and get their suggestions. It can help your child hit the ground running next school year. But keep in mind, you don't want to jump on your kids the first day school is out. Be sure to give them (not to mention you) a breather.

Keep it fun and interactive:
In addition to getting assignments from teachers, the Internet is a great way to keep kids engaged and learning over the summer months. Again, it is summer break, so you want to make it fun for your kids and keep it light. Maybe you kind of trick them into learning ... Let's face it, the Internet is a likely place for your child to be hanging out anyway when they're inside (house, car, etc.). The trick is steering them in the right direction. Not all web sites are constructive and kids can "waste" a lot of time online if their cyber-enthusiasm isn't properly channeled.

Web sites to keep kids learning over the summer:
www.bookadventure.org/ki
Nothing beats a trip to the library, but sometimes you end up walking in circles trying to decide what books to check out. On BookAdventure.org (a site by Sylvan Learning Center), children (K-8) can create personalized from over 4,000 recommended titles. Kids click to check the boxes with topics they are interested in, i.e., animals, art, fairy tales, history, sports. The idea is to then print the list and bring it with you to the library.


Once they've read the books, kids can take quizzes on the books and earn prizes for comprehension. The prizes are sent out by site sponsors and as you might expect, include books, bookmarks, etc.

KOL
A site geared toward younger, elementary-age kids is KOL. KOL offers "brain games" for ages K-3. There are also word finds – the ones you're used to seeing where you circle the words with a pen or pencil (they've gone virtual), as well as "memory match" games, spelling games, concentration, etc. And while trying to solve the games, the kids are working against the clock to score points, so it adds another element to test their skills.

www.mathplayground.com
For most students, math skills is the one area where skills deteriorate the fastest over the summer. A good site to brush up on math is www.mathplayground.com. One of the most useful features of the site are the virtual flashcards (http://www.mathplayground.com/flashcards.html). There's a little bit of everything here: multiplication, division, adding/subtracting fractions and so on. The flashcards are something you could print and bring with you in the car, if you're taking a road trip.


www.minyanland.com
Sticking with the math theme ... teaching kids about money is important. Also on personal TO DO list. With the sluggish economy, they'll likely be more receptive (since it's reinforced by news stories & perhaps your own household behavior if you've imposed spending changes or a wholesale freeze). Already, over 8 million kids are members of virtual online worlds ... names like ClubPenguin or Webkinz will likely ring a bell with many parents. My son literally brought five Webkinz with him to a high school graduation party this weekend. He quickly ditched them for a skateboard, but said he didn't want to leave them in the car because it was too hot. Too cute.

A newer site, Minyanland.com, a virtual financial community, helps kids understand how to manage money and make financial decisions (like not necessarily buying more Webkinz). Minyanland is a kid-safe environment led by a cast of animated "Critters" like Hoofy the Bull and Boo the Bear.

www.timeforkids.com
Prompting kids to follow current events is another way to keep them learning and engaged over the summer. The site has content organized by grade level, offers printable quizzes and worksheets and a kid-friendly way to keep up with the news.


www.mapquest.com
Consider incorporating learning into activities the kids are already doing over the summer. They can even help plan the family vacation. Go to MapQuest.com and have them calculate how many miles you'll be driving, how long the drive will take and more importantly how much you're going to be spending on gas.

More strategies for summer learning:
Have your children write emails or letters to grandma and grandpa or to a friend. They can also keep a travel diary of summer trips you go on or visits to local museums and things along those lines. Am often surprised what makes the personal journal. My youngest son just wrote about watching green trees go by in back of the car. He says he has "a lot of time to watch because my mom drives really slow."

You likely do this anyway .... Take the kids grocery shopping. Let them try to add up how much you're spending as you put items into the cart. They can also help you handle the coupons, make change, weight fruits and veggies, etc. Heck, let them help you find grocery coupons online. There are no shortage of those out there these days & the savings can add up.

How much time we talking?
How much time should I set aside to engage my kids in learning over the summer? The key here is moderation. It is summer "break." Take cues from your kids so you know when they've maybe have had enough on a particular day. Kids do need their down time and time for free play outside with friends.

The other big question is: How much time should they be spending on the Internet and how do I make sure they are channeling their online time in a a safe and positive direction? That's a whole other blog post (or TV segment in itself), but setting and enforcing guidelines and staying involved with your child's online experience is more important than ever. As it is, kids easily get out of they're normal routines over the summer in terms of overall "screen time" – between the computer, the TV and video games. As a parent of three, I can tell you how hard it is to be conscious on all fronts re: the amount of overall "screen time" kids are exposed to each day.

Related: Who's Minding the Mouse in Your House?