Last Updated on August 2, 2023 by ellen
Preventing summer learning slide doesn’t have to be difficult or time intensive. We all want our kids to retain the knowledge they learned in school. But, it’s quite common for there to be a few steps back over the summer. This is called a summer learning slide.
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Table of Contents
Preventing Summer Learning Slide
You need to find a happy medium between learning over the summer and having fun over the summer. Your kids won’t be happy if they feel like they’re still in school when they want to be playing with friends.
The key is to make learning activities fun so they want to join in rather than feeling like they have to. So, keep reading for my tips.
Field trips
Field trips are loads of fun and can include children’s museums, local parks for nature walks, or beach trips to study seashells. Your child will have a great time and you’ll be able to share a few educational tips with them.
Fun activities
You don’t need to plan a field trip to teach your child. You can enjoy a variety of different activities at home including planting a garden, cooking dinner or even taking a walk.
Summer programs
So, if you have the chance, you can enroll your child in a summer program. Our local library has reading programs. And our community center has affordable day camps for kids.
Read together
Reading together is one of the best ways to prevent summer learning slide. Did you know that your child loses two months of reading skills over the summer? It can take up to two months from the first day of school for a student’s brain development to get back on track? “Brain drain” is very real and has lasting repercussions that can impact a student’s long-term academic performance.
One of the most effective, easiest and affordable ways to ensure students are on track academically come September is to make sure kids have access to books throughout the summer. Whether it’s making library visits a part of the summer schedule, starting a neighborhood book swap or incorporating a trip to the local bookstore as part of an outing to the ice cream shop, there are lots of ways to get kids hooked on reading this summer.
Great books for kids
So, as the best-selling kids almanac on the planet, the National Geographic Kids Almanac has helped millions of kids beat the summer slide. The key to getting a child to pick up a book is to find one that interests them. The Almanac 2018 has something for EVERYONE.
Featuring over 350 pages and 500 amazing photographs, a shark-themed Almanac Newsmaker Challenge and packed with 10 sections of high interest topics ranging from animal life to sports to things to do, places to see and ways to change the world, the Nat Geo Kids Almanac 2018 (ages 8-12, $14.99) is the perfect way to take a big bite out of the summer slide.
The activities are fun and interesting. And, the photographs are absolutely gorgeous. Definitely a must have book for summer.
Finally, why not learn how to help your child love math.
Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She is Grandma to one adorable baby girl. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. In what little spare time she has, she loves to read, watch movies, and play games. If you’d like to work together, email info@in-our-spare-time.com to chat.
My kiddo loves their almanac and asks for it every year!
I would like to win so I can read to my son for bedtime stories.
My daughter loved sharks. I know my grandson would love these too!
I want to win this for my nephew so we can have another activity to do together! Thanks
The Almanac has always been one of my favorite books, so I would love to see this version. The shark game reminds me of a fun game I bought family members years ago and I know they would get a kick out of it.
My kids love sharks and would enjoy this
My nephew would love this, he loves learning about all sorts of animals!
My niece would love learning from this, thanks for the chance to win.
I’d like these for the kids at a local library.
Would love this prize because I have an animal lover as a daughter
When I was a kid I loved looking through my dads NG. I love that they have a kids version and I guess I want to put my love for the magazine for my son (who I believe would like it).
i will have love to have it for the neighbor kids who come to the house
I would like to win this for my granddaughter — she would really like it.
My son loves sharks, I think he will love this to.
I would love to win this for my grandkids. We are big National Geographic fans.
I would like this because we like learning books.
I want to win for my son. I think he’d really enjoy the books and they are educational.
My niece would enjoy it
I would love, love, love this for my nephew.
Would like to win for my nephew.
I’d like to win for my grand son. He’s only 3 but,loves me to read any type of books to him!
I would like to win this for my son. This would be great for him to use this summer.
I would like to win because we love Nat Geo because its fun and educational!
I want to win because my kids always love National Geographic books and DVDs.
Oh I would love to win for out little one! He has been checking out Almanac type books at the library every week…and really enjoys reading all the facts! He keeps quizzing me! 🙂 And…he LOVES Sharks! Oh this would be such a great educational prize pack for him for this summer!
I would love to win for my daughter
My daughter’s favorite subject is science. I think these would be right up her ally!
I’d like to win for my daughter. She loves sharks and all animals.
I would love to win for my daughter to help time pass while her dad is deployed!
My grandson loves NationalGeo and animals and science. He brought his book with him on our last car trip.
I would love to win this for my Granddaughter.
My boys love anything shark or dolphin and they would love this!
I want to win for my kids, especially my boys who love sharks!
i woudl like to win this for my kiddos! they love to read at nighttime!!
My youngest son loves predators in general ~ ask allllll the teachers at his school even. He has even watched all the Jaws and Sharknado movies (he likes B movies, whatever) plus, requests to watch documentaries on sharks and other predators. I highly recommend the Sharks mini-series on Netflix; he has watched it seven times in two months so far.
My niece has this fascination with sharks.
My son’s would love this
This would be a great addition to our homeschool.
My daughter loves to look at almanac type books, we keep them in the car for road trips too. They are fast, interesting and allow her to learn. The game would be great because we lost the ball to a bunny game that she loved and this would be an even better replacement!
i used to read the adult magazines of these when i was a kid and i think these would be wonderful for my grandchildren
I’d love to win this becasue my kids love science and I think they’d really enjoy the almanac,
These books are amazing. The photos are so great for kids to get exited about reading and learning. I’d love this for my son
I would love to win these interesting books for my nieces because they love animals, too!
Thank You
I’d love to share these awesome books and products with my family. I love science and would love to read National Geographic with them!
I’d love to win this for my soon-to-be 5 year old. She loves to read.
My kids love National Geographic books!
i would love to win this because my kids will love it.
This would definitely help my niece keep up with learning over the summer…and having fun, too!
I would love to win this for my niece! She would learn so much!
I’d like to win to keep the kids engage over summer.
i would like to win because my son LOVES sharks.
it is a great learning book for my son
I would like to win this for my son
I would like to win this for my grandkids.
We’re a big family of readers so I’m all about encouraging our littles to read as well! Thanks for hosting this wonderful giveaway!
My daughter would love it!
Love to win for our girls to enjoy.
I have 4 kids, 3 school aged and I worry about the summer slide back so much. I love that they could self manage with national geographic, reading and doing activities without releasing they are also learning,
My daughter LOVES sharks and this would be perfect for her! She wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up.
Our little guy loves ocean animals, especially sharks. This would be perfect for him!
to give to my godson
I would like to win for my oldest son
I want to win this for my grandkids.
I’d love to win this because it’s fun reading and we love National Geographic
Christina Anne
We all love books and we love to read!
I want to win because I am trying to get my kids to read more. These books look fun and educational.
I’d like to win this because our family would enjoy this collection of items.
I commented on your Ring It Family Game Review post.
I commented on your post Cooking the Dutch Oven Way.
I also commented on your Beat Any Breakouts post.
I would love it for my daughter. She is four years old and loves animals and especially sharks. She would love this.
I commented on this post: How to Leave Your Cats Alone Home for a few Days.
I commented on this post: 41 of the Most Essential Teaching Resources for Photography.
My grandson loves National Geographic and I love him learning from them
My kids love the National Geographic books. We have one that has the worlds strangest animals and my kids love it!
My great niece and great nephew need to have some good books and magazines to read and look through every day during their free times; these will hopefully remind them of me, which will then remind them that reading is great! 🙂
My nephew is really into sharks and this may just be the prize pack for him.
This would be a great book to look at–fun, well crafted, highly visual!
What a fun prize package. My son would love it!
We will look forward to Shark Week every year, and this would be a wonderful and educational addition to our fun!
I want to win because we have twins to worry about and we don’t believe in letting things slide!
My son loves to read magazines.
I would love to win this for my grandchildren. They are homeschooled and try to do fun educational things in the summer. Thanks!
I would love to win this for my grandkids, they love National Geographic books because they are fun and educational!
I want these for my granddaughters.
My daughter started reading this year and I am looking for books that will catch her attention and motivate her to read on her own. Thanks!
My daughter would love to win this prize! Thanks so much for the chances to win.
My kids would really enjoy this.
I would love to win this for my niece!