Math Summer Slide: Maintaining Momentum to Prevent Falling Behind

Playgrounds may not be the only place your children experience a “slide” this summer. Whether you call it the “math summer slide” or “brain drain,” children often fall behind without any academic learning during the summer months.

The Problem with Breaks

While a break from the mental taxation of school is needed, studies show that children can lose up to two months of their knowledge and skills between school grades. A child’s learning not only stagnates during this time, but a significant amount of the knowledge gained from the previous school year could also dissipate. To make matters worse, children who languish in the summer will almost always have trouble getting started when the new school year begins.

The Importance of Exercise

It’s important to remember, the brain is like any other muscle and needs a regular dose of exercise to stay strong. Consider how motivated and great we feel when we work out regularly. After taking a few months off of exercising, however, it’s easy to lose our motivation and our confidence may slip. Then, when we get over that hump and start exercising again, we often lose endurance and speed.

The same thing happens to children after a long break from exercising the mind. They may lose confidence, motivation, and skills. What seems like simply taking two months off can easily slide into four months of progress lost and difficulty getting back into the routine.

The Opportunity to Excel

School is becoming increasingly more challenging each year. Since students have more free time in the summer, it’s a great opportunity to get ahead. Children that continue learning throughout the summer have an academic advantage that can catapult them into the new school year!

The good news is there’s plenty of time for both fun and learning in the summer. Check out this blog post for super simple tips!