Help Kids Avoid Learning Loss with Summer Math Programs

Are your kids enjoying their summer vacation, free of homework and studying?

With the pressures of the regular school year on hold, summer is the perfect time of year for your child to really discover how much fun it is to learn math, as well as catch up, keep pace or get ahead in their math skills.

In fact, summer presents many valuable opportunities for children, at their own individual pace, to explore and dig deeper into concepts not necessarily covered during the school year.

Did you know that during the summer break, children who don’t participate in educational activities experience summer learning loss? This is called the Summer Slide. Have you heard of it?

Studies about summer learning loss date back to 1906, over 100 years!  Researchers at Johns Hopkins University unveiled that math proficiency is especially vulnerable to the summer slide, with students losing “about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months”. In addition, a study undertaken by the RAND corporation revealed that summer learning loss is cumulative, with the potential to have significant effects on a student’s long-term academic achievement. Their report also noted that regularly attending high quality summer programs and consistently embracing quality learning opportunities during the summer, helps put the brakes on the summer slide and helps children retain concepts they learned during the school year.

By incorporating consistent, enjoyable, and meaningful opportunities for math learning, like through a math summer program, into your family’s summer calendar, your kids will become more confident in math, and be ready to tackle the new school year.

To help you find and choose the right summer math learning program, here are 5 tips:

1. It’s FUN! A summer program needs to balance fun and learning progress. Look for a program that specializes in creative, effective ways to teach math skills.
2. It gives individualized instruction & a custom learning plan unique to your child’s needs. This will ensure that your child’s specific academic needs and learning style are met.
3. It emphasizes regular attendance & goal setting. A solid summer math program will help you and your child set specific learning goals and develop a realistic a plan of action that will drive progress and minimize burnout. For the action plan to be effective, regular attendance is needed so that your child is practicing and learning consistently. And when results begin to show, don’t back off – see the action plan through! Learning math is just like trying to get into shape and maintaining a healthy body. If you stop going to the gym and eating healthy after you lose those first 5-10 lbs, you’re not going to make any further progress. Plus, you’ll likely put back on that weight, and possibly even more.
4. It provides a comfortable, stress-free environment. School’s not in session, so find a program that play’s hooky from the limitations and constraints of a traditional classroom environment. 
5. It keeps you informed at every step. Look for a program filled with passionate communicators, who are fully transparent and always eager to share regular updates about your child’s progress.

Committing to the right summer math program can help your child kick off the upcoming school year with more confidence, a stronger foundation in math, and a genuine love for learning.

Learn more about the Mathnaisum Method^TM, and our Summer Math Programs.There’s still time to enroll in one of our August math programs, and put a stop to the summer slide.

And feel free to stop by our math learning centre in Newmarket for a tour and to meet our team. We’d love to show you around, learn more about your child, and share how we help make math make sense.