Schooling: What to Do to Ensure an Active Brain Even in the Summer

Just because school's out doesn't mean that your child's brain has to go on vacation. This leads to an intense brain drain in kids that parents must avoid, says many studies.

Indeed, a study conducted by the University of Missouri showed that when students return to school after summer breaks, they've lost one to three months of learning, with math and spelling skills declining the most.

Still, you shouldn't stress about finding--and financing--the perfect summer class for your kid. "Any activity can be a learning activity," Draper advises. Counting the silverware at dinnertime, guessing how many baskets Shaquille O'Neal will make during his next game or reading the comics in the newspaper, for example, all could help keep your children's minds active. "If a child's brain is stimulated, a child's brain is growing," Draper says. Try some of the following ideas this summer, and your kids may never know they're being schooled!

GET COOKING: Whether you sign your child up for a class or teach her right at home, cooking allows children to read, work with fractions and measurements, and learn about chemistry while they are busy mixing and stirring. Try The Everything Kids' Cookbook by Sandra K. Nissenberg (Adams Media Corp.) or A Good Soup Attracts Chairs: A First African Cookbook for American Kids by Fran Osseo-Asare (Pelican), and produce the meals with your child from start to finish.

Questions to ask your child while you cook might include: Why do we put salt in a cake? If the recipe calls for one egg and we're doubling the recipe, how many eggs do we need? Since it's summer, consider cool seasonal recipes, such as homemade ice cream or frozen fruit pops, to beat the heat.

START A BOOK CLUB: What better way to get your kids excited about reading than to let them pick the title and even plan a gathering around it. For younger children, consider a themed party that Mom or Dad supervise where kids come dressed as their favorite book character. For tweens and older, give them free rein to pick their books and plan their gathering, encouraging them to talk about the story on a deeper level.

Learning doesn't have to stop when summer begins.

Credit: Casey Brock

Copyright: Casey Brock