Quick Techniques to Keep Your Child Thinking and Learning All Summer

Summer vacation is officially underway, and a few weeks into it, you might be looking at the calendar to see when your little ones (or not so little ones) will be heading back to the classroom. While summer can mean heaps of fun for kids (and endless frustration for parents), it can also lead to what some teachers like to call "brain drain". The mind is like a sponge in many ways - it can soak up information at an astounding rate - but remove the sponge from water, and it dries up in a hurry. So, too, with the human brain and the learning process. Students need to exercise their brains in the summer just as much as they exercise their bodies. If they do, when school is back in session you (and they) will be astounded by how much knowledge they retained (or even gained) during those lazy summer months.

Unfortunately, many parents don't know how to help their kids keep sharp academically during the summer months. And those who do have the knowledge they need, often fear the battle that will ensue if the word "school" is mentioned on a hot July day. But fear not, brain exercise is not as difficult as it may seem on the surface.

First, your child should read for at least a few minutes every day (preferably not just before bed, as exhaustion kicks in then). For the most part, it doesn't matter what your child is reading - it should be something that is at their reading level, and about a topic that interests them (even if it bores you). Yes, magazines do count as reading, although if you can find a book that will "hook" your child, that is preferable, as there is something to be said for sustained attention to one plotline. You should also read with or to your child as frequently as you can. Reading aloud is an important skill, and it requires a great deal of practice. The more you read to your child, and ask them to read to you, the more fluent their oral and silent reading will become.