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If your teen is preparing to take the SAT or ACT this fall, there is no better time for him or her to register for a customized test prep program. Summer break is the perfect opportunity for students to focus on studying for the SAT or ACT because their schedules are far less crowded with school and extracurricular activities. Your teen can work from a targeted schedule to put himself or herself in the best position for the August or September exam.
Your child has worked hard all school year—the last thing you want is for him or her to lose ground over summer. Eileen Huntington of Huntington Learning Center advises parents to keep their children learning over summer break to minimize regression and the loss of essential skills for next school year. “Children deserve a break over summer, but there are many simple things parents can do to minimize learning loss and keep their children’s minds sharp while school is out,” says Huntington. She offers several summer learning strategies:
Many parents have heard the scary-but-true statistic that children who do not read over summer break can lose up to two months of reading achievement. According to Reading Rockets’ review of 13 empirical studies on summer reading loss, over time, this can create a compounded achievement gap of 1.5 years before a child has even reached middle school.
The good news: it’s not hard to curb summer reading loss. With a little effort, you can help your child continue to strengthen that “reading muscle” and prevent the dreaded summer slide so that when the next school year begins, he or she is ready to hit the ground running. Here are five tips to build those literacy skills this summer:
It’s summer break, which also means it is time for Huntington Learning Center’s annual summer reading program, Reading Adventure. Students select books from Huntington’s carefully formulated book lists that offer a range of choices by grade level and reading ability. They then record what they read in their “reading passport,” sharing their assessment and opinions about each book. The program is intended to introduce children to high-interest reading material and get them excited about reading.
It’s summer break, which means relaxing, recharging and plenty of fun for students. Even though your child is probably eager to toss the backpack into a closet until September, Eileen Huntington, Co-founder of the Huntington Learning Center encourages parents to develop a summer learning schedule that will deter regression (learning loss), and maintain a schedule. “There are many advantages to incorporating a little structure into your child’s summer schedule,” says Huntington. “Children who continue to exercise their brains have a far easier time going back to school in the fall, plus, keeping the mind active during break can remind children about the fun of learning.
Summer vacation is a welcome reprieve from the busy days of the school year, but for many parents, it can bring up concerns about their children losing skills and falling behind. Luckily, there are a number of things parents can do to help students retain knowledge while they’re not in school. “Summer learning activities do not have to be rigorous or mimic classroom learning to be effective,” says Eileen Huntington, Co-Founder of the Huntington Learning Center. “With a little planning and creativity, parents can offer their children a variety of fun learning experiences that will help them stay fresh.” Huntington offers these ideas to avoid summertime learning loss:
Exercise your brain over the summer with these 8 learning activities that will stimulate your mind & have you fully prepared for the new school year.
The end of the school year may find your children exhausted from a year of hard work and fixated on that great burst of freedom that begins in June. If so, your suggestion that they consider some "summertime learning activities" might not go over too well. But staying smart during the warm weather months doesn't depend on test-taking and fretting over grades. With less structure and more adventure, the following activities can turn leisure time into learning time and help prepare your child for challenges in the year to come.
