This time of year, I am often asked how to help students over the summer. Let me start by saying if you are asking that, you are already doing a great job as a parent/caregiver! So take a breath - you are doing great, and your kiddo will be ok!
If I'm honest, I would say that the FIRST thing I'd like you do this summer - is go to a playground, backyard, spray park etc with your student(s) and let them play with other kids as you stand back.
Watch close, but don't intervene immediately when they are problems (safety excluded). Let them learn to interact and solve problems with other kids their age and fail at doing so. They might have trouble, and that's ok! Jump in and model if you need to. With parents and caregivers like you right there to pep them up, the kids will be better off!
As a parent, I also think it's important to watch this process, and know how things might actually 'go down.' Often, when our kids get home from school, we get a part of the story, and if you don't work with groups of children all day - you may not know how frequently kids go from best friends to frenemies to best friends again - all in one recess block! (Safety and bullying excluded, those are different).
I don't want you to think academics aren't a priority - they absolutely are! But some of the biggest challenges we face with children in 2023 is social awareness and problem-solving.
Other helpful Ideas:
-Flash cards (10 minutes, a few times a week) - for numbers, facts, letters and sounds. You can make your own, or they are all over the dollar store! This is 100% old school and 100% LEGIT! :)- The fancy term is called 'retrieval practice' and it is well researched.
-Read aloud with your child each night
-Head to the library after the playground!
-Summer reading through Helendale Library: https://eastironcsd-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/sdabreu_eastiron_monroe_edu/EaQ1D9Hs9StOn_BiRFvyFSEBzSiEy0eOML_WNuB2BwCQpg?e=ZN7gBO
For those of us who are like learning about learning, this blog post may be helpful about how quickly we forget things, and how we can help in the summer to prevent it!
