What are you doing to keep it at bay?

So here’s a bit of sobering news courtesy of Johns Hopkins University: Most kids fall behind more than two months in math over the summer. Lots of what they learned just flies away, leaving their next teacher with lots of repeat work to do.

That loss cuts across all socioeconomic lines, perhaps because so few kids (from any income bracket) practice math when school is out.

But most of the so-called summer learning loss hits poor kids the hardest. They fall behind some two months in reading, too, while middle or higher income children hold steady — or even make gains in reading skills during the summer.

Hopkins researchers say that by fifth grade low-income kids can be as much as 2.5 years behind in reading, with the gap in summer learning a big contributor to that deficit.

The university’s Center for Summer Learning is pushing for Congress to fund a national pilot program that would provide summer enrichment programs for students in high-poverty communities.

It also urges parents (from all income levels) to make the most of the time off from school.

The advice is hardly earth-shattering: Make sure your kid keeps reading, make day-trips and vacations have an educational component and practice math daily. Hmm. Math. Daily?

Reading is easy in my house. We read a lot, and both our kids love it, too. But when I suggested to my son that he should practice his multiplication, and he looked at me like I had grown horns. A friend had passed on an online site for multiplication, however, and he was intrigued enough to give it a go without too much complaint. So I think we can do that sometimes. But probably not every day. Of course, the Hopkins researchers seem to be talking about less intense things, too, just counting in the grocery store, talking about fractions and measuring while cooking, etc.

Not surprisingly, they suggest a summer spent in front of some kind of screen (computer, TV, video game) isn’t a summer well spent.

So what are you doing to keep young minds engaged these next few months?

Source: Orlando Sentinel, FL
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/2008/06/experts-always.html