Summer Smart: Preventing Brain Drain in Your Kids

With summer fun comes vacations, relaxation and lots of free time; but, before too long, it's time for school again and kids have to be ready for the rigors of reading, writing and arithmetic. According to the United States Department of Education, youngsters may regress in their skills over the warm vacation months. Almost 25% of all children regress in their reading skills and the average child loses almost 3 months grade equivalency in math skills. Summer does not have to be brain drain for your child, if you takes these steps for having a smart summer.

To prevent brain drain, you have to brain train. Over the summer, introduce your child to activities that are fun as well as educational.

When children are younger, we took time to take them to the library for reading time or special events. The same is true when they are school age. Make going to the library or the local bookstore part of the summer routine. Reading books or listening to educational videos are sure ways of helping your child retain much of what they learned the previous school term.

Together time can also be educational. Take the time to talk with your child about the events of the day or interesting things you saw on television. By having these talks, your child will develop memory and reasoning skills.

Maintaining great problem solving skills or memory could also be in the cards. Play games such as UNO, Concentration or Trivial Pursuit to help them handle step directions, boost memory and expand their bases of knowledge.

Quiet time can also be a learning experience. While some children love to play video games or surf the net, have your child write about their summer in a journal or on the computer. If journal writing is a bit restrictive, have them write what they like- stories, poetry or even riddles. Writing in this way will help youngsters maintain fine and gross motor skills, improve memory and build vocabulary.

Summer can be fun and learning at the same time. Your child does not have to suffer from a slide in skills during the summer vacation. Taking these steps, to keep your child's mind as active as their bodies, will put them on the path to being better and more successful students.