Prevent the Summer Vacation ‘Brain Drain’
At the beginning of each school year, teachers generally report they need to repeat at least a month’s worth of teaching because of what they refer to as the “summer slide” or the “summer vacation brain drain.” These terms generally refer to how students fall behind academically because they do not stay actively engaged in learning activities during the summer holiday.
Many books and articles have been published about learning loss and how to help your child overcome the summer slide that impacts so many children. We have listed below a few ideas for keeping your child actively engaged in learning during the summer and minimizing that “summer vacation brain drain” in your child.
Great Ideas to Keep Your Child Engaged This Summer
- Volunteer in the Community - Volunteering and acts of kindness offers opportunities for hands-on learning and skill-building while developing a sense of community pride. Although volunteering opportunities may be limited because of the pandemic, searching “100 Acts of Kindness for Kids” or “Volunteering Opportunities for Kids,” via the Google search engine will help provide you with simple ideas you can work on together.
- Discover Hobbies or Interests – Summer break provides students free time to build, plant, create videos, run, read for fun, write stories, enroll in a special interest course and more. Help your child create a weekly list of activities and then as the saying goes … “Just Do It!”
- Use Technology to Reinforce Skills in Reading, Math and Writing – There are numerous free educational and cool websites for children of all ages to explore. Sites generally have learning activities for different grades levels. Below are just a few examples.
Sesame Street - https://www.sesamestreet.org
National Geographic - https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
How Stuff Works - https://www.howstuffworks.com/
Cool Math – http://www.coolmath.com
The San Francisco Exploratorium - https://www.exploratorium.edu/
NASA for Kids - https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub/index.html
Kahn Academy for Kids - https://www.khanacademy.org/
Have your child keep a log of sites visited with notes from their daily visits pinpointing specific things they learned or were interested in learning more about. Review their observations with them each day and you will be amazed how much they enjoy sharing with you. - Visit the Dublin Library - Reading builds comprehension and vocabulary skills, and the library offers plenty of sources to learn more about those hobbies and interests mentioned earlier. Libraries literally have something for everyone. In addition to being able to access thousands of books and magazines, you’ll find computers, graphic novels, audio books and more. Just visit the Dublin Library online to learn more about resources for kids and families and their opening times.
- Enroll in Fun & Educational DPIE STEAM Courses – Each summer DPIE hosts a wide-variety of STEAM enrichment courses as part of its summer-long elementary and middle school academies. Some of our courses are taught by teachers from the DUSD, while others are offered by outside vendors we partner with all through the school year.
This summer, via the virtual classroom, DPIE is once again offering 40+ different courses that run the gamut from reading, writing, art, public speaking and chess to, learning about Artificial Intelligence, coding, design, electricity and engineering. There is something for everyone and courses are usually offered multiple times throughout the summer, so you can enroll in courses that fit your family's summer schedule.
If you are interested in learning more and enrolling in the courses DPIE is offering this summer, please click on the links below
Five Reasons to Enroll Your Student in DPIE STEAM Enrichment Courses this Summer
- Innovative classes keep student’s minds actively engaged.
- Creative classes afford students the chance to explore their interests.
- Summer courses build a student’s confidence.
- Courses keep kids active and working.
- The varied schedule of course offerings provide family flexibility.
Enroll Now Before Classes Fill!
Financial Aid is available to families enrolled in the District’s Federally Funded Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program. Contact DPIE staff to learn more about financial aid available to Dublin families at info@dpie.org.