Six Ways Summer Learning Helps Students Beat Boredom & Keep Skills Sharp!
Is your child enrolled in a summer learning program this summer? Most children look forward to summer vacation but end up being bored. While boredom has some benefits—it encourages creativity—it can also lead to negative behaviours.
Yet finding something to do isn’t always easy; children and older teens need guidance from parents to bring structure to their day. Research shows that children thrive with a healthy routine.
University of Waterloo psychologist James Danckert says boredom signals a desire for something meaningful, purposeful, and useful. Boredom also signals a need for physical or mental stimulation.
Learn Something New This Summer!
With so much unstructured free time in the summer, boredom isn’t just a problem for parents looking for activities to fill the day—summer vacation can also negatively impact your child’s learning progression.
Researchers have studied summer academic loss and its impact on students for decades. The research shows that when students of all ages stop learning for two months, it affects their learning momentum. It also affects their knowledge retention, and it causes them to be further behind in the fall than they were in the spring when school let out.
Known as the summer learning slide, summer learning loss is particularly noticeable in math, reading, writing, and spelling skills.
Don’t Lose Skills on the Summer Slide!
Statistically, students can lose up to 2 months of reading and writing skills and 2.6 months of math skills every summer, along with general knowledge in all subjects.
But Summer Learning Keeps Skills Sharp!
Summer programs help students fight against the summer learning slide and keep their skills on an upward trajectory! They also offer engaging programs to keep students on track with academics, occupied during summer days, and motivated to start school in the fall.
Check out these six ways that summer camps and programs help keep students’ skills from sliding downward and keep climbing up.
Summer Program Benefits
The best thing about summer programs is they offer students more opportunities to participate in the learning process. There is often more time to ask questions, more engagement with the subject matter, and more chances to make serious gains in the areas that need the most attention. But the best part of summer learning is that it is fun!
Summer programs . . .
- Are more focused and interactive than during the school year
- Create structure and routine during the summer
- Give students time to focus on challenging subjects
- Help students develop more substantial reading and math skills
- Are fun, motivating, exciting, and engaging!
Summer Programs at Oxford Learning are a fun and exciting way to catch up, keep up and get ahead this summer!
Contact a location near you to learn more about our summer programs!
Related Summer Resources
