Summer has arrived! Now is the time to enjoy some rest & relaxation. While we unwind, it’s essential that we take steps to prevent learning loss. When school starts back in the fall, it can really hit hard. By curating a summer that balances fun and productivity, we can ensure that next year doesn’t catch them off guard.
So, let’s dive in as we lay out our five areas of focus to help your child get the most out of this summer. We’ve also got a FREE Summer Planner and Resource Guide for you to seamlessly find that balance.
Click here to grab your free copy now.
This guide is a step-by-step action plan to help keep your child productive and continue their learning over the summer, without them having to sacrifice enjoying their break.
The best part is, it eliminates ALL the guesswork in achieving that balance, and it’s totally customizable for you and your child.
#1 Enjoy Summer
Our first area of focus may sound simple, but it’s non-negotiable for both you and your child. We want our children to return to school in the fall ready to learn, but we also want them to feel refreshed.
Yes, we’re going make this summer count in being productive, but it’s important to keep a balance between academics and leisure. Trips and vacations, family reunions, cookouts, summer weddings, and any other special gathering and event should be a priority this summer.
#2 Foster a Growth Mindset
Even though this is the time for the kids to enjoy the break, we still have to deal with preventing learning loss. This might be something they are not thrilled to add in their summer plans, and that’s why this mindset focus is so crucial!
Fostering a growth mindset helps them to understand why we need to continue working at something and teaches them to push forward even on work that is uncomfortable.
Our children’s future success manifests itself from within their minds.
So how do we build this outlook within them?
- Use encouragement and model a growth mindset for your child.
- Coach them to begin each activity or project with positive intention
- Remind them that every experience is followed by growth, and ALL of their experiences and decisions, both good and bad, have brought them THIS far. This is especially crucial if your child struggled in this last school year.
- Teach them to be patient with their mistakes and to reassure themselves with affirmations. This skill prevents previous struggles from becoming hurdles next year.
- Teach them to look at any failures as lessons. Any obstacles or setbacks can be viewed as a cliff – When things get difficult, it just means they are about to make a breakthrough. They can reach new heights, all they have to do is climb just a little longer.
Once you talk to your child about the empowerment that comes with a growth mindset, it’s time to help them get to work. This is where Focus 3 comes in, which is
#3 Pace Your Practice
Since we’re talking about your child’s academic development over the summer, let’s consider as an example the big 3 foundational skills: Math, Reading, and Writing.
The last thing you want to do is wait until the final days of summer break to start frantically reviewing math packets, cramming summer reading, and scrambling essays together.
Summer is the time to make plans on how to improve what may not have gone well for your child this past year. Measure their strengths and weaknesses to make forward progress all summer through concrete actions. How do you do this?
First, you want to list out your required work, and you want to do that as soon as you can. That’s because, next, you can schedule that workload and spread it out into small but consistent chunks throughout the summer.
Once required work is either complete or scheduled in, you’ll want to sprinkle in supplementary review to help keep things fresh and work on any trouble areas from the previous year.
We recommend that your child practices at least once every 2-3 days, for about 20-30 minutes of focused work, but it’s completely flexible, and you can adjust based on your child’s needs, summer plans, and what may need additional review.
You can find a list of FREE resources we recommend in the Academic Development & Review step of the summer planner.
Do you use any good resources to help your child supplement their learning? Please share in the comments below.
#4 Spark Curiosity
Learning can be tough, even reviewing things we already know – That’s why we need breaks. So this focus area is how we make learning more enjoyable.
The school year can get too busy to do this, so summer is the time for your child to develop skills, interests, and hobbies further.
Encourage your child to learn some new skills that interest them, whether its cooking, photography, building things, singing, dancing, sports. It’s okay for kids to dabble a little and move on, they’re still exploring.
But once you see your child get really into it, then encourage them to dive deep.
The purpose is to use their interests to spark curiosity. Curiosity is the strongest driving force to motivate people to learn, and curious children will seek out answers.
Learning something they love doing builds motivation and discipline. It also creates a love of learning. This love of learning can transfer over and carry them through in having to learn something they may not enjoy.
How?
Of course, developing an interest or hobby at home can simply mean time to practice it on their own, or an online class, but…
A more hands-on way to spark curiosity is through going out and engaging in their community.
Find some summer camps, workshops, and events near your area to meet up and network with other children who share their interests. They can make some new connections and learn together!
There’s another way for your child to explore and engage their community, and it’s especially important as they get older, and college is on the horizon. And that’s through community service and volunteering.
These opportunities can help your child feel grateful and appreciative. Helping others is one of the best ways to connect with people.
It gives them a way to improve their social skills, professionalism, and work ethic. Also, they’ll gain valuable leadership skills from stepping out to give back to their community.
Many higher learning institutions, internships, and jobs look for exceptional qualities in students.
If you child consistently focuses on their interests and service, when the time comes to make that next big step in life, they’ll stand out remarkably from the competition.
But competition nowadays is tougher than ever. And it becomes exponentially harder for your child to stand out from the crowd if they’re doing it by themselves. That’s why we want to utilize this final, fifth focus area
#5 Build & Strengthen Connections
Successful students have a strong network of support in their corner. The most central source of support are the parents, of course.
This summer you can help them expand that support by finding other people and resources to help them overcome any difficulties. Starting now will go a long way to help make next year a breeze.
The hardest part for ANYONE to get support is to stop and ask for help, so start there. Encourage and create a safe space for your child to ask questions – remember the power of curiosity?
Look for any connections in the programs your child will participate in this summer. These connections may end up being a source of mentorship, tutoring, or even recommendations & referrals in the future.
Now you have all the tools you need to start building an enriching and exciting summer calendar for your child. Don’t forget to grab that Free Planner and start working towards your child’s summer of growth, opportunities and fun!
If you haven’t downloaded your calendar yet, click here to get your copy.
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