Combating summer brain drain

BY LIZA N. BURBY
Special to Newsday

School's out and your kids are enjoying a well-deserved break. But while they're taking it easy, will they forget what they learned in school?

During summer vacation kids between kindergarten and sixth grade tend to experience "brain drain," typically a loss of one to two months of reading and math skills, says Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

"The summer slide occurs when they don't engage in educational activities for several weeks. It's the generally accepted notion that if you don't use it, you lose it," he says. "As a result, teachers tend to spend four to six weeks each fall re-teaching material learned the previous year."

What to do? Don't make your child finish all those incomplete workbooks the teacher sent home or insist on daily study habits, says Janice Sawyer, director of Hofstra University's Saturday Classes for Young People in Uniondale. "The best way for them to retain the skills they learned is to make learning enjoyable, not an obligation. Then they won't even know they're learning."

Besides, students do need a break. "They need to learn the ability to relax so they can find the appropriate relief from the pressure to perform throughout the school year," says Charles Sophy, a child psychiatrist in private practice in East Hampton and Los Angeles.

Tips on preventing brain drain

How can you keep your kids from experiencing "brain drain" over the summer? Foster summertime learning without an obvious agenda, experts say. Educators Ron Fairchild of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Janice Sawyer of Hofstra University, along with child psychiatrist Charles Sophy, recommend the following math, reading, writing, science and social studies activities that parents and kids can do together -- for the fun of it. But before you begin, keep these guidelines in mind:

Start with their interests. If kids like computers, for instance, expose them to as much material as possible that allows them to become a real student of their hobbies, like books or a summer class.

Look into vacations with educational themes, like a trip to a historical village or science museum.

Limit time with TV and video games, just as you do during the school year.

Maintain a schedule so kids have structure to their day. This makes the transition back to school in September an easier task.

Throughout all of these activities, says Sawyer, not only will you reinforce learned skills, you'll also create memories to take back to school -- and beyond.

Math

There are plenty of ways to practice math skills daily.

Track sports statistics and keep a chart.

Hang a thermometer outside to track the temperature throughout the summer.

Make paper airplanes and measure their flight.

Cook a meal together, letting your child use measuring spoons and cups and helping to divide ingredients into equal parts.

Take it a step further, and let them help you shop. Tell them how much money you'd like to spend and have them estimate the total cost of purchases before you get to the check-out.

Writing

Help them maintain their writing skills and manual dexterity with these activities.

Create and plan a calendar of events together. Kids can make a calendar out of a blank sheet of paper, decorate it and fill in the days with events they help you choose.

Create a scrapbook of summer events, complete with details of their experiences, photos, which they can caption, and items they collected, each with a written heading.

If they'll be away at camp, have them write letters (the old-fashioned way!) to relatives and friends.

Social Studies

Reading and writing skills come in handy as children participate in activities that help them learn more about history, geography and culture.

Interview older community members or relatives about their lives and the history of the neighborhood. Ask them to compare the neighborhood they live in now to the neighborhood where they grew up.

Make a map of places you want to visit with your children. In fact, mapping a planned vacation helps them feel ownership in the plans, as well as pass the time. They can color in states each time they see a new "Welcome to" sign on the highway.

Take them to an ethnic supermarket to try new foods and then talk about and research the country the foods came from.

Be a tourist on Long Island and in New York City. Visit Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and museums.

Science

Incorporate math skills as well as reading and writing as children explore the natural world.

Visit a local park and observe different types of rocks, animals, insects and leaves. If you grew up in a different part of the United States or in a different country, talk about the differences in the types of plants and animals you can find where you live now versus where you used to live.

Observe weather patterns and make forecasts.

Plant a garden to show how seeds develop into plants and how fertilizer and weather can affect growth.

Give kids the chore of separating recyclable materials. Teach them why recycling is important and show them where all the waste ends up in your community.

Have a treasure hunt at the beach. Discover shells, seaweed, small fish bones and beach glass. Bring along a field guide or go online to do research about your treasures when you get home.

Reading

A 2004 study conducted by Jimmy Kim of Harvard University's Center for Evaluation found that reading four or five books over the summer had an impact on fall reading achievement comparable to attending summer school. The best way to get children to read is for parents to model it for them. In addition:

Encourage their interest by letting them read books on a favorite topic.

Sign up for the summer reading program at your local library. The theme this year is Books: A Treasure! Children read and report on books to get prizes, participate in activities and have a party mid-August.

Read aloud to them, or have them read aloud to you or to a younger sibling.

Listen to books on tape as a family while you're on the road this summer.

Copyright 2008 Newsday Inc.