How To Avoid Summer Grade-Level Slide

Anywhere from one to three months of grade-level learning is often lost during summer vacation. Here’s how to avoid the brain drain — with a little help from technology.

By Laura St. John, Discovery Kids Puterbugs and TLC Parentables

In today’s fast-paced world, summer is a refreshing time for our kids to kick back, relax, and just be kids! But research also shows that summer is a time for learning loss: A staggering one to three months of grade-level learning in both reading and math skills is typically lost during this precious time.

To help your child retain academic skills and knowledge over summer vacation, you can simply turn to the help of one of the most engaging tools in your home – your computer. But how you use it will determine whether it actually helps or harms your child. So don’t unplug – just be sure to use it wisely.

How to Stop Brain Drain

• Limit watching videos, YouTube, or any passive uses
• Avoid commercial websites splattered with ads

Harmful Effects

• Kids get into a click-happy mode: clicking on videos, ads, and isolated games that lack purpose
• Kids quickly pick up the surfing habit that leads to poor concentration and focus
• Passive uses of technology can lead to harmful effects on brain development

Website Features to Look for

• Creative activities that build from one to the next, and prompt your child for response
• Games that incorporate age-appropriate educational concepts that self-adjust with your child’s level, reinforcing skills while gently challenging your child to advance forward
• Activities that promote ways to extend the learning off-line, such as learning about the animals that live in the forest, then tips to maximize a family hike in the woods

The Benefits

• Meaningful activities boost concentration and focus, and give kids a purpose to achieve an end result
• Self-adjusting activities that correlate to state or national standards and benchmarks help stop the summer learning loss and also prepare your child with skills for next school year
• Suggested off-line activities help promote well-balanced children who will build healthy tech habits and extend learning through creative or outdoor play

Summer is still a time to chill out, unplug, and let our kids be kids. But when you do plug in, make sure you tap into summer learning opportunities on the computer that help your child learn!

Online Deal: Up to 50% for TutorTime Students!

Save up to 50% off online membership to Discovery Kids Puterbugs, the revolutionary program that teaches toddlers to type as they learn their letters! Keep your preschooler’s mind stimulated all summer long with the only program that teaches keyboarding as it builds the foundation for reading and writing! Create a user account at www.discoverykids.com/puterbugs and enroll with Promo Code: CAMP1

Any questions? Please email us at classes@puterbugs.com

Laura St. John is co-creator at Discovery Kids Puterbugs, the #1 computer classes for kids, a proud partner of TutorTime Academy. In addition to online membership, classes are also taught by certified trainers at select locations. For more information on class schedules near you, please email classes@puterbugs.com.