When school's out and classrooms are closed, how do parents halt 'the summer slide'?

Educators say 'the summer slide' can see children lose some of the learning they gained over the school year. But there are ways for parents to keep their kids' minds active over the break, says librarian Emily Blackmore. (Przemek Klos/Shutterstock)

Educators call it the "summer slide" — when students, freed from the classroom and reading requirements over the summer break, lose some of what they learned over the school year.

Emily Blackmore, Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries' children and youth collections and services librarian, says some studies estimate kids lose about 20 per cent of their academic ability over the summer break.

"[That's] not what we want, especially when we know that there's lots of things you can do over the summer to help combat that," said Blackmore.

Fortunately, she says, there are ways for parents to help keep their kids' minds active.

Summer reading club

This summer, Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries is participating in the TD Summer Reading Club — a countrywide online reading program for children of all ages that aims to make reading fun and interesting for children.

"The motivation for wanting to read has to come from them," said Blackmore.

Parents can sign their children up at any point during the summer. When they do, children will receive a booklet to track their summer reading and an online code for the club's website, which has extra activities for children.

Through the program, children can set reading goals and win prizes.

Blackmore says the goal is to help kids feel like they can read on their own throughout the summer. Libraries have a wide variety of books children can read on any topic that intersts them, she said, including non-fiction, crafts, sports — and even Minecraft.

The summer reading program will be launched June 21 at the A.C. Hunter Library in St. John's.

Ways to prevent the summer slide

Blackmore has other suggestions for how parents can encourage reading.

Parents can do activities with their children that are literacy-related. Blackmore suggests parents read a recipe with their child or do a scavenger hunt.

"There's even ways that you can tie your literacy practices to the things you're doing in the summer," said Blackmore.

She recommends going to the library and picking up a book on a summer activity, such as camping or fishing. The library offers a birdwatching backpack, which contains a book, binoculars and a checklist of birds. And many libraries offer more than just books — the A.C. Hunter library has musical instruments and board games.

And what's better on a rainy day than cosying up with a good book? Blackmore says parents and children should take advantage of Newfoundland's poor weather days during the summer.

The library also offers other learning opportunities besides books, including musical instruments available to loan or bird-watching backpacks that contain a book, binoculars and a checklist of local birds for adults and children to borrow.

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