As the calendar approaches summer, it’s the perfect time to start considering what your child will do during school break. Many busy parents are looking for options to keep their children entertained with a combination of learning and fun. In today’s post, we’ll dive into the benefits of attending a summer enrichment program instead of letting smartphones and tablets take over this summer.
On average, in a Brookings Institution report, students’ achievement scores declined over summer vacation by one month’s worth of school-year learning. Declines were sharper for math than for reading, and the extent of the loss was more significant at higher grade levels. Research regarding seasonal learning and summer learning loss suggests that the extended pause from classroom instruction impacts students’ achievement when returning to school.
Did you know it only takes 2-3 hours of work per week to prevent learning loss over the summer? Even for students returning to in-person summer leisure activities, there are many reasons to enroll your child in a high-quality virtual academic summer program. Educational summer programs can improve math and reading skills and build students’ critical thinking, social and emotional skills. These are skills that will help them not only in school but also in their careers and life.
If your child is home during the day, you may want to consider a schedule for your child that includes:
Creative writing - Creative writing encourages creativity while practicing writing. Frequent writing has proven to be highly effective in improving communication skills. If you schedule time for your child to write daily, it will improve reading skills and content learning. Having your child journal over the summer, writing a story about characters they create or about the books they read are great ways to keep their minds stimulated.
Focusing on troubled areas - If your child struggled in certain areas during the school year, focus on building confidence in that area—exciting online games like Prodigy, good use of resources hereEducation.com, and resources like Khan Academy and English Maven. These sites are a fun and interactive way to build skills on a laptop or tablet.
One-on-one tutoring. When your child works with an individual academic coach, they can become more confident in their knowledge of a subject. Positive reinforcement and encouragement can boost your scholar’s self-esteem, resulting in them being more willing to participate in class. Summer academic coaching can break the frustrating cycle of low school performance by focusing on areas your child needs to reinforce and keep important concepts top of mind.
Skills Courses. Skills-building courses like entrepreneurship and coding can help students learn more about new interests and help when considering a college major or choosing a career after high school. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the job outlook for software developers is projected to grow 22 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. Additionally, nearly 16% of the United States adult population are entrepreneurs. It is reported that African Americans start businesses at a higher rate than the White/Caucasian and Hispanic/Latino ethnicities.
The Brainery offers a motivating and fun virtual summer enrichment program and a beginners coding and young entrepreneur course. The Beginners Coding course is an excellent opportunity to introduce your child to a career path or an entertaining option for young gamers. The Young Entrepreneur course teaches kids business skills and what it’s like to start a business. Our personalized academic coaching supports your child’s problem-solving and critical thinking abilities, masters grade-level skills, and will help them grow an appreciation for learning. We guarantee to give your child personalized attention that will help them achieve academic success. If you are seeking one-on-one coaching or group classes and skill-building courses. . Our sessions are July 5- July 29, with the option to select a time convenient for your family between 10 am-5 pm EST Monday-Thursday. We also offer multi-student family and class discounts.
