Some
of my earliest memories as a child are of us sliding down the sliding
board in our back yard. There were four of us kids, three brothers and
myself. Not sure how, but my parents arranged for us to have the coolest
back yards ever. The first yard I remember was when I was only a
toddler. We had an apple tree that had to be 10 million feet high, a
swing set, a fence that our dog would climb to get out, the sliding
board that when you stood on top you could see the roof to the house,
and a fort that was so tall it took us up to heaven. My dad was an
engineer and perfectionist. He built that fort, and it was big.
In reality, I was
only two or three so my memories are pretty foggy, but I remember that
when on top of the slide or fort, we could see forever. The trees may
have blocked the view at little bit, but I saw
everything that was important. The most amazing thing happened while I was on the fort. I discovered my dad was a giant. Did you know he could reach up to the top of that fort and crab any one of us by the ankle at anytime he wanted to?
everything that was important. The most amazing thing happened while I was on the fort. I discovered my dad was a giant. Did you know he could reach up to the top of that fort and crab any one of us by the ankle at anytime he wanted to?
The slide, however,
had to be my favorite. It was one of those slides made of metal, and it
would burn your bottom in the summer time from sitting in the sun
(sadly, even that huge apple tree could not protect it from the North
Carolina summer heat). It was so much fun to climb up there and stand,
till mama caught us, and look around. It didn’t hurt that it would annoy
my brothers to have to wait on me either.
One Easter we got a
baby duck. We would take that poor duck and slide it down the sliding
board. That was more fun then sliding down yourself. Don’t remember if
the duck liked it or not, but we sure thought it was funny. Now before
any of you animal lovers get upset, it was the sixties, we were just
little kids, and it was fun. The duck used to ride around in our little
fire truck too. We really loved that duck.
Oh, the memories. We
really did have a good time. As much fun as our slide was, there are
slides that are not good for your kids.
The "summer slide"
is one that is very detrimental. What in the world is a "summer slide",
you may be asking yourself. Over summer vacation, according to John
Hopkins University, kids loose 2.6 months of the math skills they
learned the previous school year. Teachers spend the first few weeks
refreshing the memories and reminding kids how to do what they learned
only a few months ago.
What are parents to
do? How can we prevent this form happening? Well, there are several
things you can do. Here’s a few activities you can do over the summer to
prevent your child from falling victim to the "summer slide."
Tip #1 ~ Have a game night. Maybe Friday Night. Get a deck of
cards, a board game or two, turn off the TV,
and have some fun. There are all kinds of age
appropriate games you can play to encourage math
skills. Remember, the point is to make it fun, enjoy the
family, and use those brains. (see below for
resources)
Tip #2 ~ While traveling play "who can stump mom?" (with my
kids it was fairly easy, but stumping daddy was a
different thing altogether). Make up work equations for
your younger kids, like "I see three cows in the field.
There are also six horses. How many animals are in the
field?" Give the older kids a chance to shine by letting
them stump you. Allow them to ask you the math
word problems. The possibilities are endless. All
it takes is a little imagination.
Tip #3 ~ Cook together using new recipes. Cooking is a great
way to "secretly" use math. Mix things up and
double the recipes if you have a large family or cut it in
half if there are only the two of you. Each week travel
the world and try new recipes from different cultures.
When you involve the kids in the process they take
ownership and are interested to try new things. What a
great accidental life skill to learn.
Tip #4 ~ Book stores are full of workbooks you can use to help
your kids retain math skills. My favorite store for this is
the School Box in Atlanta, Ga. and Tenn. There are
more books on math there then anywhere I have ever
seen. The books are age and grade appropriate.
Several different companies have books that will work.
My favorite series is the Summer Bridge Activities
http://bit.ly/Kkji9A. ( I used to work at the School Box
and it is, by far, my favorite store for
educational products. Both parents and teachers shop there. It’s
a wonderful and the best place on the planet for
Christmas gifts too.) No School Box near you, don’t
worry, they’re online http://www.schoolbox.com.
You can also go online to find plenty of activities to
keep your kids engaged.
Tip #5 ~ Enroll your child in a summer tutoring program or
summer camp. There are all kinds of programs.
The important thing is to keep math and the skills
your child already has current and fresh. Mathnasium
has a great program plus they are open all summer to
keep your child focused. Again, I speak from personal
experience. My oldest daughter is the Center Director
at the Mathnasium near us, and my youngest daughter
is a Mathlete (student) there as well. You can read all
about her adventures and how much she has prospered
while at Mathnasium in my post "Making Math Make
Sense." You can find Mathnasium all over the country
and also online http://www.mathnasium.com.
So there you go,
five ways you can help save your child from the "summer slide." Math
doesn’t have to be scary or difficult. Spend a little bit of time each
day and encourage the use of math skills. The goal is to have your child
returning to school knowing what he knew (maybe even more) before he
went on summer break. Hey, who knows, the teacher may even thank you.
~ Please feel free to submit any activities that homeschoolers might enjoy. To do so, you can email Ahermitt@gmail.com with headline Homeschool Gwinnett. ~ For most recently added activities, go here.
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