Stop the Summer Slide!

No, I am not talking about the Alpine slide! Summer slide – or summer learning loss - is when students forget what they learned over the summer. Going camping? Traveling long distances? Looking for something to do after dinner?  Is your student “bored?”  Here are some fun ways to sneak in some learning over the summer.

War

Do you remember playing “War” as a kid? It is a two-player card game, and each player has their own deck of cards. 1-2-3, you both flip the top card over. The player with the larger card wins and keeps both cards. The person that runs out of cards first loses. Playing war teaches even the youngest students to recognize numbers and relative values. To take it up a notch, flip over two cards at a time and either add, subtract, or multiply to see who has the highest value.

Board Games

Board games are also great ways to practice math.  All ages love “Trouble” where you “pop” the dice, then count out how many spaces to move.  Games where you roll two dice – Backgammon, Bunco, Clue, and Yahtzee – practice addition.  Monopoly takes it up a notch with two dice AND counting money as you buy properties and collect rent. If the time commitment for Monopoly is scary, set a time limit or look online for different rules to speed up play.  

Estimating Tips

Students are introduced to percentages in 6th grade and by high school, many students still have a difficult time. Practice percentages in the real world to calculate tips.  Here is an easy way to do a 20% tip in your head:  start with the total, move the decimal point one place to the left, and then double!  For example, if dinner cost $54.65, then $5.46 x 2 = $10.92.  If your child is younger, round up or down to make it simpler: $5.50 x 2 = $11.00. 

Bizz-Buzz

This is a counting game, with a little twist.  The first person starts with 1, then going clockwise each person counts by 1.  The twist is that multiples of 7 or for any number that has a 7 in it the person needs to say “Buzz” instead of the number.  It sounds like this: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, BUZZ, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, BUZZ, 15, 16, BUZZ, 18 …”

To make it easier, change the game up to use multiples of 5 instead of 7.  Or to make it harder, you say “BIZZ” for 5s and “BUZZ” for 7s!  “1, 2, 3, 4, BIZZ, 6, BUZZ, 8, 9, BIZZ, 11, 12, 13, BUZZ, BIZZ, 16, BUZZ, 18 …”

Reading

Let kids read what they want to read!  Libraries have books of all kinds – fiction, non-fiction, biographies, graphic novels, and more. While “Captain Underpants” might not qualify as beach reading for mom, elementary and middle school students will devour all 12 books as the caped crusader (in underpants!) saves the world from talking toilets, lunchroom zombies, and other outrageous villains.

Most of us are familiar with Storytime at our local libraries, but did you know that libraries also offer programming to encourage older children and teens? Make a habit of visiting the library and checking out books to read every 2 weeks.

Park City Library

Some fun events for school-aged kids are the Friday Strategy Games group, Thursday Minecraft Club, the monthly Intro to Guitar Class, and monthly Mexican Bingo.

On July 8 and August 6 attend a literal summer slide - a huge water party with slip-and-slides, bubbles, and other activities!  Or pack a picnic lunch and enjoy Mountain Town Music on the library patio on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  All great excuses to visit the library and pick up some books.

Summit County Library

Summit County Library in Kimball Junction also has summer programs for children, tweens, and teens. Teen Reads and Teen Groovy Crafts encourage reading and creativity. On June 9th they are hosting a “Teen Nerf and Pizza Night” for ages 11-17.  If your students are competitive, sign them up for one of the Reading Challenges.

Explore Park City!

Get outside and learn about nature at the Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter, history at the Park City History Museum, gardening at Summit Community Gardens, or problem-solving at the Escape Room Park City.  Take hikes and play a game of identifying different trees, flowers, and wildlife. Learning doesn’t have to mean sitting at the kitchen table, filling out worksheets, and memorizing spelling words.   Use this summer to explore our beautiful town and encourage your students to learn through play.