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A Lack of Consistent Routines
Young children really benefit from consistent routines! When your child is in school, their days are usually predictable. They know what will happen next and can relax into those routines so learning can happen. During the summer, does your child have routines during the day that are usually consistent? If not, your child's brain may be preoccupied with guessing what might happen next rather than learning. Try these ideas:
- Provide a consistent academic routine around the same time of day during the week. This can be as simple as 10 minutes of reading after lunch or practicing 3 math facts before screen time.
- If fun summer plans will interrupt your routine, inform your child ahead of time. Offer to move the routine to another part of the day to provide some normalcy, even on a fun day.
- Invite your child to design this academic routine with you. Offer them choices that matter to them (but not to you). This will give them a sense of ownership over their own learning during the summer.
A Lack of Meaningful Accountability
Many parents attempt to hold their child accountable while learning at home. Unfortunately, it sometimes come across as demanding their child do the work while the child resists and everyone is frustrated. There are lots of reasons your child may be resisting learning at home, but sometimes all they need is to understand why we're asking them to do the work. Here's how you can hold your child accountable in a meaningful way:
- Before starting your new academic routine, have a few conversations with your child about why you are interested in practicing with them over the summer. Be honest and include questions like: How will this help their brain? Why should they practice over the summer? How might this help them prepare for the next school year?
- Revisit these questions throughout the summer. Invite your child to create their own accountability poster.
- Offer choice frequently, especially if your child starts to lose interest in the routine.
A Lack of Inviting Resources/Materials
We all know how hard it is as a kid to learn when your are completely uninterested in the resources or materials given to you. As a parent, it can feel intimidating when you want to ensure your child is learning while having fun! Providing them with inviting resources/materials doesn't always mean keeping them entertained. It's just giving them things that meet some of the following criteria:
- They are interested or excited by the topic.
- They can easily navigate the resource/material independently or with little help from an adult.
- They can independently complete the task with little to no struggle.
- They can freely explore and try new things with the resource/material.
- They can make choices that matter to them.
A Lack of Goals to Work Towards
At school, your child is often working towards a goal in a limited amount of time. This gives learning a purpose and makes them feels successful when the goal is reached. During the summer, learning can feel like it lacks that purpose and success. To combat this, ask your child to design learning goals with you. Be sure to include:
- a topic or task that is interesting to your child. For example, your child wants to research and write a short book about sharks.
- a set amount of time (shorter is better... you can always extend it later) to complete the task. For example, you and your child agree that they should research for three days, then write the book for two days. You'll visit Grandma on Saturday to share it.
- a way of sharing the completed task with others (bonus points if they can receive feedback from others!). For example, Grandma can read it, ask questions, and share her favorite part.
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