Fighting Back Against Summer Brain Drain

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Now that you know about brain drain, you want to avoid it. Where do you start? Some general suggestions are to plan summer breaks with educational themes, such as visits to museums or galleries. Keep your child structured by keeping to a schedule, even though it's summer. Another great idea is to limit TV and video time. This is probably done during the school year as well but with more free time in the summer it's especially important to monitor. Following are some subject-specific suggestions for your child to make learning enjoyable and fun:

MATH
-pick a sports team to follow and chart their stats
-keep a thermometer outside and track the temperature
-do some cooking and measure ingredients

WRITING
- make a calendar and draw pictures on it and list daily events
-start a scrapbook and put small descriptions under the photos
-write letters to a child at camp and have them write back

SOCIAL STUDIES
-talk to mature residents in the neighborhood and compare notes from the past to now
-draw a map of places for an upcoming vacation and color in the states as you see their "Welcome To..." signs
- research different countries then visit an ethnic grocery related to the same place and try its food

READING
- set an example and let your child see YOU reading
-join a summer reading program at the local library
-have an older sibling read aloud to younger ones

At Back to Basics, we have many ways to avoid summer brain drain. We offer 1-on-1 instruction in 60 subjects and small group classes for middle and high school study skills up through how to succeed in college! Remedial, maintenance and enrichment levels are available, so summer is a great time to fill in the gaps, keep the skills learned throughout the year, or get ahead. Call or visit our website today and avoid brain drain this summer. You'll be glad you did come September!

It is true that students need to relax and take somewhat of a break over the summer. It's important for them to feel relief from the pressure of working hard during the school year. But, beware of brain drain! Students from kindergarten through sixth grade are very prone to this summer condition. A one to two month loss of reading and math skills can occur among this age group.

Summer brain drain results from several weeks or months without involvement in educational activities. However, summertime learning is most effective when it is not obvious, rigid learning. This way it doesn't seem like "school" to the student. More skills are learned and retained when learning is fun and enjoyable. There are many ways to avoid summer brain drain. A good place to start is to gear activities towards a child's interests. See our feature article for subject specific ideas to combat brain drain this summer!

Quote of the month-"It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts...it is to teach them to think, if that is possible, and always to think for themselves."-Robert Hutchins