Education: Ways to Keep Your Kids Learning in the Summer

Visiting the library keeps learning high on the summer to-do list. Many libraries also offer free family programs.

For children who have been struggling in school, summer can be their opportunity to catch up on key skills and feel more confident when they head back to class. For students who do well, it's an opportunity to reinforce enthusiasm for learning.

"Learning loss begins within 24 to 48 hours, unless the new information is reinforced or applied immediately," says Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D., vice president of education for Sylvan Learning Center. "After a month without reinforcement, approximately 80 percent of what a student has recently learned can be lost. You cannot start too early or too late to help your child prepare for going back to school."

Parents play a key role in reinforcing learning on an ongoing basis. Sylvan Learning Center has prepared these tips for integrating continuous learning into fun, family activities all summer long:

* Read with your student. You can't start too early, and you can't read too much. Read together with your children and ask questions about the plot and characters.

* Use the Web to create a reading list. There are an abundance of sites that provide summer reading lists for children. At www.bookadventure.com, children create personalized book lists from more than 7,000 recommended titles, take quizzes on the books they've read at school or home and earn prizes. The program is designed to motivate students to read more often, for longer periods of time and with greater understanding.

* Plan an educational field trip. Visit an interesting place close to home, such as a historic site, museum or the zoo.

* Find pen pals or keep a journal. Encourage your student to write letters to family and friends as a way of practicing writing. Regular entries in a journal will also keep writing skills alive.

* Visit the library. Libraries can recommend books appropriate for your child's reading level and interests, and many libraries offer free family programs.

* Participate in summer learning programs. There are a variety of programs available for children that reinforce learning. For example, Sylvan Learning Center provides math, writing and reading camps for students ranging from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.

For additional ideas, log on to http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com or call 800-31-SUCCESS.

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