How to Keep the Brain Cobwebs Away
During Summer Vacation
By Dr. Andrea Pastorok, Education Specialist Kumon North
America
Summer is just around the corner. As children gear up for fun, sun, and
relaxation, parents explore summer activities and vacation getaways.
Remember, however, parents, as you make summer plans, that it is just as
important for children to participate in mental activities that exercise
their growing brains as it is for them to keep their bodies strong by
taking part in physical activities.
Despite the pleasure that summer brings, it does not come without the
threat of potential academic problems when school resumes. Students'
inability to recall many of the skills and much of the knowledge that they
learned prior to the summer break is one of the biggest problems that
parents and teachers face each year when summer is over. It is a fact that
parents must consider: there is a significant drop-off in children's math
and language skills over summer vacation if they are not enrolled in a
formal educational experience or regularly engaged in some sort of
challenging mental activity.
This problem of forgetting over long summer breaks occurs all too often
when children go without properly stimulating their growing minds. Brain
research has demonstrated that the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which
grows for approximately the first 20 years of life, is crucial to
learning. This means that children must nurture, fuel and exercise their
brains; therefore, taking a much needed summer vacation from school and
busy school-year schedules must not mean taking a vacation from learning.
Learning, a natural and enjoyable part of your child's daily life, can
easily be incorporated into summer activities. For example, going to the
beach provides the opportunity to read and talk about the ocean, marine
animals, and changing tides; camping and hiking give children the
opportunity to learn about nature, animal habitats, flora & fauna of a
region and basic map reading; history lessons abound when visiting art and
science museums; and geography comes to life whenever children go on trips
away from home (the farther the journey, the more likely learning about
other cultures, even other languages, will take place).
To help your children incorporate learning into their daily summer
routines, continue reading to them even after they have learned to read to
themselves. Practice paired reading with your child by taking turns
reading every other page. Listen to your child read a story to you and
talk about the story. We know that reading aloud stimulates brain
activity. Thus, making time for reading every day will improve the reading
and language skills of children, as well as nourish their growing brains
and prepare them to begin school in the fall with strong reading and
language skills - a must for academic success.
And - don't forget to enroll your children in a formal educational
experience during summer. This will keep the "brain cobwebs"
away.
Kumon helps your
child retain the math and reading skills previously learned…and
even sneaking some new skills in from time to time! For more
information about Kumon Learning Centers call (727) 347-7323 or
visit www.Kumon.com. As seen in Kumon North America StraightTALK
04-06/2003
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