Learning & 

Teaching

Avoiding the Summer Slide

"The summer slide" is the term given to children's educational gains evaporating during the summer holidays. While Christmas and Summer holidays are a great time to reconnect as a family and enjoy the amazing place we live,  there is no doubt that five or six weeks of summer holidays without stimulating our children's brains are not going to do them any favours when they return to school. 

So how do you keep your child learning, without overwhelming them and giving them time to relax, over the summer break? The key is moderation and fun! There are many learning activities that children will naturally gravitate to when they are playing, relaxing or just need some downtime. Encourage your child to engage in the following to keep their minds stimulated and to avoid the slide over summer:

Reading hour

Reading is one of the best habits we can pass on to our kids and its educational value is immense. Of course, these days kids will default to grabbing the iPad or watching TV, so I think it's important to switch all screens off for a while each day.

Chess and Board Games

Chess is a great way to develop mathematical thinking because it's all about patterns and strategies. Board games are also a great way for students to practise their social and maths skills. Some games that are great for these skills are:

• Yahtzee
• Monopoly
• Snakes and Ladders
• Jenga
• Trivial Pursuit
• Guess Who

All of these things can make great Christmas presents too!

Next week I will share details of our Holiday brain challenge that we will be sharing with all students to support them to keep learning and practising the skills they have been learning this year.

Home Learning 

Don't forget to support your child to engage in ongoing practise of the skills they are learning at school. Go to our home learning portal for ideas or if you have any questions about your child’s home learning, please contact your child’s teacher. 

For more home learning ideas, please click on the link below to visit your child’s Home Learning Page.