This pandemic has become a setback for all students in the past year, widening an already worsened achievement gap. In addition, the prolonged period of remote learning brought about depression, anxiety, and disconnection from normal society. These adverse effects took a toll on students, more specifically those in low-income communities. Not only have their livelihoods been stolen, but so has their opportunity to receive the education that they deserve to build a brighter future.
According to a formal study, learning loss in students becomes more severe during the summer. It is the most noticeable in maths and reading, two of the most important skills we learn in school. That’s 20 to 50 per cent of academic knowledge and skills in addition to what students have already lost. The summer holiday leaves a lot of time for activities to help maintain and, in most cases, increase learning. Today’s blog will highlight these activities and their benefits.
Reading
This one of the most convenient activities you can do. Many books are small enough to be carried in your hand and light enough not to weigh down your bag. You can read books from the comforts of your home, while you’re embarking on long journeys or in the waiting room for an appointment. Research shows that people who read literary fiction show a heightened ability when understanding the feelings of others. Students who read books daily, especially in younger age groups, gradually develope a more substantial vocabulary. Over time this can be helpful in standardised tests, college admissions, and job opportunities.
Visiting Museums
Museums are more than just places you visit when you’re on holiday. They are a great place to foster the love any student has for history. There are many different topics and studies to choose from, from art galleries to children’s museums. The collective knowledge of decades of research and millenniums of history is there for you to learn. The best part for the parents is that you don’t have to know anything about what’s on display. All you need to do is encourage them to ask questions and read out the plaque.
Museums appeal to a child’s curious nature. Most of their questions will have answers, and many of them will not. Don’t worry if you don’t have any of the solutions. When in doubt, ask what they think the answer is. Who says you can’t answer a question with a question? There are many exhibits and displays that will inspire and help to promote their creativity.
Encourage Writing
For students with a budding passion for the written word, try encouraging them to write over the summer. You can give them a recycled school notebook, exercise paper, journal or other scrap paper. Try persuading them to do some research when writing their stories. There are many inspirations out there to help give a push to aspiring young writers. They can start a dream journal to catalogue their waking thoughts, sharing ideas, stories, dreams to accomplish. Taking inspiration from other authors to help establish and nurture a unique writing style by taking examples from their favourite book.
They can write a short story a day; this will help facilitate a constant flow of creativity as they write whatever comes to mind. Writing should by no means be considered a punishment but encouraging to write about a historical topic. It would help if you used it to lessen punishments for bad behaviour is a great way to offer an incentive to learn about historical facts, figures, and locations. Encourage students to write letters to friends or family about anything they want or even creating a novel. A chalkboard or coloured pencils or crayons can be used to create a beautiful picture or a picture book. To learn about more benefits of creative writing, check out our previous blog post.
Video Games
Video games can be extremely useful in helping students develop beyond their expectations. Additionally, some games have an educational value that students can add to their curriculum. All you need is a device and internet connection. These devices can benefit students in all learning levels by allowing them to draw creativity and inspiration from worlds crafted to the imagination. A great example is using Minecraft to allow the unbridled creative freedom to create anything you want. Games like Assassins creed provide historically accurate details of real-life locations like Florence and, most famously, helping with the rebuilding of Notre Dame cathedral.
Tammy Block described her parental involvement in technology in an article for The Globe and Mail. She explains that while some parents are hard against computers and the amount of time their children spend on them, many parents choose to have their children learn about technology. This is because technology allows them to understand the world around them more fully.
Block stated that with the invention of the internet, it has become easier for parents to set up the home computer using the computer they already own and software and internet access they already have access to. In the article, Block described some online games for kids, such as Grandpa Blocks Adventure, which encourages the child to solve connecting game pieces and build a treehouse.
Summer School
Summer school, that’s one of those magic words that can get kids out of hot water. It’s certainly not a new thing, and probably not one that anyone expected to make a significant change to a child’s life. But, they are true believers, and practice never fails to make perfect. But, if you have a child that isn’t ready to go back to school and miss all those meaningful relationships and experiences students have, summer school can provide just that for them. In addition, a summer school can provide your child with time to get to know their teachers and have some fun and make new friends.
But, this is not a vacation for them. A summer school is when they will be kept on task with their schoolwork not to fall behind. Above all, this is a fun place to learn. For parents, this is an excellent opportunity to see how the child is doing in school. If they are behind in some areas, you can help them work on those areas. If they love to read, if they love math, if they are social butterflies, then use this opportunity to take advantage of those areas. An investment in a child’s education can go a long way.
Conclusion
Children have already lost enough learning due to this pandemic. The summer holiday is the perfect holiday to help them catch up. Try to involve your child in activities that will benefit them and possibly even help you be a better parent. Remember, September comes in, and with it, students will have to adapt to their new schedule. Perhaps activities that help them handle the stress will be helpful. Taking the stress and pressure off of students is the key to preventing learning loss. Activities such as sports, learning a new language, picking up a new instrument, or playing strategic board games are all fun ways to learn without the boredom of the classroom setting.
To conclude, these are the five best things you can do for your child in terms of education.
- Encourage reading
- Take them to museums
- Encourage writing
- Video games can be used for learning
- Summer School
