Tips for accelerating summer learning

Summer is a time for relaxation, but it’s also an opportunity to keep young minds engaged and prevent summer learning loss! This phenomenon, also called the “summer slide,” has been studied since 1906 and often occurs during long breaks when students forget what they learned in the previous school year.

To help your child can put their best foot forward before they return to school, here are some practical ways to accelerate their learning during the warmer months:

1. Journal through the summer

Journaling is an excellent way for children and young adults to reflect on their experiences, practice writing, and develop important social-emotional skills. This summer, you can encourage your child to assemble a journal to document their adventures!

They’ll print, assemble, and bind this journal with staples or thread, and during the process, they’ll get excited about filling their special notebook with fun stories and thoughts. You can help provide structure by setting aside time for their daily writing, and you’ll inspire them to journal all summer long!

2. Guide reading using novel studies

Parents have all heard the dreaded phrase “I’m bored” during the summer. Next time your kids need an engaging activity, introduce them to an immersive reading experience with a novel study!

Novel studies are guided worksheet sets that provide pre- and post-reading questions, discussion questions, and bonus activities for every chapter of a book. Without the structure of a classroom, kids are still able to enhance comprehension skills, expand vocabulary, and ignite a love for reading right at home.

Explore all 10+ novel studies in the blog below, and try them out for your child’s summer reading:

3. Try fun, quick summer-themed worksheets

You don’t need to have an extensive at-home curriculum to beat summer learning loss. Just throw in a couple of simple, seasonal worksheets from time to time!

Use quirky puzzles like these Summer Hink Pink Riddles or our new Summer Spelling Practice Word Search Puzzle to challenge their brains and make them feel like they’re playing games while they learn. Plus, incorporate themed writing prompts or grammar worksheets—we have several sets of each so they can keep practicing all summer!

4. Enter the Summer STEM Challenge

Get ready—the Education.com Summer STEM Challenge starts at the end of June! PreK through 8th-grade learners will send in photos of their real-world science, technology, engineering, and math creations based on Education.com projects. As you enter the mid-summer lull, perk up your kids’ enthusiasm by having them try out one of these challenges and sending in a photo for a chance to win!

Prepare by reading the blog below, and get inspired by last year’s entries:

5. Get more ideas with Summer Boost!

While the Summer STEM Challenge hasn’t started yet, our Summer Boost campaign is in full swing. Each week throughout the summer, we’ll be adding a specially-curated list of activities that keep kids learning while on break. Click through to your child’s grade (Kindergarten through 8th), and make sure you check back each week as we release more fun summer-themed resources! 

Tips for accelerating summer learning

Summer is a time for relaxation, but it’s also an opportunity to keep young minds engaged and prevent summer learning loss! This phenomenon, also called the “summer slide,” has been studied since 1906 and often occurs during long breaks when students forget what they learned in the previous school year.

To help your child can put their best foot forward before they return to school, here are some practical ways to accelerate their learning during the warmer months:

1. Journal through the summer

Journaling is an excellent way for children and young adults to reflect on their experiences, practice writing, and develop important social-emotional skills. This summer, you can encourage your child to assemble a journal to document their adventures!

They’ll print, assemble, and bind this journal with staples or thread, and during the process, they’ll get excited about filling their special notebook with fun stories and thoughts. You can help provide structure by setting aside time for their daily writing, and you’ll inspire them to journal all summer long!

2. Guide reading using novel studies

Parents have all heard the dreaded phrase “I’m bored” during the summer. Next time your kids need an engaging activity, introduce them to an immersive reading experience with a novel study!

Novel studies are guided worksheet sets that provide pre- and post-reading questions, discussion questions, and bonus activities for every chapter of a book. Without the structure of a classroom, kids are still able to enhance comprehension skills, expand vocabulary, and ignite a love for reading right at home.

Explore all 10+ novel studies in the blog below, and try them out for your child’s summer reading:

3. Try fun, quick summer-themed worksheets

You don’t need to have an extensive at-home curriculum to beat summer learning loss. Just throw in a couple of simple, seasonal worksheets from time to time!

Use quirky puzzles like these Summer Hink Pink Riddles or our new Summer Spelling Practice Word Search Puzzle to challenge their brains and make them feel like they’re playing games while they learn. Plus, incorporate themed writing prompts or grammar worksheets—we have several sets of each so they can keep practicing all summer!

4. Enter the Summer STEM Challenge

Get ready—the Education.com Summer STEM Challenge starts at the end of June! PreK through 8th-grade learners will send in photos of their real-world science, technology, engineering, and math creations based on Education.com projects. As you enter the mid-summer lull, perk up your kids’ enthusiasm by having them try out one of these challenges and sending in a photo for a chance to win!

Prepare by reading the blog below, and get inspired by last year’s entries:

5. Get more ideas with Summer Boost!

While the Summer STEM Challenge hasn’t started yet, our Summer Boost campaign is in full swing. Each week throughout the summer, we’ll be adding a specially-curated list of activities that keep kids learning while on break. Click through to your child’s grade (Kindergarten through 8th), and make sure you check back each week as we release more fun summer-themed resources! 

In their own words: Students’ thank-you messages to teachers

This Teacher Appreciation Week, students wrote thank-you messages that we delivered right to teachers’ inboxes via specially-designed Education.com-themed e-cards!

Education.com families shared notes of appreciation with the teachers in their lives, all in the spirit of celebrating educators and the hard work they do throughout the year!

Read some of the heartwarming letters children sent to their teachers:

Messages from students to teachers

Here are some of the Education.com team’s favorite letters, displayed on our Brainzy-themed digital cards. We hope these make your day like they did our’s!

Austin thanked his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Moore, for her math and reading support, while Sam lauded his teacher, Mrs. Jackson, for all the ways she makes learning fun—including bike rides and sensory sand! Plus, Natheniel recognized Ms. Hellebuyck for being the “best teacher” and shared that he loved practicing writing this year.

Dear Ms. Bugarin,

Thank you for being the nicest teacher I’ve had. Thank you for teaching me throughout the whole year of 2nd grade. I love how you are always smiley. Thank you for the goody bags. I hope my next teacher is as nice as you.

Dear Ms. Kiran,

Thank you for being such an excellent teacher! I like how you make learning so much fun. The stories you share in class are the best, and they help me understand things better. You are always kind and patient, even when I ask many questions. I appreciate how you make everyone feel welcome and happy in class. Thank you for everything you do for us. You’re the best!

Dear Ms. Virgin,

Thank you for being my teacher! I learned how to participate in enjoyable activities, share items, teach cursive writing, read, do math, science, social studies, and play games. You compel us to share everything. You are the best teacher I ever had!!

Messages from parents to teachers

Parents took the time to celebrate teachers, too!

Read on to see their inspiring messages of gratitude, from a parent who called their son’s teacher an “unbelievable guiding angel” to a parent who thanked an “unforgettable” teacher of several years for helping their son make tremendous strides in his communication skills:

Dear Ms. Rosa,
Thank you for being such an awesome teacher! I appreciate all you have done to help Adriana to be a successful student. Although this year was a little tough, you never gave up on Adri and you worked with me as well- which I’m beyond grateful for! Thank you so much!

Dear Ms. Goodman,

You have been teaching my son for some years now. We watched him grow from being nonverbal to “Ayden be quiet” now. You have seen him at his worst and how he is at home. There are no words that describes how grateful I am for having you as my son’s teacher for years! Thank you so much for everything we will never forget you.

Dear Mrs. Goree,

I wanted to take this time to say how much we appreciate you! You are such an inspiration in Iverson’s life and mine as well. You made him reach for stars he thought he could not reach or he would have never thought of if he did not have you by his side this year!! You have been this unbelievable guiding angel… Thank you for all you have done for him, even at times he may not appreciate you he does. Iverson speaks of you all time and and how much he has learned. I catch him off guard with that smile.

Bonus: Messages from teacher friends and family members

As a welcomed surprise, several letters came in from teachers thanking each other, as well as notes between family members and friends!

There was a note of love from Mr. Duncan to his wife, Mrs. Duncan, as well as words of encouragement from a mother to her daughter who is an educator. We even received a message from a school bus driver who noticed a stand-out teacher and took the time to show their appreciation!

Read their uplifting messages below:

Dear Gisele,

You are an amazing mentor, advocate, colleague, and friend. You do great things and always in style! I love our adventures. Happy Teacher’s Day 2024!

Dear Best Lead Teacher in the World,

Thank you for being the best and doing to most to ensure that all the kids and all things learning actually happen to students in your domain and under your leadership. Yes, the parents, students, other teachers and school officials appreciate your work, however it just makes a mom proud to know that your gifts and talent makes the world a better place. Thank you for being a ‘right now’ and future impact in the world of academic scholars in the beginning of their lives. I love you.

Dear Mr. Duncan,

I know you have had a hard year. But I wanted to tell you that you are a Great Teacher! I have always appreciated your interest in things like solar eclipses, meteor showers, trees, plants and birds. I like your cooking skills and that you are good at making things. I love your sense of humor too!

Dear Mrs. Smiley,

Thank you for everything you do for your students every day. I do not have a student in WCPS. I used to drive a bus and see you come out of the school and so many students want to hug you and talk to you. To me that shows a caring person to our future leaders. Thank you.

Thank you!

We’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who sent an Education.com thank-you e-Card to a teacher this year! Because of you, we were able to show appreciation to superstar educators in the Education.com community and beyond. Thank you for making this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week so memorable!

Looking for more Education.com fun? The school year may be over, but our Learning Library is still full of resources to make this summer educational and enjoyable!

See our 200+ summer worksheets, activities, and games: