Summer Is the Season for Accelerating Math Skills

May 26, 2021

Spring is the season of new beginnings. When flowers start to bloom, trees shake off the doldrums of winter and turn green, animals awaken from their winter slumbers and the earth seems to spring back to life (see what we did there?).

Even in a year unlike any other in human history, these facts about springtime still remain true. As does another ritual of spring that parents across the country and around the world begin to undertake in springtime: planning summer activities for their kids.

Sure, there are camps and playdates and sports to keep kids busy over the course of the summer months. And they’re all healthy activities so important to the normal development of children. But in such an extraordinary year, when education — and math in particular — has been disrupted in real and unique ways, there’s one summer activity that will reap benefits for the rest of your child’s life:

Driving math excellence by spending summer with Mathnasium.

There’s no better time than summer for your child to catch up and get ahead in math, and there’s no better place to do it than Mathnasium. Because after such a tumultuous and disruptive year, it’s more important than ever to brush up on the skills that will give your kids a distinct advantage when the fall school year rolls around.

The “Summer Slide” + the pandemic = kids who need help in math.

You may already be familiar with the “summer slide,” which is academic learning loss that happens during the summer months. On average, children lose 2-3 months of math skills due to the summer slide. Over the years, this loss can turn out to be cumulative, which translates to lower school performance and lower self-confidence. And that’s during a “normal” year.

Of course, we’ve been living in a time like no other. When families have been quarantined for months and the education of our children has been disrupted in myriad ways. It has affected the way students learn and teachers teach, where in many cases online learning has taken the place of consistent in-person instruction. This “new norm” — whether kids are in an online-only, hybrid, or modified classroom setting — has proven to be a challenge for many students, as they’ve had to cope with the distractions of home life, technology that doesn’t always work the way it should, and the solitude of being physically away from classmates and friends.

It’s a lot for any school-age child to deal with, and the academic consequences of the pandemic are both profound and significant. Studies show that students in all grades are performing behind expectations in math due to the COVID side,” while the average child in some grade levels has been found to be 12 weeks behind expectations in math. Once students fall behind in math, it is oftentimes very difficult to catch up under normal circumstances. The task is made even more challenging in the middle of a global pandemic.

“It’s a well-known fact that COVID has greatly impacted children’s academic progress, and the subject hit hardest is math,” said John Bianchette, Associate VP of Education and Training at Mathnasium. “Our summer math program is an ideal way to stem normal summer math loss, but it’s especially crucial during the extraordinary circumstances we’re living in now.”

While it is still too early to know the cumulative effects of the summer and COVID slides, one thing is certain: Children across the country and around the world need extra help in math to catch up and get ahead in math. And the best time to do it? During the summer months.

Catch up and get ahead in math this summer at Mathnasium.

Summer is traditionally the time for kids to get a break from the rigours of a long school year. The time to play, enjoy the outdoors and reconnect with friends. But as we mentioned above, this — and last — year have been anything but traditional, and it’s more important than ever to reverse any degradation in math knowledge and skills due to the pandemic and to prevent learning loss from the summer slide.

Interestingly, summer is the season uniquely suited for math learning. Summer months provide children with a relaxed environment conducive to clarifying and reinforcing the last year’s learning and to introducing new concepts. Without the burden of classes, homework (which is never assigned at Mathnasium!) and extracurricular activities, children have more time, are less tired, and are better able to focus. It may sound like a no-brainer, but these factors cannot be overstated as contributors to a positive learning environment. Kids in summer math learning programs make tremendous strides in a relatively short period of time.

“Mathnasium has been an amazing summer program for my daughter. She doesn’t lose what she learned like she used to over the summer. And not only that, she improves.”

— Katie P.

 

 

Just 2-3 hours of math tutoring per week can prevent the summer slide and help students stay ahead. Children love Mathnasium summer programs because they’re fundamentally different from other math programs. Kids receive the expert, face-to-face instruction that Mathnasium Method™ is known for, with additional emphasis on math-related games, activities and fun events. They never take work home — all learning occurs at the Mathnasium Learning Centre or online through live, face-to-face sessions with Mathnasium instructors via Mathnasium@home. And they feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pride when they can understand and solve math problems.

Importantly, Mathnasium’s personalized learning plans are proven to improve grades and help kids catch up and get ahead. With live face-to-face instruction, either in-centre or online. And don’t worry — your child will still enjoy their summer. Because we make learning math fun.

Yes, spring is indeed the season for new beginnings. For the earth, for our kids, and hopefully for the rest of the world at large. If you’re starting to plan summer activities for your child during the spring, maybe it’s time to plan something that will help them both in the short and long term: spending summer with Mathnasium.

To register for our summer programs or talk about how we can change your child’s life through math, find a Mathnasium location near you.

 

Related articles:

How to Prevent “Summer Learning Loss” in Math

10 Ways to Avoid the Summer Slide and Keep Math Skills Sharp

How to Choose the Right Summer Math Program

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