We know summer learning loss is currently on the minds of parents and teachers as they wrap up the academic school year and begin making plans for summer. As you prepare for a well-deserved break from the pressures of school, it’s a great time to start thinking about your child’s plans for the summer months.

You’ve probably heard parents and teachers mention the dreaded “summer slide” when discussing summer plans for their students. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, students “lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months.” The summer slide can have long-lasting effects on a student’s academic life. “Early summer learning losses have later life consequences, including high school curriculum placement, whether kids drop out of high school, and whether they attend college.”

Unfortunately summer learning loss poses a real threat to a student’s academic success and confidence, but fortunately there are ways to combat it. Here are a few tips to make the most of the relaxed summer break, get ahead in math, and keep it fun!

Find the right summer math program. 

Choosing the right summer math program is essential to your child’s success. Mathnasium students have shown significant increases in performance in fewer than 20 sessions. We have a proven track record of helping kids get ahead in math, improving their grades, and transforming their attitude toward math. Our instructors engage students in a wide variety of mental, verbal, visual, tactile, and written exercises and games to ensure conceptual understanding and a fun, relaxed summer learning environment. Our goal is to get students excited about math and eager to learn more during the summer and beyond!

“Math” with your child.

The summer break provides a great opportunity to incorporate math practice into your quality family time. Encourage your child to work on number sense and numerical fluency as you cook, budget and plan itineraries for summer trips, shop, watch and play sports, and enjoy outside time together. 

Watch fun math videos!

In our new YouTube series, Operation Mathlete, three middle school contestants, each struggling in math, compete to be the best mathlete and win $1,000 while learning about patterns, proportions, wholes and parts, percentages, and geometry. 

As you prepare to enjoy a much needed break from school, we hope you'll keep math improvement top-of-mind so your child can beat summer learning loss and get ahead!

Ready to beat summer learning loss and get your child ahead for the year to come? Find a Mathnasium location near you to register for our summer programs! 

We hope you and your family make the most of the upcoming summer break, and kiss the summer slide goodbye. Here’s to a fun and fruitful summer!