What Is Online High School Really Like?
by Valerie Kirk
5 Tips to Keep Your Child Reading Over the Summer
byConnections Academy
6 min to read
The last day of school is always full of excitement and anticipation as kids of all ages look forward to starting their long summer vacations. While parents also look forward to a summer full of family fun, many are concerned about the dreaded “summer slide,” which refers to the learning loss that happens over summer vacation.
Studies show that, on average, students lose 17–34% of the prior year’s learning gains in math and reading during the long summer break. A survey of teachers found that 66% of them spend the first 3–4 weeks of the new school year reteaching the previous year’s skills, with 24% reporting it takes 5–6 weeks to fully reteach those skills.
Summer learning loss also has a snowball effect. By the time an elementary school child reaches middle school, they’ve lost the equivalent of two years of learning due to summer slide and the reteaching of skills.
Combat Summer Learning Loss with Summer Reading
While the summer learning loss statistics are stark, kids also need the mental break that comes with carefree summer days, especially now. Recent events, including the pandemic, have left many students struggling with mental health issues. Data from the CDC show that in 2021, 44% of teens reported feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and 9.2% of kids in America ages 3–17 suffer from anxiety.
While there are several fantastic summer school programs to support summer learning, kids don’t have to spend all of their summer days studying to combat summer learning loss. Studies found that students who spend just 2–3 hours per week engaged in educational activities, including summer reading, during the summer prevented summer slide. Reading just 4–6 books over the summer prevented a decline in reading achievement scores from the spring to the fall.
If you needed any more incentive to encourage reading during the summer, reading can also improve your child’s mental health, reducing depression, giving them a safe way to explore their emotions, and alleviating stress.
However, with the siren call of other summertime activities, parents may not know how to motivate their child to spend time reading over the summer.
How to Get Your Student Excited About Reading
To help avoid summer learning loss and get your student excited to read over the summer, here are five summer reading tips that will fit into your busy summer schedule.
1. Join the Local Library Summer Reading Program
Your local library is one of the best places to go to encourage your student to read over the summer. Most libraries across the country offer free summer reading programs. If your child has a competitive side, these programs are great because they typically offer badges or points based on the number of books and associated activities that are completed throughout the program. Students will want to keep reading during the summer to earn more points! Plus, libraries often have suggested reading lists by grade level that include a wide variety of books to appeal to different kids. Libraries are accessible, offer friendly summer hours, and they are free to everyone. With most programs, you can easily sign up online to start your child’s summer reading program.
3. Schedule Daily Reading Time
Kids thrive when they have a daily routine—even over the summer. Scheduling just 20 minutes of reading each day into your child’s daily routine adds up to over 2 hours each week—enough to keep the summer slide at bay. Pick a time that will be easy to maintain, like first thing in the morning before breakfast or right before bedtime. Reading helps calm the mind, which makes it easier for children and teens to fall asleep.
3. Read Aloud to Them
There are some kids that just resist reading and motivating them to read over the summer can be a challenge. If this is your student, a great way to help spark their interest in reading is to read aloud to them. Even older kids reap the benefits of having a parent read aloud to them, including increased vocabulary and special bonding time. Pick a book that may seem daunting to your child like a classic or a long series. Countless families have chosen to read together with the parent reading a chapter a day. Sharing a literary journey together can show your child that books offer a whole new world, which can inspire them to pick up a new book on their own. Plus, breaking a large book or series down to a chapter a night demonstrates that books aren’t overwhelming, and that reading can be enjoyed in small chunks of time.
4. Find a Book Series on Subjects That Interest Them
When your child reads a book that they love, they typically want to read more just like it. That’s why it’s great to tap into books that are written in a series. Kids will want to start the next one as soon as they are done with the first, which will keep them reading all summer long. You could also look to specific authors that your child identifies with. Both Shaquille O’Neal and Cal Ripken Jr. have children’s books that have basketball and baseball themes respectively. Octavia Spencer has written two books about ninja detectives, and Kristi Yamaguchi writes books about animal figure skaters.
3. Read Aloud to Them
There are some kids that just resist reading and motivating them to read over the summer can be a challenge. If this is your student, a great way to help spark their interest in reading is to read aloud to them. Even older kids reap the benefits of having a parent read aloud to them, including increased vocabulary and special bonding time. Pick a book that may seem daunting to your child like a classic or a long series. Countless families have chosen to read together with the parent reading a chapter a day. Sharing a literary journey together can show your child that books offer a whole new world, which can inspire them to pick up a new book on their own. Plus, breaking a large book or series down to a chapter a night demonstrates that books aren’t overwhelming, and that reading can be enjoyed in small chunks of time.
5. Form a Book Club for Their Friends
Kids often lose touch with friends over the long summer months. Kill two birds with one stone by creating a summer book club and inviting their friends. Not only will this inspire your student to read, but it also keeps them connected with friends and supports socialization. Have the kids decide on the book to ensure they choose one they are all interested in reading. If meeting in-person is too tough, have a virtual club meeting to discuss the book. Once you get your book club started, you may find they want to continue it even after school starts!
Additional Ways for Students to Keep Learning All Summer
In addition to summer reading, you can keep your student engaged with learning by doing easy, at-home science experiments. Visit the Connections Academy Resource Hub for additional ideas to keep your student learning all summer long.
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Celebrate Earth Month with Composting Lessons and Compost Activities for Kids
by Valerie Kirk
Did you know that food scraps and yard waste make up more than 30 percent of what we throw away? This waste takes up space in landfills, where it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is harmful to the environment. All of that material could instead be composted!
Composting is nature’s method of recycling food and other organic waste into material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. In addition to reducing methane emissions in landfills, composting helps protect plants against diseases and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
To celebrate Earth Month, get your student involved by doing this Composting 101 lesson that includes composting activities for kids. Not only will your student gain an understanding of what composting is and why it is important, they will get to do a hands-on science activity that will teach them about organic decomposition and how plants grow. The Composting 101 lesson and composting activities for kids are appropriate for elementary school, middle school, and high school students, and can build on the lessons they are learning in science class. The lesson is also sure to spark their curiosity about other ways they can make a difference by helping our planet.
Composting 101
Your student will gain an appreciation for the importance of celebrating Earth Month with this Composting 101 lesson that includes the reasons why we should compost, the three types of compost, and what can and can’t be composted.
Start the lesson by asking your student what compost is. Explain that composting is using leftover food and other organic matter that combine into material that can be added to soil to help plants grow.
Why Compost?
Explain to your student that there are many benefits to composting, including:
- Diverting food and yard waste from landfills.
- Reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the air from landfills.
- Making soil healthier for plants and vegetation, and improving moisture retention.
- Saving money on fertilizer or manure.
- Increasing nutrients in the foods you grow, making you healthier.
Types of Composting
There are three different types of composting:
- Backyard composting. This is perfect if you have a yard with lots of trees and/or a large lawn. Fallen leaves, straw, grass clippings, and food scraps are used in your compost bin. Note: this is the type of composting explored in the Soda Bottle composting activity for kids that you can do at the end of the lesson.
- Worm composting. This type of composting is good if you have a small yard or no yard at all. As long as you have food scraps, you can do worm composting!
- Grasscycling. With this composting, simply leave your grass clippings on the lawn after mowing. They will decompose and provide nutrients for the lawn.
What Can Be Composted?
Two types of waste are needed for composting, which you will use in the composting activities for kids: food for the microbes and a bulking agent. Here are some options you can use:
Bulking Agent
- Wood shavings
- Small wood chips
- Newspaper strips
- Pieces of paper egg cartons
- Chopped straw
Food for the Microbes
- Lettuce scraps
- Carrot peelings
- Apple cores
- Bread crusts
- Banana peels
- Weeds
- Grass clippings
What CANNOT Be Composted?
Avoid using any of the materials listed below for a compost, as they may be harmful to people, plants, or the environment in general.
- Black walnut tree leaves or twigs
- Coal or charcoal ash
- Dairy products (eggs, butter, milk, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc.)
- Diseased or insect-ridden plants
- Fats, grease, lard, and oil
- Meat or fish bones or scraps
- Pet waste
- Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides
How and Where to Use Compost
After the natural process of composting is finished, you can use the compost in a variety of ways. To start, use it to help your plants and vegetables grow by putting it in the soil mixture of potted plants or spreading it around trees and shrubs. You could also use the compost as mulch for your garden or landscaping. Teaching your student about gardening could lead to a lifelong activity that is not only good for the environment, but also has many positive mental and physical health benefits.
No matter what you decide to do with your compost, the important part is spending time with your child celebrating Earth Month and learning about the importance of recycling and composting materials.
Soda Bottle Composting for Kids Science Activity
Composting activities for kids are pretty simple to do and are often done with materials you already have on hand.
The Soda Bottle Composting for Kids science activity is a hands-on STEM activity where your student will learn how to make a compost bin for kids out of a two-liter soda bottle. They can then use the compost to help grow their own plants, watching—and learning—about the plant lifecycle.
Get the Soda Bottle Compost Activity
You can make a bigger compost bin for kids by using a plastic container that is at least 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide. This science activity can be used to teach about composting in school and can extend learning for students in online school or homeschool.
More At-Home Science Projects
If you are looking for more science activities to help you extend your online student’s learning, check out the Connections Academy Resource Hub, which is full of STEM activities, including making your own fossils and how to create crystals in your kitchen.
Did you know that the Soda Bottle Composting for Kids science activity is similar to lessons your student would complete in online school? If you enjoyed spending time with your student learning about composting and supporting their learning in celebration of Earth Month, maybe online school is right for you! Join a Connections Academy information session to learn more about a new school experience.
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