Summer Learning, A Great Time for Reading!

There’s no question that children loose some of the information that they are taught through out the school year. But, how much information are we looking at? A study by Dr. Harris Cooper, professor of psychology at the University of Missouri-Columbia found when students return to school after a long summer vacation they've lost one to three months worth of learning. With the prevalence of learning disabilities multiplying rapidly, parents are looking for ways to keep their little one’s brain firing on all cylinders through-out the summer.

Here at VIP Nannies we wanted to offer a few secrets for helping your children keep up their academic momentum.

Reading is a Cornerstone of Learning

All over Los Angeles, Public Libraries have summer reading programs that are fun and interactive. Stop in to your local branch, snuggle up in a cozy chair, and point out new words in books. Let your child turn the pages of the book as you read together to make them feel accomplished and like they are a part of the process. Bring the fun home with you where you can act out the story for people in your family (or your nanny!). This will also aid your child exercise critical reading, comprehension, and recollection.

Additional Resources

If you are a tech savvy person or maybe just a homebody, you still have a plethora of options.  All you have to do is start a summer reading camp online. Websites such as Book Adventure and Scholastic are great resources, and include online reading programs that your child can log reading minutes to earn rewards. With high goals in sight they might even sent a World Record!

Math Is All Around Us

Opportunities for math are everywhere whether you are at the store or the park. On your next shopping trip encourage them to do simple math like: count the items in the cart, add up the cost of the items, or compare the number of hot dogs in a pack to the number of hot dog buns in a bag.

Don’t Forget Fun!

Even though keeping your child’s brain function at its peak is important, make sure you remember it’s summer! You may be tempted to push academics all summer, but make sure you don’t loose the specialness and relaxing nature of summer. Reading can be something the want to do—not something that they are forced to do. By finding what type of literature they love, even if they are comic books or magazines, you encourage literacy.