Summer Enrichment Program

Garden School students have worked hard all year and summer vacation provides an opportunity for a well-deserved break. How much of a break is a question that parents must face every year and your child's teacher(s) can be helpful with their perspective.

Other than the required summer reading which can be found at the top of each grade's page, and unless your child's teacher has recommended otherwise, there is no expectation of what work and how much will be completed. However, although not required, keeping your child's skills focused on maintaining academic and critical and creative thinking skills will help to prepare them for next year. The SEP was created to provide parents and students with learning resources should the decision be made that some additional work is a good idea. The resources have been designed to be used with flexibility so review the material and use it to make a learning plan that is individualized for your child.

A couple of guiding thoughts:

• Studies have shown that certain academic subjects are easier for students to forget than others. Math skills suffer most because fewer opportunities for numerical calculations exist outside the classroom. Although the loss is not as severe as in math a decline in reading skills has also been demonstrated. Summer studies, therefore, should place particular emphasis on math and reading in addition to other subjects.

• To help students reap the benefit of summer instruction, it should not consume all of their free time and so become a burdensome task. Just as every student is unique, their academic needs are also different. Parents and students can decide how much learning is enough in order to keep skills sharp and retain knowledge learned.

• For younger students in particular, simply reading with your child as often as possible, especially aloud and discussing story elements or favorite words can be enough. Others are ready to write about the story or write one of their own. Similarly with math, number games, counting aloud and timed flashcards with prizes or incentives if helpful can also be sufficient to support skill retention.

• Quality is as important as quantity when it comes to summer learning. Many summer learning activities such as workbook pages can be accomplished in an hour or less. Matching the material to a student’s ability and interest level is as important as the amount of time spent studying.

• Supervision is critical to a summer learning plan. While it may not be necessary to stand over your children while they do their work, check periodically on their progress and checking for attention to detail will demonstrate the value you place on their efforts.