Every good summer break involves at least one water slide, but time away from school can also lead to a summer slide. “Summer slide” refers to students losing the academic skills they gained over the school year during summer break.
Read more about summer activities for kids that can help avoid the summer slide here. Then, check for Quantum Fiber availability to connect to them through ultra-fast and reliable fiber internet!
Why summer activities for kids are important now more than ever
It’s easy to see why kids lose skills learned during the school year. If you don’t practice reading and math then you’ll lose competency, just like anything else.
However, learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic set many students back. In fact, the average U.S. public school student in grades 3-8 lost the equivalent of a half year of learning in math and a quarter of a year in reading due to the pandemic.
The pandemic is behind us, but those learning losses may still be causing children to struggle. Additional learning loss will only make it harder for students, so it is vital that parents include learning in their summer activities for kids.
Online summer reading resources
Reading is one of the main skills affected by the summer slide. Fortunately, there are several resources available beyond a summer reading list that can help kids read over summer break.
The first is a child’s teacher who knows their current reading strengths and weaknesses. Even though school may be out during summer, check to see if your kid’s school provides an online portal to communicate with their teacher.
There are also several online resources that can encourage children to read over summer break. For example:
- Scholastic Home Base is a moderated online platform that gives kids summer reading materials, tracks how much they read, and then rewards them for their progress.
- Barnes and Nobel Summer Reading Program gives kids a reading journal where they can write about their summer reading. Once they return their completed reading journal to a Barnes and Nobel they’re rewarded with a free book.
- Book It! provides a platform for kids to set reading goals, log their achievements, and then be rewarded with free pizza.
Check your local library for summer reading guides
Lastly, don’t forget to check your local library for summer reading programs that are unique to your area. Librarians are always eager to help kids become lifelong readers. Plus, kids will be even more excited to read books from or about their home!
Mix summer school into summer day trips
Summer break is the time to take vacations, but don’t forget that you can take day trips to museums and other learning opportunities. There may even be museums in your hometown or nearby that you aren’t aware of yet.
- Use the internet to your advantage by connecting to these resources to find museums near you:
- The American Alliance of Museums has a search function that lists every member museum within a certain area.
- Museums for All can show you over 1,300 museums that give free or reduced admission to those receiving food assistance.
- Museums USA also searches for museums so you can find the right fit for your kid.
Find a museum that matches your kid’s interest, and they won’t even realize that they’re enrolled in a D.I.Y. summer school when you visit!
Take advantage of learning apps
It can be hard to get kids to want to practice skills like math over summer break, but thanks to the always expanding world of learning apps they can play and learn at the same time. In fact, apps are such a great resource for learning that we’ve written an entire guide to the best learning apps.Use the Quantum Fiber app’s advanced parental controls
Depending on the age of your kids, connecting them to summer reading or other summer school activities could mean letting them online. Fortunately, the Quantum Fiber App can help give you peace of mind thanks to its advanced parental controls. Quantum Fiber customers have access to the following parental control features:- Create and update internet access schedules for users on your network
- Create and update content restrictions with categories, ratings, or keywords
- Determine which applications are allowed for certain users and delete applications for each user
- Manage Google safe search for users as well as YouTube Restricted Mode
Connect to Quantum Fiber
Creating your own summer school to help your kids avoid the summer slide can be a huge challenge on top of your other responsibilities. However, the Quantum Fiber app’s parental controls and internet that moves at nearly the speed of light can help you find summer activities for kids. Learn more about fiber internet, then check for Quantum Fiber availability in your area to connect to fiber!Content Disclaimer - All content is for informational purposes only, may require user’s additional research, and is provided “as is” without any warranty, condition of any kind (express or implied), or guarantee of outcome or results. Use of this content is at user’s own risk. All third-party company and product or service names referenced in this article are for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation with Quantum Fiber. If Quantum Fiber products and offerings are referenced in the content, they are accurate as of the date of issue. Quantum Fiber services are not available everywhere. Quantum Fiber service usually means 100% fiber-optic network to your location but, in limited circumstances, Quantum Fiber may need to deploy alternative technologies coupled with a non-fiber connection from a certain point (usually the curb) to your location in order to provide the advertised download speeds. ©2024 Q Fiber, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Quantum, Quantum Fiber and Quantum Fiber Internet are trademarks of Quantum Wireless LLC and used under license to Q Fiber, LLC.
