What is the summer drought? As a parent, you might be familiar with this term. The summer drought describes the period through summer vacation where kids get no education whatsoever. Teachers have often complained that when they do return to school, the whole class is back to square one. That’s a problem, particularly when you consider that we could be facing an extended drought this year due to the coronavirus. Some schools may not reopen until after the summer season is over. So, how can you cope with this and ensure that your children aren’t starved of knowledge? Let’s talk about summer parenting.
Contact their teachers
If you want to know one of the best ways to ensure that your kids are on the right track through the summer, make sure that you speak with their teachers directly. Find out where their weak and strong points are so you can focus on the key areas.
As well, you should also be exploring whether you can access the lesson plan that teachers would be running with right now. You can then incorporate some of this into the daily schedule, though don’t go overboard here.
Summer parenting: Use free resources
Did you know that you can access free teaching resources online? You can, and a lot of parents use this for homeschooling. Companies like Studentreasures Publishing provide various different resources for all the different years of school.
As such, no matter what stage your child is at, you’ll be able to access educational tools to support them. You might also want to explore whether you can create your own resources too. These can be based or built upon the free ones that you find online. Doing so will ensure that the activities remain fresh and exciting for kids.
Reporting back
One of the problems with kids learning from home is that you never know how much they are doing and whether they are absorbing the information. Passive learning can be an issue here because you can watch them read a book, but there’s no guarantee they are focusing enough to recall anything. They could be more concerned about when they next get to play on the PS4.
So, make sure that they are discussing what they have learned with you. Sit down, ask them questions, and try to get interested in what are their learning topics. If you are engaged, during the summer and whenever homeschooling as a parent, your child will be more likely to be engaged too. They’ll look forward to telling you what they learned.
Summer parenting involves setting goals
Finally, you need to make sure that you are setting goals that your children can obtain with their studies. It’s important that they have something that they can work towards and that they can essentially achieve. This will ensure that you can measure whether the activities that you have set out for them are proving to be useful.
Hopefully, this discussion helps you understand some of the best ways to keep young ones on the right track at home during these tough COVID-19 times. Remember, it’s important that you don’t overwhelm them with education; they still need time to have fun in the summer and enjoy the joy of being a kid.
Top photo credit: Photo by Pixabay from Pexels.
I’m definitely going to take that goal setting advice for my son. Thank you!
Terrific to hear it!
These are certainly unique times! It’s wise to get as much help as possible to navigate them.
Truth.
I totally agree with Pete’s comment. Thank you for mentioning this,Chris! Best wishes, Michael
I would imagine things will be different for quite some time. I’m okay with that if it means everyone is safe xx
Hello Christy, i totally gree. Lets hope others will agree too. Safety now is a community task. Enjoy your weekend! Michael
Indeed, a community focus is necessary, with proper guidance from health officials and government. Great feedback, Michael. Have a nice weekend too!
:-)) Thank you for your kindness too, Christy.
So nice, my friend. Thank you :)
:-)
Thats true. But i hope we will overcome all these Covid-things before the next virus arrives. Enjoy your weekend, Christy.
This is good advice but it is hard to implement. My boys tell me they need to relax during holidays and shouldn’t have to do school work or reading during this time. I force them both to read but it is a battle. I am glad we don’t have holidays of the length of your US summer holiday.
It’s a tough time, no doubt about it. I hope they are now enjoying the break from school (and that you are too).
It’s one of the most difficult challenges education has ever faced. There are several schools in the CSU (California State University) system that have already announced that they will primarily be online in the fall. I’m guessing most elementary schools will try to reopen in the fall with modifications, but that is no sure bet now either.
Yes, many schools will be online in the fall, which I think is good as safety is paramount. It certainly is a time unlike any other, and I have great admiration for how teachers are rising to meet demands like learning technology for online classes, virtual chats, and much more.