Summer is a Child’s Opportunity to Learn

For most children, summer is a time to leave classes and homework behind. However, when they return to school in the fall after the long summer break, students can find themselves struggling to catch up.

Skills and knowledge gained throughout the school year fade during the summer months. According to Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of supplemental education to students of all ages and skill levels, loss of content retention begins within 24 to 48 hours of learning unless the new information is reinforced or applied immediately. After a month without reinforcement, approximately 80 percent of what a student has recently learned can be lost.

According to Sylvan, a break from school is great for recharging your children’s batteries, but if they aren’t using the skills and knowledge that was learned in the classroom, they could find themselves lagging behind when school starts up again.

For children who have been struggling at school, summer can be their opportunity to catch-up on key skills and feel more confident when they head back to class. For students who do well, it’s an opportunity to keep their enthusiasm for learning high.

Parents can play a key role in reinforcing learning on an ongoing basis. Sylvan Learning has prepared practical tips for integrating continuous learning into fun, family activities all summer long:

Checklist: Summer Fun that’s Educational, too

* Read with your child

* Search for reading activities on the Internet and create a reading list. www.BookAdventure.com

* Plan a field trip.

* Find pen pals.

* Plan a meal together

* Visit the library

* Keep a journal.

* Summer enrichment programs. Visit www.SylvanLearning.com for more information.

Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of in-center and live, online tutoring at home to students of all ages, grades and skill levels. Sylvan Learning is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009, and has nearly 1,200 centers located throughout North America. Sylvan’s proven process and personalized methods have inspired more than 2 million students to discover the joy of learning. Sylvan’s trained and certified personal instructors provide individual instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test-prep for college entrance and state exams. Sylvan helps transform unique kids into uniquely inspired learners with the skills to do better in school and the confidence to do better in everything else. For more information, call 1-800-31-SUCCESS or visit www.SylvanLearning.com.