The lazy days of summer have a hidden danger lurking. It’s a phenomenon that educators call the “Summer Slide.” Also known as “Brain Drain,” the Summer Slide is essentially the loss of knowledge and ability that typically occurs when formal education stops during the summer months.
According to Sandra Zamalis of the Staunton-Harrisonburg LearningRx brain training center, the following numbers show how this “summer slide” can affect a child’s learning.
- The average student loses approximately 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency in math computation skills over the summer months.
- Research shows ALL young people experience learning losses when they don’t engage in educational activities during the summer.
- Teachers typically spend 4 to 6 weeks re-teaching or reviewing material that students have forgotten over summer break.
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” says Sandra. “The right activities over summer break can easily exercise the brain so the Summer Slide can be avoided, and many of these ‘brain games’ can be built right into fun, traditional summertime activities that promote physical fitness too.”
According to Zamalis, the seven major learning skills parents should focus on with their kids are: attention, working memory, processing speed, long-term memory, logic and reasoning, auditory processing and visual processing.
Right now, LearningRx is offering a free four-page Summer Slide handout. The list includes activities for the car, store-bought games, online games and activities that incorporate physical exercise.
Contact Sandra Zamalis at [email protected] or (540) 569-3600 to have them email you a copy.
About LearningRx
LearningRx, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the largest educational brain training organization in the world. With 80 Centers in the U.S., and locations in over 40 countries around the globe, LearningRx has helped more than 100,000 individuals sharpen their cognitive skills to help them think faster, learn easier, and perform better. The company’s on-site programs partner every client one on one with a personal brain trainer to keep clients engaged, accountable, and on task—a key advantage over online-only brain exercises. Their pioneering methods have been used in clinical settings for over 35 years and have been verified as beneficial in peer-reviewed research papers and journals. To learn more about LearningRx research results, programs and their 9.6 out of 10 client satisfaction rating, visit www.learningrx.com.
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