The summer slide takes place during the summer months when children are no longer in school. During this time children can forget academic knowledge and skills. The summer slide is very common among all children. Children that struggle in the school year have more risk of loosing academic skills. Below are a few resources and ideas to reduce the slide and have some fun. 1. Read 20 minutes per day with your child. For children who are still learning to read, reading with/to them can improve reading ability. When a child does not know the word help them sound it out. If 20 minutes is to long for your child start at 5 minuets and increase by one minute every day, and you will be at 20 minutes in no time. It is also okay to break up reading over the day. For children who can read independently, take that 20 minutes and read next to your child. Showing your child that you like to read can help to improve motivation. http://www.shortkidstories.com/story/ www.glencoeschools.org/images/central/phonics_rules.pdf 2. Check your local library. Most library's have free summer reading programs that may help with motivation, and add some excitement to the day. 3. Nature is a great way to get kids learning. The next time you get a creepy crawler brought to you or a question about nature, take some time to research the creep crawler/nature at the library or on the internet. https://www.insectidentification.org/insects-by-type-and-region.asp?thisState=Michigan&thisType=Grasshopperhttps:// www.bugfacts.net/checklist.php https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives/activities/2015/09/leaf-id/ 4. Cooking Cooking is a great way to practice reading, following instructions, and expanding vocabulary. You can also teach about budgets, making a list , and planing a trip to the store to buy ingredients. https://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/cooking-with-kids?utm_term=.yo3RNZl7e#.ah7yw4K0a

https://selfsufficientkids.com/teach-kids-budget-money-free-printables/

5. Sidewalk Chalk Use sidewalk chalk to practices sight words. Have your child run to the work called out, or you run to the work your child read out loud. Sight words help to improve fluency when reading. http://www.sightwords.com/sight-words/dolch/