Many parents struggle with the dreaded “summer slide,” where children lose the educational skills they learned over the previous school year. Online summer learning activities can help prevent the summer slide, but with the average American child spending four to six hours online daily, parents must balance online activities’ educational advantages against excessive screen time. Controlling and guiding your child’s online activities helps them retain knowledge, practice skills for the coming school year, and build the study skills they need for the coming school year.
The Importance of Summer Learning
On average, students lose 17 – 34% of the learning gains they made in the previous school year over the summer months. Students who experience a summer slide one year are more likely to lose academic skills in future summer breaks. As a result, such students are less likely to reach their full academic potential and lag throughout their K-12 education.
Parents can prevent summer slide by providing online summer learning activities. Below are some ways to stimulate your children educationally over the summer break by capitalizing on their love of electronic devices.
Educational Websites and Platforms
Educational websites, apps, and digital library services are rich resources for kids of all ages. Kids can use such sites to maintain academic skills, learn new hobbies, crafts, and skills, and pursue personal interests. Some of the best educational platforms include:
Duolingo
Duolingo is a popular language-learning app available on PCs and as a smartphone app that uses game theory to keep users engaged. Kids love the sticker-based reward system and fun visuals.
GetEpic
GetEpic is an educational digital library with over 40,000 books, videos, and audiobooks for K-12 students.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy contains short videos, practice exercises, and other educational resources on various topics. Whether you want Pre-K math or AP World History resources, Khan Academy probably has it.
Hippocampus
HippoCampus provides multimedia content on thirteen subjects, including math, sciences, and social science.
YouTube.com
YouTube use needs adult supervision, as the video platform has plenty of distracting content, some of which is inappropriate for children. However, the site is home to many children’s education channels, including National Geographic Kids, ASAP Science, Khan Academy Kids, and PBS Kids, which offer content for kindergarten to grade twelve.
Interactive and Engaging Learning Tools
Kids learn best when they’re enjoying themselves. The following interactive learning tools offer plenty of ways to keep kids engaged over the summer:
Scratch Foundation
Scratch Foundation is the world’s largest coding platform for kids, and it is completely free. Kids can learn the basics of coding to create stories, games, and animations.
Quizlet
Quizlet contains interactive study tools across multiple subjects, including the ability to make flashcard sets.
Prodigy
Prodigy is a subscription-based educational platform that uses game-based learning to teach English and math. The platform has a mobile app so kids can learn on the go.
Virtual Field Trips and Experiences
Summer learning activities often include trips to zoos, museums, and historical sites, but not everyone can easily access such locations. The Internet allows children to take free virtual tours of fantastic locations worldwide.
Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture is a massive collection of virtual artwork and historical exhibits worldwide with interactive features, games, and experiments.
Explore.org
A must-see for animal lovers, Explore.org is a collection of live webcams from across the natural world. Watch African animals visit waterholes in real time, relax with video streams from coral reefs, or check out a nest of osprey hatchlings. The site also includes a library of short documentaries about people and animals.
Smithsonian Institution
The largest museum on earth, the Smithsonian Institution regularly offers live webcasts, podcasts, and interactive summer learning activities.
CyArk
CyArk 3D tours take kids to a variety of monuments and architectural marvels worldwide, with voiceovers available in English and Spanish.
Virtual Microscope
Zoom in on rocks, fossils, and minerals with Virtual Microscope, an interactive website of the tiny and minuscule.
Remember that most virtual tours work best with higher internet speeds. Check your internet speed and confirm it is capable of providing a strong experience for your kids.
Parental Involvement and Guidance
The online world contains many distractions, some of which are simple time-wasters and others that are inappropriate or even harmful to children. You can create a balanced and safe environment for children by following these tips:
- Supervise your children: Pay close attention to what your children access online. Young children, especially, should only be allowed to use online devices without direct supervision.
- Communicate your expectations: Talk to your child and tell them what’s expected of them during online summer learning activities, including balancing online and offline activities.
- Educate children on online dangers: Explain the risks of online and social media interaction. Keep the talk age-appropriate, and encourage children to talk to you if anything online makes them uncomfortable.
- Set up parental controls: Most devices, including laptops, tablets, and phones, have parental controls accessed through the device settings. These controls allow you to limit online time and restrict access to specific websites or topics.
Final Thoughts on Summer Learning Online
The internet is a fantastic source for summer learning activities. Used with care, online educational tools have the potential to slow, or even halt, the summer slide. Internet connectivity can go a long way with helping your children enter the new school year with the tools and knowledge needed to thrive in their new classes.
