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What Is The Summer Slump?

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So, yeah, by now you really realize that school is out and your kids are home!! Maybe they are at summer camp, visiting the grandparents, hanging out with friends or home with you; whatever they are doing there is a summer slump taking place [trust me, it’s really happening]. The thing to reflect on and be honest about is, “is it me or is it the kids” that’s experiencing this notion of a summer slump???

What’s the meaning of summer slump you might ask, well that’s really easy for me to define for you. It’s simply the time that kids are out of school during the summer and not engaged in high academic or social activities as much as they would during the academic school year. The “summer slump” can happen at anytime dependent upon the type of school calendar your child’s school system has, but just know the slide is happening. You may be wondering how do I know these things…well, it’s pretty easy; I’m an elementary school Principal (12 years now), educator (17 years), gained several honors and awards in education for my advocacy work, received all of my degrees and graduate degrees in Education and my Doctoral Research is within the educational realm as well; my experiences and research covers the spectrum…so I won’t lead you wrong!

Because I enjoy educational research [nerd alert here, lol] and always recommend according to research, here are a few facts:
According to Colorado State Library (www.cde.state.co.us) 2014, their data shows the following research findings on summer slide:

  1. Children in low-income households fall behind an average of 2 months in reading during the summer and summer slide is cumulative, with the learning losses building up each summer.
  2. Summer learning loss accounts for two-thirds of the 9th grade achievement gap in reading between students from low-income households and their higher-income peers.
  3. Students from low-income households with access to books overthe summer see significantly more gains in reading scores from spring to fall than students from high-income households without access to books.
  4. Differences in children’s summer learning experiences during their elementary school years can ultimately impact whether they earn a high school diploma and continue to college.”

This research is very telling and true; but of them all, #4 is HUGE in my educational and mommy opinion!!!

So moms of the world, now you know what the summer slump is…but, are you experiencing it or the kids??? Take it from me, I understand how difficult it may be to squeeze in time to run to the local library or bookstore, but STOP and do it! Do a family read aloud or have your kids reading independently while you continue to work; children love to see their moms and dads reading too!
Let’s get out of this slump and start READING and MOVING!!

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