It's time to get kids' brains back in gear
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BY ERIN ANDERSEN / Lincoln Journal Star
Where did summer go? Just yesterday (it seemed) the kids were celebrating the end of the school year, and parents were contemplating all the brain-enhancing activities they would do over the summer.
Now it's Aug. 5. And if you have yet to embark on that list of reading, writing, math-fact review and other academic upkeep well, you're not alone. Summer gets away from us.
The problem is knowledge gets away from our kids during that 12- week hiatus called summer vacation.
Studies show students lose an average of 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency in math. They lose a little less of their reading skills.
On average, teachers will spend four to six weeks re-teaching the material kids forgot over the summer, according to statistics from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer Learning.
While we can't turn back the calendar, we can make up the deficit before school starts and do it somewhat painlessly.
Just one activity a day is enough to recoup some of the brain drain, according to Cheri Fuller, author of "School Starts at Home."
Just 20 minutes a day of reading, say the experts at Family Fun magazine.
Just a few minutes of review and discussion here and there, says Chris Barnett, a first-grade teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School in Lincoln and mother of James, 13, and Catherine, 8.
And according to teacher, author and columnist Evelyn Vuko, even parents who think they "have done nothing" over the summer probably have done something if they ever took their child shopping or held a conversation with them.
That said, skills do get rusty.
Barnett sees firsthand what kids lose over the summer months.
And, she knows firsthand how hard it is to enforce and stick with a vigorous summer learning planning.
"I've been trying all summer long to do some things," Barnett said.
Not every day. Not for long blocks of time. And some days or weeks not at all.
"Kids need a summer break and so do I," Barnett said.
So she has a short list. Four things on various days to accomplish before the family can have fun.
Sometimes it's reviewing math facts in the car on the way to activities.
Other times it's setting aside time for reading or writing short descriptive essays on shared memories, be it the time the cat fell asleep in the sink or the day they enjoyed Popsicles on the porch.
Sometimes it's just talking about stuff, playing word games or predicting what will happen next in the book they are reading.
She tells the kids, "this is what we have to get done first, and then we go can go swimming or go play at the park."
Sometimes there is grumbling.
"The kids say: It's not fair that we have a mom who is a teacher,'" Barnett quotes them as saying.
"I say, yes I know, but I won't let your brains turn to mush over the summer,'" she said.
She tells them it's important to be ready for school.
"They moan and groan, and then they're, like, OK,'" Barnett said.
Besides review doesn't have to be drudgery.
It shouldn't be drudgery.
"I don't want them to hate it," Barnett said.
And, she doesn't want to hate it.
That's why Vuko suggests pitching the flash cards, ending the pop quizzes and forget any activity that smacks of "academics."
"It's too much like school," Vuko said in a phone interview from her Chevy Chase, Md., home. "Our objective is to get academics through the back door. Don't make it seem like school because the minute you do, they are going to shut down. They're going to say: It's August, mom; forget it.'"
So Vuko's advice to parents engage kids' thought processes without their realizing they are learning and refreshing hundreds of skills.
If you're going grocery shopping, hand your child a calculator to help keep track of the spending within a set budget. Have them help make decisions.
Encourage kids to ask questions of other adults, be it a tour guide, the vegetable stand guy or a store clerk.
Asking adults questions teaches kids how to get the information they need, Vuko said. It's particularly helpful for middle school and high school students who have numerous teachers with numerous communication styles.
"The more opportunities you give your child to communicate with people, the more facile it will be to communicate with a cast of new teachers," Vuko said.
"Then, as a parent, you have to say: Did you get the information you need? Do you think that person explained it well? What could the person have done to make you understand it better? What do you need to do to understand it better now?
"This is very, very critical for thinking and research skills," Vuko said.
Let kids be the navigator on family trips or even finding stores in the mall.
"Map skills hit lots and lots of math buttons all at once," Vuko said. ""It gives you sequence.
It gets them to start gauging distance.
Kids see a logical progression from one step to the other."
Learning should be fun. The more fun, the more skills kids pick up, say both Vuko and Barnett.
At the Barnett home, they play games. Mom gives James and Catherine choices and options. They get to pick the writing topic. They get to pick what they want to read. Barnett will even take dictation, so James doesn't have to physically write. Then she has him reread his unedited work back to her.
Although Vuko would never dis reading and writing, she says neither needs to be traditional.
"Reading skills are enhanced not only by putting your face in a book," Vuko said. "Reading skills are enhanced by any kind of visual activity like movies and videos all can be used to increase comprehension skills."
"Writing isn't always putting things with pencil on paper. The main skill behind writing is the ability to compose your thoughts," she said. "Having kids explain what is happening in a snapshot or on film forces kids to compose their thoughts."
Parents should play dumb, Vuko said.
"The dumber you play, the more intelligent it is going to force your child to be. Have your child explain everything to you: I don't know how this works, you have to do this for me."
Watch movies and TV shows with your kids. Have your kids make predictions. And when those predictions do or do not come true, have them talk about why they made that conclusion, Vuko said.
And if you really want to get even a reluctant adolescent to talk, state your opinion about a character and then have your child counter your opinion with theirs.
At the end of a movie, TV show or even a book you have read with your child, ask how they would have rewritten the ending.
Get kids talking and thinking, Vuko said.
"Give them opportunities to learn a multitude of skills in fun and easy ways," Vuko said.
And ditch the flash cards.
"Flash cards are painful," she said. "But going to the supermarket with $50 in your pocket and watching your child calculate how much to spend and what not to buy that's exciting and makes you proud.
"And will they be better prepared for school?" Vuko asked.
"Absolutely."
Reach Erin Andersen at 473-7217 or eandersen@journalstar.com.
School readiness rules
For an easier transition to school, here are a few things to start doing now:
* Ease into school bedtime routine.
* Start limiting TV, video game and computer time.
* Set aside family reading time.
* Talk about school with enthusiasm. Let kids talk about their feelings. While not all kids will be as excited as their parents about school starting, parents need to be positive and stress the fun of a new year, new teachers, new classes and new friends.
* Read your school handbook with your kids, so no one will be caught by surprise over dress codes and forbidden items (such as MP3 players).
What you can do
There's no need to buy a workbook and start drilling your children on their school facts after all, they are still technically on summer break.
Instead, make learning, thinking, reasoning and hand-eye coordination skills fun, say the experts.
How?
Here are some ideas:
- Play games
* Visual memory helpers Dominos, Concentration and Memory.
* Spelling skills Scrabble, Boggle, Spill and Spell
* Math skills Monopoly, Racko, Rummikub, Yahtzee, Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry and Trouble
* Reasoning skills Clue, Mastermind, Risk, Battleship, checkers, chess and card games, such as Uno, Phase 10 and rummy
* Sequencing Legos, building blocks, puzzles
* Hand-eye coordination Ping Pong
* Large muscle control Twister, Frisbee and baseball
* Small muscle control Puzzles, Pick-Up sticks, Play-doh, tiddlywinks and maze puzzle books
- Real-life experiences
* Call on your children's powers of observation whenever you are shopping. If you encounter something they have never seen before, ask what they think it is, how it's used, etc.
* Encourage kids to talk to adults to get information or share stories. They will learn how to accommodate different communication styles and learn how to get the information they need.
* Give kids a camera or video camera and have them put together a program.
* Take turns reading aloud from a book.
* Talk about what you've read or watched in a program. Ask kids to make predictions.
* Use hobbies to get kids reading and writing.
* Got some end-of-summer activities planned? Let kids read the travel brochures, help research things to do, follow the travel route on the map. Have them write postcards to friends.
* Encourage kids to make a summer scrapbook, video or Web site. It helps kids pick out key ideas, which is a critical study skill of taking tests, reading textbooks or doing research.
* Make up a serial story. You make up a line and have your child make up the next until you have a full-blown story.
* Have a back-to-school party. Have your child make the invitations, plan the treats, etc.
* Give your child a notebook and ask him to write down three things he did that day.
Sources: Evelyn Vuko, author, columnist and teacher; "School Starts at Home" by Cheri Fuller and Calgary's Child Magazine.
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