Summer Learning Loss in Children
Everyone loves summer and especially summer camps. In Europe, as soon as the last school bell rings, students grab their backpacks and race out the door, leaving all thoughts of maths, reading, learning and school behind them. But what happens next? More often it’s a lot of TV watching, video games, social media, going out with friends, and avoiding anything that looks remotely like a book. Does this mean that every student is doomed to fall behind?
Students Fall Behind During Summer
Every summer, over one month of learning is undone leaving educators to pick up the pieces when they return back to school in Autumn. As a result, on average teachers spend up to 6 weeks re-teaching topics just to make up for that loss! Unfortunately these statistics are particularly acccurate for children from lower-income families due to unequal access to summer learning opportunities such as summer camps
The need for Summer Learning
Summer learning – no matter if it’s at a camp, a charter school, or a traditional high school – has a real positive impact on both academic and social-emotional development. It provides structure to children’s summer experiences, making it more likely that they will stay engaged and focused and out of trouble. It also keeps their academic skills polished and in some cases, makes it possible for them to get ahead.
But, how do summer camps directly combat summer learning loss?
1. They Offer Personalised Instruction
No two children learn in exactly the same way. Since summer camps bring children of diverse ages and levels of experience together to develop the same skill, it’s even more critical to allow children to choose their own pace and work according to their preferred style of learning.
At camp, learning sessions are tailored to campers’ needs meaning that they can be challenged to exactly the right level. Campers have the opportunity to learn hands-on about building, crafts and science in a summer enrichment program, while counselors are able to easily assess children’s levels and shape the camp curriculum to match the level of each child.
Freed from the academic pressure students often put on themselves, higher-level students also reinforce their own learning by taking on the role of mentors for peers who are less advanced. For example, quite often campers take on a ‘Big Brother / Sister’ role where they mentor younger campers in activities or simply in the day-to-day running of camps.
2. They Encourage Kids to Apply their Learning to the Real World
Summer camps are fun – but most families don’t realize how much summer camp activities draw on what children have learned in school. For example, learning a craft such as knitting encourages children to use their mathematics knowledge and complex problem solving abilities to accomplish a practical skill. Playing soccer challenges them to assess a developing situation and make the best decision about which subsequent move to take. Participating in a high ropes course makes children learn to think strategically in high-stress situations.
Children in summer day camps throw themselves into learning when they see how important it is to the project they want to complete. Maker Spaces, a unique project utilised by summer camps like Explorer Camps, is the very example of this where children are given the freedom to plan and create whatever they like using the material provided.
3. They Promote Problem Solving
When kids partake in summer programs, they are often faced with challenges they’ve never experienced before. During their summer camp, they’ll ask (and solve) questions like:
- How do I communicate with my roommate so that our room stays clean?
- How can I ensure my catapault fires?
- How do I achieve balance and harmony on an art canvas?
- How can I defend my team against the opponent in paintball?
With the mental freedom inherent in summer, kids put less pressure on themselves to find the one correct answer. As a result, they lose their fear of failure and come up with more inventive and creative solutions. If one approach doesn’t work, they simply try a different approach the next time.
4. They Give Children a Chance to Move
According to a recent study conducted at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, students with a high level of physical activity had thinner gray matter than their more sedentary peers. Since thinner gray matter has been linked with stronger math skills, there’s evidence that physical movement can help kids perform better academically.
During the academic year, it’s harder to incorporate enough physical activity into the average school day. Summer day camps can give parents a chance to choose a classroom-based activity for half the day, and an outdoor activity for the other half. Full-day programs often take advantage of the weather to combine active play with engagement in learning activities.
5. They Promote Whole Child Development
Summer enrichment programs promote hands-on learning with plenty of time for students to create and play. They also help children develop their emotional and social intelligence as they make new friends and work collaboratively. Finally, summer camps give kids a chance to pursue their passions and learn in new ways. In many cases, summer day camps are so fun that kids don’t even realize how much they’re learning.
The Bottom Line: Summer Camps Should Keep Kids Learning
Just because summer is a break from school, it doesn’t have to be a break from learning. By signing your child up for a summer day camp, you can give them a chance to immerse themselves in an activity that interests them, while keeping their brain engaged.
