Prevent the Summer Slide in Kindergarten
It’s almost summer time! Who doesn’t love summer break? It’s a time for all of us to relax, recharge, and get ready for what the next year may hold. For students, we know that summer is especially sweet. They get to take a break from all of the responsibilities their lives hold, and just be kids for two months! However, with all of that down time, the summer slide tends to creep in…which no teacher loves! I want to share today some ideas about preventing the summer slide in your kindergarten students.
What is the Summer Slide?
The Summer Slide is the term used to describe the loss of reading and math skills that some students experience over the summer. After approximately eight weeks of no addition and subtraction, no reading, no handwriting, etc. getting back into the groove at the beginning of first grade can be tough. The things you work so hard to solidify in kindergarten can be lost in the matter of just a few weeks, and first grade teachers have to back-track and review skills that students should have mastered.
Doing what we can to prevent the summer slide of course promotes academic excellence in our students. It also keeps the entire school running more smoothly! Each teacher, in each grade level, can enter the year prepared to do minimal review, and dive into that year’s content.
What Should Kindergarteners Practice During the Summer?
Before sending your students home for the summer, prepare families with skills that students can work on over the summer! After Kindergarten, I believe that students should spend some time over the summer reviewing the following skills:
-Alphabetic Knowledge (letter names, sounds, and formation)
-Numbers 1-20
-Writing (complete sentences, simple stories, and first and last names)
-Single-Digit Addition and Subtraction
-CVC Words
-Reading! (being read to, reading leveled texts themselves, etc.)
This list is not comprehensive, of course. There are dozens of skills kindergarten students can work on over the summer. But, if you’re trying to simplify things for your families, these categories are a great place to start!
How to Engage Students in Summer Work
The most difficult part about preventing the Summer Slide is convincing students and families to make time for the skill practice! Summer is known for lacking structure and routine, and that’s what we all love about it! The following tips can help make things easier for families to build in time for skill practice over the summer.
Tip One: Make it Easy on Parents
I like to give students a Summer Bingo Board near the end of the year. You can even include something like this with their end of the year gift to make it extra special! The Summer Bingo Boards include 24 squares with critical kindergarten skills for students to practice over the summer. I also include a brief parent letter that explains how to use the bingo board. Keeping the tasks on a single page makes it feel less overwhelming. The less overwhelming the idea of summer skill practice is, the more likely many families will give it a try!
The Summer Bingo Board comes with supplemental pages to help students complete activities. You can choose to send these pages home in a packet, or simply send home the board. It depends on the demographic of your families. If you feel that students have what they need at home to complete the activities, they may not need packets. Do what you know will help your students be the most successful!
Tip Two: Create a Routine
Encourage families to set aside just a brief 15-20 minutes, three times a week, to complete one of the boxes. With 24 boxes on a bingo board, three boxes a week would take 8 weeks to complete. That’s about the length of many summer breaks! Keeping things on a schedule will help students work more consistently throughout the summer, rather than racing to do all of the boxes at the end.
Tip Three: Find Fun Solutions to Everyday Skill Practice
You know what students don’t get to do during the school year? Practice reading CVC words in the pool, or write their numbers with sidewalk chalk outside. Encourage families to build tasks into fun, summer activities when possible. This keeps things feeling fresh and fun! Some tasks have to be done at a table with a pencil, but many do not. Give families permission to get creative with skill practice, so they know they can do it anywhere!
Want to grab a Summer Bingo Board for your own Kindergarten classroom? Grab your own copy at the button below!
How do you encourage students to keep practicing over the summer? Connect with me on Instagram to share your ideas! And, check out THIS POST for more at-home literacy ideas to share with families!
