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Summer Slide Prevention Tips for Your Child

Small breaks may sound good, but long pauses like summer holidays may cause big learning problems. That’s how summer slide can lead to learning loss that hurts your kid’s future academic performance.

If you want to prevent summer slide, check out this article. You will see all the factors and methods that will help kids come back to school with no gap in learning.

Key points:

• A long pause in academic activities is the key reason why does summer slide happen.
• Studying with personalized tutors is the most effective method to prevent summer slide.
• Dedicated worksheets and tests are easy and free tools for summer practice.
• There are multiple alternative ways to learn something new from typical summer activities.

Why does summer slide happen?

Based on the summer slide research, it happens because students tend to abandon all their academic activities during summer break. This situation can last for several weeks and may result in knowledge gaps and problems catching up with studying long after.

Signs of summer slide in education:

• Problems gaining new skills
• Difficulties practicing existing skills 
• Resistance to absorbing new knowledge
• Difficulties memorizing existing knowledge

In practice, children may forget how to multiply numbers, capitalize letters, or what the meaning of some easy word is. Also, they may start making grammar mistakes they never made before. If you see some of these signs regularly in early autumn, most likely, you didn’t manage to prevent the summer slide for them.

How to prevent summer slide?

• Study with math & reading tutors
• Practice with worksheets & tests
• Participate in a summer reading program 
• Introduce learning in everyday summer activity
• Bring your child to a summer camp
• Find attractions that teach something new
• Encourage their creative spirit during summer
• Set inspiring learning goals
• Let nature be their teacher
• Encourage writing routine
• Make math their summer routine
• Utilize a variety of online tools for learning

#1 Preventing summer slide with math & reading tutors

Best for: families seeking a highly personalized and adaptive approach to preventing summer slide.

Math and reading are among the key learning loss areas for kids. Thus, getting a math & reading tutor is a direct strategy to combat summer slide, especially if you find a person who can provide structured yet engaging learning and motivate a kid for daily practice.

Benefits of working with reading and math tutors:

• Personalized approach: A tutor will adjust the teaching style and the curriculum to the needs of your kid.
• Consistent practice: Regular sessions with a tutor create a learning habit that leads to successfully acquiring even the hardest skill.
• Confidence building: Studying with a tutor makes it comfortable to comprehend even the most complex subjects independently.

Stop summer slide with Brighterly math and reading tutors: Features

• Customized 1:1 sessions
• Adaptive curriculum based on the Common Core program
• Engaging approach

Customized 1:1 sessions

Brighterly math and reading tutors adjust their lessons to your kid’s knowledge level, comprehension goals, and personal pace. You won’t find a one-size-fits-all approach on the Brighterly platform. Each kid gets a personalized studying program to unlock their full reading and math potential.

The only thing that is similar for everyone is that each reading and math session comes at an affordable price of $17.4/lesson. 

Adaptive curriculum based on the Common Core program

Each math class from Brighterly tutors is part of a STEM-focused curriculum. In the same way, the reading program is based on the Common Core standards. 

Both reading and math curricula are adjusted to effectively assist your child based on their current struggles and improve their academic performance when they come back to studying. 

Engaging approach

Last but not least, Brighterly math and reading tutors are just fun to study with! By being energizing and motivating, they make math and reading interesting for kids to deepen their skills independently.

That’s how they solve problems of how to incentivize summer reading and also make math their best friend.

Brighterly reviews

Based on Trustpilot reviews, parents find Brighterly tutors extremely helpful for children who struggle with math. Most of them notice how kids are getting to love their regular tutoring sessions and improving their academic performance significantly, thanks to them.

#2 How to prevent summer slide with worksheets & tests

To prevent summer slide with worksheets & tests, you need to get these exercises and encourage your kid to dedicate some time every day to work on them. 

Best for: self-motivated kids from low-income families who are interested in practicing math to prevent their summer learning loss. 

Worksheets are sets of exercises aimed at practicing a certain skill or concept, reinforcing their retention through targeted repetition. For a more customized approach that prepares kids for tests, you can combine exercises from several worksheets.

How to prevent the summer slide with Brighterly worksheets

The Brighterly website offers parents the chance to download free math worksheets based on the grade and the exact problem their kids want to practice. If you want to get these free materials, just source the website, select the grade, and choose the topic to practice.

If you’re interested in a more structured approach, you can also get the complete reading or math program that covers all the key topics for each study year.

 

#3 How to stop the summer slide with a summer reading program

To stop the summer slide, introduce a reading program with a list of recommended books that enlarge vocabulary and practice grammar skills.

Best for: kids who are easily engaged with an interesting story and already love reading.

In your custom reading program, the exact number of books should depend on the grade and reading level. For exact recommendations, you can also refer to a school or a public library. Having a reading club with rewards and special events can also be helpful. 

No matter which approach to creating a summer reading program you choose, your role as a parent in this process is key. Be ready to encourage and control the reading progress and discuss things they’ve just read together.

#4 Unexpected ways to prevent summer slide: Introduce learning in everyday summer activity

Best for: elementary school kids who don’t want to dedicate separate time to learning anything during summer.

Working to prevent the summer slide can be fun if it happens in the background of everyday summer activities. In this case, a lot depends on a parent’s creativity and lust for life.

Here are some possible ways to find new angles in routine activities:

• Experiment with your breakfast recipe to see the impact of each ingredient on the cooked dish.
• Encourage them to measure all the furniture in their room before buying something new.
• Read the menus and multiply numbers together while waiting for a waiter or in a queue.
• Try to name all the sounds and smells around you in a random place.

The exact activities will depend on your child’s age and grade, but one thing remains the same — and it’s your curiosity and willingness to find new information together.

#5 Prevent summer slide by bringing your child to a summer camp

Summer camp is the most effective method to prevent the summer slide because it’s filled with fun learning opportunities that don’t feel like school studying.

Best for: gifted children seeking contest preparation.

Usually, summer camps are dedicated to one subject and help children practice academic skills through hands-on experiences, teamwork activities, and outdoor experiments.

Most decent math summer camps are expensive, have a long application process, and are too intensive for kids below an advanced math or reading level. Thus, if you want to go for this option, be ready for these challenges. 

Prevent summer slide with Brighterly Summer Math Camp 2025 (good for any level!)

Brighterly offers an opportunity for elementary and middle school students to join an exclusive summer math program with 1:1 personalized tutoring sessions. This summer camp is focused on reinforcing fundamental math skills aligned with the US Common Core standards. Keep your kid engaged in an easy-going, chill, personalized, and highly effective manner! They will have fun yet be fully ready for the next school year after the summer holidays.

#6 Preventing summer slide by finding attractions that teach something new

Best for: kids who travel during summer break with their parents.

If you’re traveling with your kid, introduce a learning element to summer entertainment whenever possible to prevent summer slide. You can encourage them to install a new language app, play an educational video game, or spend a whole day in a museum together.

Preventing summer slide with visits to educational attractions:

• Local science or natural history museum
• Science center
• Zoo
• Botanical garden
• Historical site
• Virtual tours

It’s easier to find educational attractions you can enjoy together on a trip, so plan your summer vacation to rest yet not miss potential learning opportunities.

#7 Avoid the summer slide by encouraging your kid’s creative spirit

Best for: creative children who genuinely enjoy doing something new.

Slide in summer is not critical if your child uses their free time to start a new hobby, learn a new skill, or reveal their creativity in any other way.

If you notice your child is eager to engage in activities, avoid insisting on rest; instead, provide them with all the resources they need to practice. They will naturally find a way to practice their academic knowledge and skills in a new environment.

#8 How to avoid the summer slide by inspiring learning goals

To set the learning goals that avoid the summer slide, consider what inspires your kid the most. The decision to stop summer slide can be inspiring by itself, but you may need to think of something more motivational to keep them engaged.

Best for: kids who are deeply encouraged by the fact of a valuable achievement.

When it comes to setting inspiring goals for your kid, your aim is to establish an individual summer learning plan that will include their current level, interests, and problems.

Possible inspirational activities to prevent summer slide:

• Reading challenge with their dream reward as a prize
• Basic exercises as part of their routine (as real-world activities or studying)
• An educational activity once a week

If your school hasn’t provided your child with the summer slide prevention plan, create your own, based on their dreams and your capabilities.

#9 What to do to prevent summer slide? Let nature be their teacher

To prevent summer slide free and easy, encourage your kid to observe nature and apply their knowledge to understand its laws better.

Best for: nature lovers who like to spot unexpected connections between things.

In a city jungle setting, outdoor activities can help stop the summer reading and math slide. That’s because nature offers never-ending opportunities to observe and experiment with. So don’t underestimate its teaching potential in your summer learning loss prevention plan.

Here are some of the things to try outdoors:

• Long walks or hiking
• Camping
• Reading in a park
• Finding real-world questions to research and ask educators about
• Visiting a summer camp

Nature is a catalyst for curiosity, so let children go outside and find their own methods to use as their teacher.

#10 How to stop the summer slide with an encouraging writing routine

An encouraging writing routine creates a habit of daily sharpening and fostering a love for writing. This is especially helpful if you want to understand how to prevent summer slide in reading.

Best for: introverted children who find it easier to express their thoughts and ideas on paper.

Journaling is an essential skill that helps both children and adults express thoughts, desires, and ambitions. Establish a daily writing practice to encourage your kid to write in a summer journal to reflect on summer adventures, make plans, and dream big together.

If writing daily is hard, try alternative methods like morning pages, filling in writing prompts, and creating cards. All of them are fun enough to make writing easy and enjoyable in summer.

#11 How to prevent summer slide in math with summer routine

To prevent summer slide in math with a dedicated routine, aim for consistent and mixed daily practice. Incorporate games and small challenges that are interesting to overcome. This way, you’ll keep your kid engaged and reduce their stress about math. 

Best for: kids who love gamified challenges and don’t find math stressful.

Math is easier to forget; that’s why it’s important to practice it during the summer. Find new ways to incorporate math into your daily lives to make practice consistent, engaging, and effective.

Here are some activities that provide opportunities to practice math:

• Cooking and baking
• Budgeting
• Board games
• Flashcards
• Planning trips
• Comparing prices

All these activities help to prevent the summer slide, but require efforts from parents. If that’s problematic for you, you can hire a math tutor from Brighterly for extra help.

#12 Final way to prevent summer slide: Utilize online learning tools

Best for: kids who are always on their phones.

Video games, virtual tours, and online programs are excellent ways to prevent summer brain drain. If you utilize online tools for learning in a proper way, you can get easy-to-use exercises to practice reading, writing, and math skills.

With this tool, parental control is the key. Even the most helpful online tools can become too addictive and thus destructive to the learning process.

What to do to prevent summer slide? Conclusion

Whether it’s summer slide math, science or grammar, it’s worth putting effort into preventing it. It’s great to take a break during summer; however, using this free time to try some new learning opportunities is a more effective way to spend summer vacation.

If you want something fast and easy for summer slide prevention, make life their best teacher. You can find amazing, unexpected ways to practice math knowledge and reading skills in your everyday activities, during summer trips, or while mastering new creative skills.

But if you want a more consistent and dedicated practice, use worksheets, tests, and personalized lessons from the Brighterly reading and math tutoring platform. Brighterly experts have designed several tools to make math and reading interesting and entertaining, which makes them a perfect tool for summer practice. Your kid will learn something new every day, but won’t feel like studying “for real” (as at school).

Interested in trying Brighterly personalized lessons? Book a free trial today!