Does learning stop when school stops?

Summer Holidays are fantastic! Remember that feeling of abandon as you raced out of the classroom on the last day of school, ready for those endless days of summer. No school, no homework, no assignments.  Yesss!

And that's the way it should be. Students have worked hard all year and deserve the break. Make the most of the holidays to do all of those things with your children that they can't normally do.

Having said that, a lot of research has gone into what happens to academic performance over the holidays. Typically learning in those core subjects doesn't just stop, it starts to slide. Students doing the same test before and after the holidays perform worse straight after the holidays. Facts and figures have been forgotten, and skills become rusty with lack of use. Studies have shown that the long summer break costs on average 2.6 months of maths development and 2 months for English. For some children, the slide is up to a year's work! That is hugely significant in those first few weeks of the new term as students have to work hard to catch up to where they were, while the class continues to move forward.

Luckily, parents can work with their children to keep their brains active while on holiday so that children can avoid this brain drain as they take a break from school.

Encourage reading. 

The library has a wealth of information on the plants and animals you may have seen on your outings.  If you make a trip there, help your child choose some books to read.  Whether they can read on their own or with your assistance, encourage budding bookworms to choose reading material that is both challenging and interesting to them. Help them learn to enjoy reading without always associating books with academia.  No matter the topic, reading will help keep kids minds active.

Turn the Screens Off

Nothing creates more brain drain that sitting at home watching television for the entire holidays. This is a problem because nothing is easier for parents than turning the television or a computer on and allowing it to entertain the children for hours. Although it is unrealistic to expect that your children will not spend any time in front of a screen, you can allot a certain amount of time each day.

Be selective about what your children are watching on the screen when they have access to it. Rather than allowing them to play video games, download educational apps with which they can practice skills. On our website have a look at our Arcade (http://www.numberworks.com/arcade) that provides engaging lessons and fun activities for kids.

Get creative. 

Doing arts and crafts is a perfect way to get the other side of a child’s brain working.  Bring the outdoors inside by doing art with pieces of wood to make a house or a birdfeeder, or just letting kids ‘wing it’ and decide what they want to do on their own.  Whether it’s painting, colouring, stamping or building masterpieces with play-dough, all are great options to keep your child’s creative juices flowing and brain power growing.

Holiday Programmes

Enrol children in our Maths and English holiday courses.  Our holiday programme will offer your child:

• A refresher in the core subjects of maths and English, practising those key skills they will need week 1 back in the classroom.
• A fun challenge for brains ready for something new after the holiday break. By the end of the holidays, most students are looking forward to getting back into it. Take advantage of that enthusiasm!
• Preparation for the new year's work ahead of early assessments. Teachers will be deciding on groups early in the term based on assessments.
• A break for mum / dad.

Places on our holiday programmes are limited and fill fast.  Call now to book.

If it has been a while since we saw your child, we will do an evaluation first to see exactly how they are tracking.

Programmes run in January. Call for available days and times.