The summer learning slide refers to the tendency for students to lose academic skills during extended breaks from school, particularly over summer vacation.
When the school year winds down and summer break begins, kids (and parents) look forward to a much-needed pause. But while the sun and freedom bring fun, they can also contribute to what’s known as the “summer learning slide.”
Research shows that students can lose two to three months of reading and math skills over the summer if they’re not engaged in educational activities.
This learning loss can accumulate over the years, especially for students without access to enriching summer opportunities.
“More than two-thirds of the reading achievement gap in 9th grade can be traced back to cumulative summer learning loss during the elementary years.
Students may lose up to two months of reading proficiency over the summer, a substantial setback that can accumulate over time.
Between 70% and 78% of students experience a decline in math skills over the summer across elementary grades, with the summer between 5th and 6th grades showing the largest drop, where 84% of students demonstrated summer slide in math.”
Fortunately, this slide isn’t inevitable. Engaging children in even modest educational activities for 2–3 hours a week can maintain (or even boost) their progress.
The good news? You don’t need to replicate school at home to keep your child’s brain active.
With a bit of creativity and structure, you can help your child avoid the summer learning slide—and maybe even make gains—without sacrificing the joy of summer.
Just a quick review of a concept or two a few times per week can keep the ideas and skills fresh in their minds and painlessly practice a concept temporarily forgotten.
Year round homeschoolers break up their summer vacation time (usually around 10 weeks) throughout the year. They homeschool for a certain number of weeks and then take a week or two off before homeschooling again, thus, avoiding a summer learning slide.
We preferred to have our “summer vacation time” to leisurely take trips, visit family, enjoy the weather, and just have an extended “lazy days of summer”. But, we would do quick reviews a few times per week in the morning before we started our day.
My guys didn’t mind and actually enjoyed these reviews because it added something different to our days. And by the end of the summer, they were eager to get back into a routine and get started “with school” again.
Choose which type of schooling works best for you and your family.
The Secret: Learning Disguised as Fun
Avoiding the summer learning slide doesn’t require strict schedules or endless worksheets. Instead, it’s about integrating learning into everyday life, nurturing curiosity, and making knowledge exciting. It’s most likely what you do naturally during your homeschooling days.
This list of simple, fun, and meaningful suggested activities will help get you started with ideas to keep those skills and memories fresh from the previous school year through the summer, and avoid excessive review and lost time in the fall.
The Avoiding the Summer Learning Slide Checklist and Planner
This checklist and planner is a free printable with general suggestions and a planning sheet for you to write down some ideas you want to include in your days each week. (If we don’t plan it into a couple or few days per week, it most likely won’t get done.)
Avoiding the Summer Learning Slide General Activity Ideas
Here are some ideas to get you started in including quick and fun ideas into your days to keep skills fresh.
DAILY READING: Make Books a Daily Habit
Reading is the cornerstone of summer learning. It builds vocabulary, improves comprehension, and sparks imagination.
Tips:
- Set a daily goal: 20–30 minutes a day can work wonders.
- Visit the library: Participate in reading challenges and let kids choose their books.
- Create a cozy nook: A dedicated space can make reading time feel special.
- Be a role model: Read together or alongside your child to show reading is a lifelong habit.
EVERYDAY LEARNING: Turn Daily Tasks Into Lessons
The best learning often happens outside of textbooks. Everyday life is full of opportunities to practice academic and life skills.
Ideas:
- Cooking: Practice measurements, fractions, sequencing, and following instructions.
- Gardening: Explore plant life cycles, responsibility, and environmental awareness.
- Trip Planning: Involve your child in budgeting, time estimation, and geography.
- Nature Walks: Learn to identify plants, insects, and animals while practicing observation skills.
LEARNING THROUGH GAMESGAMIFY LEARNING: Learning Through Play
Games are a powerful educational tool. They engage kids in problem-solving, strategy, and collaboration.
Favorites:
- Board games: Scrabble (spelling), Math Dice (math), Bananagrams (vocabulary)
- Learning apps: Khan Academy, Prodigy, Duolingo, BrainPOP
- Custom games: Create scavenger hunts, trivia nights, or flashcard races at home
GET CREATIVE: Foster Imagination and Innovation
Creative expression builds confidence, communication skills, and critical thinking.
Activities:
- Writing: Encourage journals, poems, short stories, or comic strips.
- DIY projects: Use recyclables for crafts, build with LEGO, or experiment with simple inventions.
- Music and drama: Let them perform, sing, act, or create their own play.
LIGHT REVIEW: Keep Skills Fresh Without Burnout
You don’t need daily drills, but a little academic review helps prevent regression.
Ways to review:
- Workbooks: Use a few pages a week as warm-ups.
- Printables: Free online worksheets for review.
- Games: Turn math facts and spelling into a game format.
- Typing practice: Keyboarding skills will pay off in the long run.
FAMILY LEARNING: Share the Journey
Involving the whole family makes learning feel collaborative instead of solitary.
Family-style learning:
- Learn something new: Take up hiking, cooking, or crafting as a team.
- Read aloud together: Even older kids enjoy stories when shared.
- Science experiments: Try simple ones at home—baking soda volcanos, growing crystals, or creating rain in a jar.
- Peer teaching: Older kids can help teach younger siblings—it boosts both their skills.
SUMMER ROUTINE: Structure Without Stress
While total freedom sounds nice, most kids thrive on some routine. A flexible structure helps keep expectations clear without turning summer into summer school.
Sample Summer Day:
- Morning: Light academics or reading
- Afternoon: Outdoor play, nature walks, or creative projects
- Evening: Games, family activities, storytelling
This is the kind of routine we generally followed during the summer, unless we had a special trip or day planned. And the “light academics”, usually was a quick worksheet or activity to review a particular concept or skill, just to keep it fresh.
In the morning, they would read aloud to me and in the afternoon during a quiet time after lunch, they could read to themselves or listen to audiobooks or an audio with a follow along book.
For great free online audio selections for beginner to classics, read Why Using Audio Books in your Homeschool is a Great Idea.
In the evening, we always included reading aloud together before bed. It usually included books they chose, as well as a book I chose.
Wrapping It Up: Progress Over Perfection
The goal of summer learning isn’t to replicate the regular school year —it’s to spark curiosity, explore interests, and keep skills fresh. It’s about keeping the love of learning alive in simple, sustainable ways.
If your child reads a little each day, helps plan a family hike, builds a LEGO city, and whips up banana muffins while measuring ingredients—they’re learning. And more importantly, they’re enjoying it.
You don’t need to do it all. Pick a few items each week, use the planner (we created) to stay focused, and celebrate small wins.
With a little planning and a lot of fun, you can help your child avoid the summer learning slide and head into the next school year confident and ready.
