Do you worry that your child will forget everything they learned at school over the summer? Want a little help to get a head start on for the next school year? Here are 9 Ways to Prevent The Summer Slide for Your Child:

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As parents, we can help. Here are 9 things that you can do this summer to ensure that your kids hit the ground running when the new school year starts.

Ways to Prevent The Summer Slide For Your Child

#1. Educational Board Games

Board games offer many benefits for children including lessons such as strategy and fair play. Some games take education even further by providing opportunities to learn important skills such as reading and math.

Educational board games are fun to play, give you quality time with your child, and are good for summer fun and learning.

We love Rummikub in our house, it teaches kids to add up and to know their numbers and number combinations really well.

You might also enjoy reading 20 of the Best Board Games for Families

#2. Plant a Garden

Gardens are a wonderful way to teach children about the plant life-cycle.

Kids that actively engage in nurturing a garden also learn responsibility and the pride of seeing a tiny seed grow into something that can be consumed or shared with others.

You might enjoy reading Making Gardening for Kids Fun

#3. Word Play

Another way to stop the summer slide is to help kids expand their vocabulary. This can be easily done by hanging a new word on the refrigerator and then keeping tracking of who uses it the most in a week.

You could also run a Family Spelling Bee competition every week for a bit of fun and word practice.

Or how about a regular game of Scrabble together?

#4. Sign Up for Summer Reading Programmes

There are a number of different organisations that are encourage kids to read and some even offer rewards to children that join and complete their summer reading programme.

Here’s a list of summer reading challenges for kids.

#5. Take a Virtual Field Trip

One of the benefits of the internet is the ability to explore the world…from the computer.

Possible virtual field trips include the Arctic, a Hershey’s chocolate factory, and the Louvre.

You might also enjoy reading 11 Free Educational Games Online The Kids Will Actually Love

#6. Do it Yourself Projects

Kids generally have an abundance of free time during the summer. One way to fill that time is to engage children in interesting projects that they can make themselves.

There is a growing Do It Yourself (DIY) movement focused on kids and includes interesting projects like learning to code and remixing music videos.

How about making a Stop-Motion Movie?

#7. Engage in Math Logic Puzzles

Who doesn’t love a challenge? Games like Sudoku or logic puzzles can keep kids engaged while practicing important math skills.

Not sure where to begin? Here is a link to Ken Ken, a set of challenging math puzzles designed for junior high and high school students.

You might also enjoy reading 7 Cool Math Games Websites for Kids

#8. Download an Educational App

Apps aren’t just for mindless entertainment anymore.There are apps that can help kids learn everything from geography to others language.

Here are Educational Apps for kids aged 8-12 and Science Apps recommended by parents.

#9. Start a Business

Lemonade stands are always an option, but there are many ways for kids to experiment with entrepreneurship over the summer.

They could even use the internet to start their own online business. It is never too early to begin to think about the benefits of entrepreneurship.

Over to you now. What’s your best tip for stopping the summer slide? Share it with us in the comments below.