Avoiding the 'summer slide'
By CARRIE FRILLMAN cfrillman@daily-chronicle.com
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| Patricia Klonoski, of DeKalb, previews a book with her daughter Olivia, 8, at the DeKalb Public Library. (Beck Diefenbach – bdiefenbach@daily-chronicle.com) |
DeKALB – Kayla Peterson knows summertime means a break from the books, but she also sees it as an opportunity to get ahead.
"If you don't read stuff when you aren't in school, you might forget some of it," the 8-year-old said while playing at Hopkins Park in DeKalb. "If you practice, you'll be two steps ahead of everyone when you start class again."
Young Kayla is referring to the loss of knowledge many experts refer to as the "summer slide." The term is based on the idea that those who read during the summer gain literacy and vocabulary, while those who don't "slide" backward, according to a study by Dominican University in River Forest.
A report from Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning estimates that at least two months of instructional time – 22 percent of the average school year – is lost when students spend their breaks away from books or other learning material.
Wendy Kunz, director of Sylvan Learning Center in DeKalb, suggests that loss of knowledge may be even greater.
"Kids can actually lose anywhere from three to five months of learned information by not doing anything academic over the summer," she said Monday. "What we try to do ... is help kids enjoy learning and reading by doing fun, different activities to build their skills."
Aside from retaining lessons from the school year, summer break provides an ideal opportunity for those who might be struggling academically to catch up, she added.
Sylvan offers game-based academic camps along with a yearlong reading program that includes prizes as incentives.
Local libraries also do their part to keep kids on track by providing interactive summer reading programs.
About 740 children signed up at the Sycamore Public Library last summer, said Mary Anderson, director of youth services.
"The nice thing about summertime is that you can read whatever you want," she said. "Kids figure out a lot just being exposed to books."
Graphic novels, magazines and even picture books can keep minds active, Anderson said. Such activities build reading comprehension, vocabulary, problem-solving and literacy skills, she said.
Kunz agreed that learning, especially in the summer, should be engaging and fun for children. Retaining information doesn't mean devoting endless hours to studying or completing math worksheets, she said.
"Even if it's 10 minutes a day, it's going to make a difference because it's going to help that information stay fresh in their heads," Kunz said.
Summertime does mark a change of pace for most people, said Dee Coover, executive director of the DeKalb Public Library. But the shift should propel those of all ages to explore.
"Use this time to do something new, something creative," she said. "If you've never listened to an audio book, listen to an audio book. ... I encourage people to use this time to be creative in their own interests in learning and to really get out there."
