Let’s Prevent the Summer Slide
The Summer Slide:
I hear it from parents every year and see it every August. After two months off from school, students are rusty in their math skills, lack the confidence they built last school year, and struggle with their foundational skills. While kids usually keep up their reading skills by picking up a book at the pool, math can be a "use it or lose it" skill. Let's face it, kids rarely calculate percentages or fractions for fun while hanging out at the pool!
But here is the good news: You do not need to turn your kitchen table into a summer school classroom to fix this. You just need a better strategy!
1) Make the Shift from "Drill" to "Real Life."
Turn an outing into a math review without your kids even realizing you're "practicing". Here are some easy ideas:
The Grocery Store Game: Next time you're shopping, have your child calculate the unit rate. "If this 32oz bottle of juice is $4.00, and the 12oz bottle is $1.50, which one is the better deal?" (Bonus points: This is a major 7th-grade standard!).
Road Trip Ratios: Going on a trip? Have them look at the dashboard. "We are going 60 miles per hour, and we have 180 miles left. How long until we get to the hotel?"
The "What if" Game: Buying a treat out? Have your child calculate how much money you will spend in different scenarios:
-"What if we buy one coffee every day for the rest of summer?"
-"What if we get ice cream every week for the rest of summer?"
-"What if we eat out three times a week?"
2) Master the Foundational Bricks
Math, especially in middle school, builds on previously learned skills and concepts. Some of the most foundational bricks in middle school are Fractions, Decimals, and Negative Numbers. Instead of trying to teach them the entirety of next grade's curriculum, focus on keeping these core foundational skills alive for a time that works for you and your child. Maybe this is 5-10 minutes a day or 15-20 minutes a week. The key is to set a realistic goal for you and your family.
3) Use the "Preview" Method
The secret weapon of top-performing students isn't that they learn faster; it's that they see the material more than once. If your child spends just a few minutes looking at a concept in June and July, it won't feel like a foreign language when their teacher explains it in September. It will feel like a review. This simple shift eliminates "math anxiety" on the first day of the new school year.
That's why I built the Counting on Success Membership.
We've designed a routine that takes less than 10 minutes a day. Your child gets access to short, engaging 5-7 minute videos that keep their skills sharp, teach them upcoming shortcuts, and build their confidence, all while you enjoy your summer evenings. And the best part? It's quick and requires no prep work on your end! Set a goal of watching one video a day. All videos have opportunities for your student to "try out" and problem-solve on their own, so the daily practice is taken care of for you!
No fighting, no tears, and no excessive spending charges for workbooks or packets your child won't use. Just a confident student ready to crush the next school year!
👉 [Click here to check out our Math Lessons and secure your child's spot!]