LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Keeping kids engaged during the summer is important. It prevents the so-called "summer slide."
News Anchor Dayna Roselli visited with Rebecca Krshul at her Las Vegas home. She makes sure to work with her two kids for at least a hour a day in the summer, and she says it pays off!
Krshul wanted to prepare her daughter, Lila, for 1st grade last summer, so she spent time with her... reading. She says, "we read every single day and it was a struggle, and every day she went, I hate this I can't do it I can't do it."
But she did do it. Because Mom worked with her and didn't give up. Lila got better... and better... and once she started 1st grade, her reading took off because of the preparation. She ended the year "advanced" for reading.
Krshul says, "she's reading the second book of Harry Potter, she finished the first book already over spring break... and she loves it!"
Lila is 6 and her other daughter, Makenna is 5, so it's time to start working with her too. Krshul says she's lucky to be home in the summer, but points out there are also great online programs through CCSD, and kids can do them at home.
This is a great option for working parents. Krshul signed Lila up for the Summer Slide Socrates program, "They get online in the summer and they can earn points and so they start the school year with those points, and they make it fun, it's not just ya know sit here and read and answer questions-- they play games with them and so that helps I think with wanting to do it."
Krshul says last year she created a reading schedule-- and gave her children worksheets from books. It helps. She can't stress enough how important it is for kids be able to read early on, "There's a certain part during first grade where they just send notes home... we are not reading the tests to kids anymore... so your kid needs to be ready."
The National Summer Learning Association has other ideas that you can do at home.
Have your child keep a summer journal about the books they are reading, the summer activities they have done, the friends they've made. It keeps them writing and they have to find things to write about.
Use counting skills in daily activities. Count out the ingredients when backing a cake, turn a grocery trip into a math lesson.
Plant a garden. It's a great way to encourage healthy eating!
They also suggest volunteering together if you have the time.
