Experts give tips on keeping students engaged over the summer to avoid education losses

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- As schools enter summer break and students get out of the classroom, local education professionals are warning against the "summer slide," a term educators use for the learning loss that occurs when kids go months without reading, writing, or engaging their brains.

“If you don’t do anything over the summer, your skills go down,” said Elizabeth Murray, a programming librarian at East Hills Library. “We have heard from parents, grandparents and teachers that when the new year starts, you can really tell when a kid has been reading over the summer, because it does keep their skills sharp and ready to learn again.”

Murray explained that libraries play a key role in fighting the slide, by offering incentives to keep students reading, whether they be elementary, middle, or high schoolers.

East Hills Library runs a summer reading program where children earn prizes for reading every day.

“All the kids have to do is read every day, and they get prizes,” she said.

Grand prizes this year include a T-Rex Lego creator set for younger readers and $100 cash for teens ages 12 to 18.

Murray recalled one emerging reader who was struggling to maintain her skills over the summer.

“Her grandma brought her into the library, and she got excited about the prizes,” Murray said. “She really worked hard to read the hours that we needed her to read for the summer. And that did help her going into kindergarten that next year.”

Murray stressed that “reading” can look different than sitting down with a novel.

“Don’t be rigid on what they read,” Murray advised. “If they want to read ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ as a teenager, let them. If they want to read a graphic novel, let them. It’s reading. All reading counts, even if it’s an audiobook.”

Shannen Yauger, a children’s book author and curriculum developer for The Good and the Beautiful, added that board games, puzzles, and even building with Legos can reinforce literacy skills.

“Playing board games together is good family time,” Murray said. “It’s good literacy because the kids have to be reading the board, reading the instructions. Sometimes there’s cards that they have to read.”

Yauger explained what happens neurologically when kids take a full summer off.

“The brain is always making new connections and strengthening the connections that are there,” she said. “When you stop using those skills, the brain says, ‘Oh, you don’t need those skills anymore.’ And it doesn’t keep building it up. If a child learns how to do a cartwheel, masters it, and never does it again, they’re not going to remember how to do that cartwheel as an adult.”

Both experts acknowledged that summer can mean more screen time, and they warned that not all screen use is equal.

“If you have a child that is doing nothing but games, it’s the short stimulation. It’s the bright dopamine hits,” Yauger said. “That does impact a child’s attention span.”

She noted that reading on a tablet is fine, as is listening to audiobooks, but passive scrolling and fast-paced videos can make it harder for kids to focus when school resumes.

“If they’re looking at something that is not requiring their attention, if it’s all summer long, it will impact the way that child approaches their studies,” Yauger said. “Their brains are just not wired to sit and focus for a longer time.”

For parents wondering how to keep kids engaged without adding stress, Yauger offered several low-cost, low-pressure ideas.

She suggested setting aside just 15 to 20 minutes a day for reading, depending on the child’s age, and keeping books accessible on a bedside table or low shelf so kids can reach them easily, and integrating outside time into the routine.

Visiting the library or a used bookstore allows kids to pick their own books without a big investment.

Yauger also recommended “reading dogs” programs where children read aloud to therapy animals for a judgment-free way to practice, as well as buying a journal with fun pens so older kids can write down quotes or ideas. Above all, she said, parents should model the behavior.

“If you’re doing that, you’re practicing what you preach,” Yauger said. “Your child sees it and knows that this is just a way of life.”

East Hills Library is hosting a summer reading kickoff party featuring hyper-realistic dinosaurs at its Carnegie location on Sunday, May 31 at 1:30 p.m.

The event is free and will include sign-ups for the summer reading program.

“You don’t have to do schoolwork over the summer,” Yauger said. “Reading to your child, reading with your child, setting aside time to have them sit down and read independently, that’s enough. It keeps their curiosity going and makes them more eager to continue to learn.”

Murray added, “Even if it is summer break, it still doesn’t hurt once in a while to pick up a book or just go outside and stay engaged.”

East Hills Library hosts a series of events throughout the summer to keep kids engaged with learning. A list of those can be found here.