I'm sure many of you are aware of the "Summer Slide" (see previous blog post of 6/12/18 - School's Out for Summer) but did you know that a winter learning loss can also threaten your child's knowledge and academic growth? You may think that this small break won't hurt, but it can lead students to lose valuable lessons they've worked so hard to master this past semester!
You may think that the difference between summer and winter break is huge and that it wouldn't be difficult for a student to lose skills after months of not putting them to use. Yet in fact, research has shown that the largest losses in some subjects are experienced within the first two weeks out of school. Our school district's Winter Break is a little over two weeks, meaning students have plenty of time to lose valuable skills, strategies, and information. This can be the result of not putting their lessons to use and forgetting about school for a couple of weeks.
Don't take me wrong, it is important for students to have a break from a strict academic routine, but that doesn't mean they (we) should forget about school all together. Look for some fun activities the whole family can participate in that are also educational! Visit our local library, practice writing skills by keeping a winter break journal, play math games, and of course as a Reading Specialist I can't miss this opportunity to remind everyone to READ! Read with your child, read aloud, in the car, listen to books on tape, read new recipes together, anything to keep them reading! Be sure to check out the monthly newsletters sent with our LAP students for additional ideas.
Less than two weeks upon their return from winter break students at Cedarhome Elementary will be given Winter Benchmark assessments to determine if their academic progress is on track. These assessments are also used to determine if a student could possibly need additional reading support through the LAP program or within their classroom. So please, make sure your child(ren) continue reading throughout your holiday! We would like their assessment results to show their true academic growth so far. Thank you and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
