Maycember is over, and mama, you survived the end of the school year. But now, summer vacation is staring us down, and tweens and teens need a plan to avoid the summer slide. Keep reading for practical tips for teens to avoid the educational summer slide.
XO,
East Valley Moms
We’re excited for a break from those crazy long school pick-up lines, homework, and packing lunches, but also might start worrying about the dreaded “summer slump.”
From one of our former teacher contributors: “The educator in me knows how much work that teachers, parents, and students work to grow academically during the school year. But also, the mom in me knows how hard it can be to add even more to your plate.”
Keeping it simple is our jam (we’re more Amazon Prime moms than Pinterest moms), so don’t you worry. We’ve put together three super easy activities that can keep your teens from dipping too far into that summer slump.
Virtual summer workshops for teens
Pathways Early College Academy offers virtual summer workshops for teens to explore STEM, design, creative writing and business.
These online workshops offer hands-on learning opportunities for students in grades 7-12 to experience different industries and build their skills for success outside of the classroom.
There’s two or four-week sessions, and most workshops are an hour at a time, twice a week.
Pathways Early College Academy is a perfect compromise between a free-for-all summer and summer school; these workshops allow students to follow an interest in a casual, two-hour per week format from the comfort of wherever their wifi signal is (home, family vacation, etc.).
Mom hack: These workshops can be funded by Arizona’s Empowerment Savings Accounts (ESA), so it doesn’t come out of your family budget (classes range from $50 – $250).
Read, Read, and Read some more
In her most loving teacher voice, our contributor says , “If you’re going to pick one, PLEASE let this one be it!” No matter what age your children are, reading is one of the most beneficial things you can do with them through the summer.
While searching for some local summer reading programs I saw this quote about the correlation between reading and summer learning loss.
“When young people aren’t engaged in educational activities during the summer, they experience learning loss. Reading just 5 books over the summer can prevent summer learning loss.” (www.mesalibrary.org)
For teens and tweens, summer is a good idea to introduce a new book series, or find some books about topics they’ve shown a natural interest in.
The summer reading program for Maricopa County isn’t just for elementary kiddos–there’s prizes for teens (and adults!).
If your household is competitive, the county-wide summer reading program could be a fun way to track and compete for reading against mom and dad.
Teen volunteer opportunities
Even if your teen doesn’t need to rack up service hours this summer, teen volunteering is a free, educational opportunity to get them out of the house doing something in the local community.
Most City programs across the East Valley accept teen volunteers (typically 13-17 years old) for the summer reading program, parks and rec programming and more. Here’s a few of our favorite opportunities:
- Summer Reading Program teen volunteer program
- Junior Lifeguard volunteer program
- Youth sports volunteer program
Above all else, and coming from a teacher, summer should be filled with fun and relaxation and not too much schoolwork.
We wish you all the best summer and hope you’ve found a takeaway you can put to use to avoid the summer slump with your teen or tween!
Get 20% off of all workshops for teens at Pathways Early College Academy using the exclusive code ‘EASTVALLEY’
