While summer is a welcome and much-needed respite from school, it’s also the best time to provide academic support for your child, who may have faced learning difficulties this school year. Children learn in different ways and at varying paces. What might be easy for one child may be more difficult for another.
The biggest mistake many parents make when it comes to dealing with struggling students is waiting too long to act. We often have parents bring their children to Huntington after a year or more of low grades and learning difficulties.
If you started to see problems arise for your student this past school year, don’t fall into the “wait-and-see” trap.
Here are several reasons why it is urgent that you get your child academic support and tutoring help:
1. THE SLOWER PACE OF SUMMER MAKES IT A GOOD TIME TO DEAL WITH SKILL GAPS.
The school year is busy for most families, with children juggling far more than just homework and school. An extended break like summer is the best opportunity to dedicate time to identifying and correcting any skill and knowledge gaps that are preventing your child from progressing. Outside of school, your child has fewer activities during the day and can commit to consistent learning while still enjoying some relaxation and downtime.
2. THE SUMMER SLIDE WILL ONLY EXACERBATE YOUR CHILD’S PROBLEMS.
The loss of skills and knowledge that occurs over summer break is called the “summer slide” learning loss. Students who don’t work on academic subjects during the summer months often struggle to retrieve their skills and knowledge when school resumes. If your child has been struggling during the school year, summer learning loss can put your student even further behind. Your child needs academic support now.
3. YOUR CHILD NEEDS TO START NEXT SCHOOL YEAR WITH BETTER HABITS.
Did your child fall behind this school year when learning new material or concepts? Did he or she spend too much time on homework, and that time wasn’t productive? Was procrastination and distractedness a big problem? Did your child’s disorganization and poor time management negatively affect his or her school performance? Don’t go into the next school year without fixing these issues, which are signs of more than just academic struggles. They’re also indicators of poor study skills and weak executive functioning skills.
If your child’s grades have decreased and you’ve seen a change in their confidence and self-esteem, it’s important to act quickly. Get your child the academic support he or she needs this summer, and don’t delay in doing so. When the time comes for school to resume, and your child is equipped and ready to kick off a great school year, you’ll be glad that you did.
An academic evaluation for your child can identify academic gaps and put a learning plan in place that improves your child’s weaker skills and strengthens the ones they already have. Additional support can work quickly to get your child on the path to success and ready for the start of the new school year.
