I try to be a good person and on some days I succeed, most days I fail miserably, just ask my family, my friends, my kids, or my students.

But I try and I have always had grandiose plans so when I first saw the quote from Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” I imagined feeding the homeless, joining the peace corps, becoming a CEO at age 42 and giving huge amounts of cash to kids in need.

However….I am now 43 and the only thing I’m CEO of is my little house on Parkwood Avenue and even that’s debatable.  I’ve never traveled farther than New York City and I might be on the receiving end of a few charitable donations myself if I’m not careful with my funds.

Change is pretty much all I got and by that I mean the silver kind that clinks in your pocket.

Thankfully over the years of my adulthood I have learned that the most important change often starts small and begins at home.

Change starts with my little people I work with at the preschool every day.

The teacher I work with and I, teach our kids how to share; how to be kind and wait their turn; how to sit still and just be for a bit; how to follow direction and work with others, how to be brave and daring and think outside the box and how to be okay with not getting what they want when they want it.

And that’s all before snack time.

Change starts with the way you treat your neighbor, your teammate, your co-workers, or the car next to you in traffic.

Change starts at my catering job where I wait on people and treat them with kindness.  A guest the other night thanked me for caring about them enough to give them good service and it was the best tip I took home all night.

Change starts in my home.  I will be sending two young men out into the world who I hope know how to treat people right, who are kind and aware and will be of service to others.

So while I might not be Bill Gates handing out checks and building small villages, Bill Gates isn’t me either.  Bill Gates isn’t in my class, or in my car, or in my neighborhood, at my work, or in my home, which is a good thing because we don’t have room for one more person in this place.

So practice love in the most practical of ways because while it’s not big dollar bills and it won’t make the news, it certainly might make someone’s day.

Sooner or later all that change adds up and pretty soon you’ve got a whole jarful and your life is as rich as the most generous philanthropist even if your bank account is not.

The “Summer Slide” is defined as the academic slump that occurs during and after the summer months. According to the U.S. Department of Education, “on average, students lose the equivalent of two months of math and reading skills during the summer months.” Even more sobering is that the outcomes of summer reading loss is cumulative.  According to Reading is Fundamental, by the end of 6^th grade, children who (consistently) lose reading skills over the summer will be 2 years behind their peers.  Although some regression is anticipated, students will more easily make up this deficit if it is smaller in the first place. Interestingly, some even say that learning a musical instrument helps students avoid the summer slide.

There are many different approaches to help students flex their academic muscles. The approach you choose (if any) will depend on your child’s learning style and needs, your parenting style, and philosophy. From light maintenance to more in-depth strategies, here are a few to consider:

• Read every day.
• Work a little bit each day or a few times per week.
• Practice a new skill – such as learning cursive or keyboarding.
• Attend summer enrichment programs with academic emphasis.
• Attend tutoring or skill camps.
• Summer School

My personal philosophy is that kids work hard during the school year and get a much-needed break from school in the summer. However, I also value maintaining skills. Although we plan to focus on working just a little bit each day or a few times per week, we went in a few different directions. Here is what summer has in store for our clan:

• We will check out various cultural experiences, including parks, art museums, science museums, and historic sites. Although many of these can be related to the SOL, we make a conscious decision not to explore that specifically.
• We will practice functional skills, such as counting money for making a purchase, writing or typing grocery lists or letters and my youngest will practice spelling by using our portable labeler to help organize our home (win-win)!
• Reading, reading, reading! Daily reading is always on tap for everyone in our family. And, this summer, my husband and I plan to read aloud to our boys classics such as Jules Verne’s A Journey to the Center of the Earth or Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book  (okay, full disclosure, these are the books I am hoping to read to them, but we will let them choose from a variety of classics). Reading books aloud that are of a higher reading level or what reading experts call “dense” material that requires greater “stamina” can expand vocabulary, learning, and a wider context, as well as brings family together for a communal task.
• Practice a new skill. My rising third grader is excited about learning cursive, since it is easier for him than manuscript printing. We will incorporate practice of cursive into some functional activities.
• Hands-on Learning . My kids learn best doing through hands-on activities. Activities such as science experiments, nature hikes, and scavenger hunts, and even gardening, foster skills such as problem solving, math, reading, and more.

My youngest playing on the playground slide.

So here’s to hoping that the only summer slide you will experience is the one on the playground. What do you have in mind to encourage your kids to maintain their skills?

Additional Resources

The #1 resource for summer learning is your child’s teacher. Teachers are the experts on the curriculum that has already been covered this year, and what will be introduced next year. They also know your child and what they might need to work on specifically.

Secondary students will likely have specific assignments to be completed over the summer. Read on for additional resources.

Stopping the Summer Slide

Reading is Fundamental – Reading Summer Slide 

Top 5 Ways to Prevent Rusty Summer Readers

Keep Your Kids Learning This Summer

Tips to Avoid the Summer Slide -Video

Kids need plenty of physical activity for increased ability to learn and absorb information.

As parents and grandparents, we’ve known for decades that an active lifestyle can help children be more physically fit. It is one way to fight the obesity epidemic by giving children a good foundation in physical activity.

But did you know that activity makes them smarter too?

Moving Can Make Kids Smarter

John J. Ratey, a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, has written a book that tells us that physical activity is essential for optimal mental health too. In his book, Spark, Ratey explains that physical education is one way to help children improve their learning, memory, concentration and emotional resiliency.

Ratey has identified some of the “best practices” to help children learn. For example, he suggests waking up a child’s heart before sitting him down to study.

“Studies show that when kids get their heart rate up before they sit down to learn it has a huge effect on how much they absorb,” Ratey explains.  It’s all about being smart when it comes to physical activity.

In his book, he points out a study that showed a significant increase in test scores among children when they were introduced to a new program of physical activity over six months. By including more physical activity in their days, children significantly reduced absenteeism and increased test scores. According to Ratey, there is overwhelming evidence showing that higher fitness levels result in higher test scores for children.

Ratey has also partnered with Rebok’s BOKS program (Build Our Kids’ Success) to implement and transform physical education programs to incorporate exercise throughout the entire school day in some schools. The goal is to spur greater mental abilities through increased physical activity.

In today’s world of electronic games and gadgets, it’s important to keep your eye on the amount of physical activity children receive at all ages. Rather than sitting in front of the television, Wii, iPad, DS, or other technology devices, it’s time to get moving again.

Get Involved

Ratey’s website, Sparking Life, provides plenty of information and tools to help parents and grandparents get their kids more engaged and active.

Make sure your children are exposed to plenty of activities and opportunities for physical movement during the summer months. Check out Ratey’s website for tips and ideas. Also, see what your local schools and communities have to offer in terms of organized activities for kids that spur creativity, imagination, and action.

Contact us

We’d love to hear what your kids are doing this summer to keep them active so we can share with our readers. Just leave us a comment. And if you know of local organizations or events where physical education is a high priority, tell us about it.

And don’t miss our weekly events calendar to find plenty of local activities for kids of every age! We also include a summary of weekend activities every Thursday for the upcoming weekend so check it out too.