How to Slow the Summer Slide: 5 Simple Suggestions

Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links. That means if you use them to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. You can read my full affiliate disclosure HERE.

I’m excited to share this guest post with you from Katie at The WOLFe Pack. Katie has been homeschooling for nine years and before that, she was a classroom teacher for a decade. But, don’t hold that against her. She tries to use both educational experiences to help other homeschool moms with reviews, resources, support and suggestions.

“Summer Slide” is a phrase used to describe the slide backward that many children make in reading and math skills over the summer break. The summer slide is so common that most teachers account for it by scheduling in a full month of review in the fall.  

But, one of the many benefits of homeschooling is that we actually get to shape our students’ schedules and continue to place expectations on their educations even during the summer months. But, unless your kids are those rare kids that love to do school work all day, every day, even in the summer, we might need to get a little creative in how we sneak some schooling in to slow the summer slide. 

Below are five of my top suggestions for slowing the summer slide. 

One: Do Fun Unit Studies

Doing a unit study is one our favorite educational activities to do over the summer because we get to learn about all sorts of subjects, people and events that we didn’t have time for during the regular school year.

The variety of unit studies that are available is endless and fairly inexpensive {if not totally FREE}. Plus, they are easy to add to/subtract from as fits your family’s needs and schedule.

You can read all about the fun benefits of unit studies here: How and Why to Teach with Unit Studies.  

But be warned! Once you decide that unit studies are an amazing way to keep the learning moving forward over the summer, you might get overwhelmed with deciding what to study.

Like I said, the topics are endless! One approach is to go with current events like Sharks or The Summer Olympics. Another option is to focus on those {annoying} things your kids tend to talk non-stop about but you don’t usually want to partake in,  like Frozen or Minecraft.

Or you can take a favorite read aloud and turn it into a full experience with these American Girl Unit Studies or the Ultimate Treasure Island Unit Study.  For a huge list of free unit studies and even a free printable that shows you how to make your own unit study, go here.   

But, no matter which unit study {or twelve!!!} you choose, your kids will surely benefit from the variety of learning opportunities involved!  

Two: Play Educational Games

In order to keep school at least a wee bit fun during the school year, we try to play at least one educational game per week but, sadly, it is often the first thing that gets cut when we are running short of time. But, summer is the perfect time to be diligent about playing educational games!

Whether you want to review math, science, spelling or history, there are loads of educational games that are not only fun, but also serve as a very purposeful review. 

Some of our favorites include Four Way Countdown {which covers all four mathematical operations so it’s perfect for nearly all ages/skill levels,} Game of the States {geography and commerce,} Wordical {spelling} and Totally Gross {science.} For a brief breakdown of the many benefits of educational games, along with detailed reviews on several games, check out How and Why to Use Educational Games in Your Homeschool. 

And you don’t even have to fill your Amazon cart with new educational games! There are several ways to turn games you {probably} have cluttering your hall closet right now into a fun new way to act as an educational review. With just a few minutes of your time, you can turn a classic board game into an amazing educational game. Check out this post for ideas on How to Use Classic Board Games as a Fun Way to Do School Review. 

Whether Amazon delivers something new or you get crafty with the old, your kids will totally love playing some educational games this summer and you’ll love the educational benefit! 

Three: Share A Back & Forth Journal

We’ve done this off and on for years and not only is it a fun way for my son to practice his least favorite subject, writing, it also opens up amazing communication between us.

You can make this super simple with a plain spiral notebook or much more elaborate with a fancy personalized journal.

Either way, the concept is to have your child write to you about whatever he/she wants and then for you to write back. This way, your kid is not only reading and writing, he/she is doing it on a very personal level. And, as we know, the more personalized we can make the lesson, the more educational value will be found in it. 

My son, who is now 14 and detests writing, truly loves when we do a back & forth journal. He especially loves asking me questions because I take the time to answer him with care and honesty {which, is not always the case when we’re in the middle of doing school, running errands or whatever.} And I love the fact that I have a precious journal to keep for the future. Plus, I seem to be able to show more interest in things like Minecraft, dragons and baseball through writing than I do in person.

I also tend to sneak in “schooly” questions like, “what was the coolest thing you learned in science this year?” And, I always write in cursive because it gives him more practice at reading my fancy script! 

A back & forth journal really is the perfect way to keep your kid reading and writing over the summer! 

Four: Use Random Resources

Chances are, you already have a hearty stash of handy random resources at your fingertips!

• Library: Sign your kids up for the summer reading program at the library. Or, finally look into their digital resources that you bookmarked in your web browser months ago but have yet to use. My library offers access to free foreign language lessons that I plan on using this summer! 

• Digital: Do a deep dive into Netflix or Disney+ in search of a new-to-you science series. Break out that set of educational DVDs you picked up at Costco months ago. Sign up for a super fun multi-sensory way to cement those stubborn math facts online with Drill Team!

• Mail: Sign your kids up for an old-fashioned magazine subscription like ZooBooks or Ranger Rick. Or, instead go modern and check out one of the many cool subscription boxes that are so popular these days.  You can read about nine different subscription boxes in this review, Best Educational Subscription Boxes Your Kids Will Love. 

• Pinterest: Revisit your Pinterest Boards and do some of those fun hands-on activities you pinned long ago but never got to. 

There are so many ideas that I wish we could do but save “for when we have more time”. Well, summer is the perfect time to dig into that stash of random resources! 

Five: Complete Leftover Curriculum 

This is an idea that I came by accidentally but have used every year since I discovered it. As the school year winds down, I always go through all our son’s work so I can finalize grades and organize things for storage. Inevitably, I discover leftover curriculum amidst his finished work.

It might be additional practice pages in the rear of his textbooks, alternate test versions in the teacher’s manual or fun/trivial items that I purposely had him skip in the interest of time. All these items make great review pages during the summer months. 

And because they tie in perfectly to what was just learned during the school year, they are the furthest thing from busy work. They are purposeful pieces redesigned to serve as a review. 

So, how will you slow the summer slide? Will you do fun unit studies, share a back & forth journal, play educational games, use random resources or complete leftover curriculum? Share your thoughts in the comments!

This guest post is part of the Homeschool Summer Fun Series. Make sure to check out the series landing page to learn more about the series and find all of the posts in one place!