WACO, Texas — Students have been out of the classroom since March when the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to shut down. That can make it difficult to avoid what's called the 'summer slide,' which is when kids lose significant knowledge from the previous year.
The Kumon Math and Reading Center of Waco has seen an increase in enrollment compared to last summer. Carol Paull, the center instructor said parents should begin reviewing lessons with their kids but don't overwhelm them.
"You may start off with 10 minutes of reading and 10 minutes of math and slowly increment that time to improve their focus, so that when school starts them sitting in the classroom for an hour is not a daunting task," Paull said.
Andy Mcnair with the Region 12 Education Service Center said parents should have honest conversations with their kids on how learning will be different this year.
"School is a place, and learning is an experience," Mcnair said. "So helping them kind of see that through whatever it is that you're doing at home, like playing a board game, how you can weave learning into that."
Mcnair said parents should find opportunities in every day life to educate their children and prepare them for the upcoming school year.
"They're going to have to take some ownership in their learning, more ownership than they've ever had before, and so helping kids realize why that's happening and that doesn't mean that learning stops," Mcnair said.
A good online resource, according to Mcnair is wonderopolis.org.
For children, everything has changed this year so it's important to be flexible as they get used to a new way of learning.
"It's not their fault that this pandemic has happened, it's not their fault that they have been out of school for so long, that they're having trouble focusing, so I think it's important that parents understand that," Paull said.
Kumon of Waco offers tutoring for students and orientation is free.
To visit the Kumon of Waco website, click here.
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