June 12, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 17 Huntington offers tips to beat summertime regression Check out camps and classes. Your local recreation center, art museum, history museum, nature center, science museum, cultural center, and zoo are all great places to look for classes, camps, and other programs for children on summer break. You could also check out day or overnight educational camps in the area or around the country. “The reality is that many students lose some of what they learn each grade during the months they are not in school,” Huntington added. “But with a small amount of effort, you can help your child stay sharp, retain knowledge, and be better prepared for the next grade.” For more information about Huntington Learning Center and tips to help your child in school, contact Laura Gehringer at (201) 261-8400 or gehringerl@hlcmail.com. Additional information is also available at www.huntingtonhelps.com. Summer vacation is a welcome reprieve from the busy days of the school year, but for many parents, it can raise concerns about their children losing skills and falling behind. Luckily, there are a number of things parents can do to help students retain knowledge while they are not in school. “Summer learning activities do not have to be rigorous or mimic classroom learning to be effective,” according to Eileen Huntington, co-founder of Huntington Learning Center. “With a little planning and creativity, parents can offer their children a variety of fun learning experiences that will help them stay fresh.” Huntington Learning Centers offer these ideas to avoid summertime learning loss: Review last year. Review assignments your child worked on throughout the school year and make a nightly, 15-minute homework session a part of your summer routine. Activities such as flash cards, multiplication tables, and spelling word practice are great to do each night to retain concepts and skills from the previous year. Read, read, read! This summer, help your child learn to love reading for fun. Go to the library every week and let your child pick out books, magazines, or other reading materials. As a family, set aside 30 minutes after dinner each night for everyone to settle down and read. Be sure to explore the local library’s programs for kids, too. Write, write, write! Summer is a perfect time to develop a regular writing habit. If your child struggles with writing, make it fun. Keep a family journal of everything you have done this summer. Write letters to the grandparents every week. Have your child help you make lists. If your child is the creative type, encourage him or her to write stories or poems and even submit them to magazines that publish children’s work, such as “Stone Soup,” “New Moon Girls,” or “Skipping Stones.” Bridge the gap. Consider investing in workbooks specifically designed to bridge learning between grades. Check out the Common Core State Standards-aligned Summer Fit workbook series, which provides 10 pages of activities for each week of summer, including skill activities in reading, writing, math, language arts, science, and geography. Scholastic’s Summer Express series is similar, as is Carson-Dellosa’s Summer Bridge Activities series, also aligned with the Common Core (and with an online companion).