Preventing the Summer Slide: A Simple Plan for the Holidays

Over long holidays, many students forget some of what they learned — especially math procedures, which fade without use. Research estimates of how much is lost vary a lot, but teachers commonly spend the first weeks of a new year reviewing. The good news: it doesn't take much to prevent.

The goal is maintenance, not more school

You're not trying to teach next year's content. You're trying to keep this year's skills warm so the new year starts strong. That means short, regular practice — not workbooks for hours.

A 10-minute daily routine

• Math (5 minutes): one short worksheet on a topic from this year. Rotate topics each day.
• Reading (at least 5 minutes, ideally more): anything your child enjoys — comics, magazines, novels, recipes. Volume matters more than difficulty.
• Talk about it: ask one question about what they read. "What surprised you?" works for almost anything.

Make it stick

• Same time every day — after breakfast works well, before screens.
• Keep a visible streak chart. Children love not breaking a chain.
• Let them choose the topic sometimes.
• Build in rewards. The family challenges feature lets you set rewards for completed challenges.

The last two weeks

Two weeks before school starts, shift to mixed practice across the year's main topics, and add a few questions from the start of next year's topics. Your child walks in with the basics fresh and a head start on what's coming.

Teachers: send families a one-page list of the year's key topics with links to matching worksheets. It's the single most useful thing parents ask for before a break.