Prevent the Summer Slide

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON Abby Brown, 7, and her mother Michelle look at a map of the trails at Starved Rock State Park. When it comes to county forest preserves, city parks, and state parks, there is a whole world out there left to explore, which will help kids learn. They can fish, hike, learn how to identify trees and plants, watch birds, and camp.

Keep Kids Learning When School Is Out

By Ali Braboy

The hot summer months are here, but that doesn’t mean kids have to choose between having fun and learning. It’s possible to accomplish both if parents are willing to put in some homework of their own.

Over the summer, students can lose up to 60 percent of the math and reading skills they learned during the year, according to Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. Those who are involved with students’ learning in the Illinois Valley gave tips on how kids can continue learning this summer.

AVOID THE SUMMER SLIDE AND ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO READ

Research shows children who read very little or not at all during the summer months can hit the summer slide, which is where children lose their read-

PHOTO BY ALI BRABOY Addressing the social and emotional needs of children is important to their well-being and school performance. Certain books, like these at the Peru Public Library, can help children learn how to calm down and gain control over their emotions and can improve sleep patterns.

ing skills and are less prepared to return to school in the fall.

Lynn Sheedy, youth services manager at the Peru Public Library, has some tips for families to utilize this summer. Families should read at least 20 minutes a day with kids who are not reading independently. Independent readers should read at least 20 minutes daily. Parents should always have a book handy for a child when running errands, long car rides, or sitting in waiting rooms.

She also suggests enrolling children in a summer reading program. The Peru library has created a way to keep kids invested. An adult creates or updates their child’s Beanstack account at peru library.beanstack. com or uses the Beanstack app and selects “Reading Colors Your World Summer Reading Program.”

Families track the amount of time children read and log that time in Beanstack. For every hour a child engages in reading or for every activity completed, a virtual badge and raffle ticket are awarded, which can lead to kids winning prizes.

VOLUNTEERING

Elaina Wamhoff of LaMoille volunteered at the Hall Township Food Pantry in Spring Valley as a way to acquire her high-school service hour requirement for St. Bede Academy. But she quickly found it was a lot more fun than she thought it could be.

“It felt like I was doing something important,” she said, which is why she returned this summer even though she has no more service hours to fulfill.

She said once you learn the tasks and the ins and outs, there is more time to talk with others and learn their stories. Wamhoff said seeing people in need changes how you view the world. She said it’s also helpful to see people who regularly work there and enjoy what they’re doing.

GET OUT IN NATURE

Addressing the social and emotional needs of children is important when it comes to making sure they’re successful at school, said Lynn Sheedy, youth services manager at the Peru Public Library.

Challenges that children face that affect their school performance and overall well-being include social isolation, disruption in family and school routines, parental job losses, mask-wearing, the quarantine, and more, she said. So, it’s important to set kids up with activities, such as summer camps, sports, playdates, and getting out in nature.

Becoming a Junior Ranger at state and national parks allows children to gain knowledge about nature, which means they’re also safer in nature. Children who go through the program at Starved Rock State Park will learn about different plants and animals found at the parks. They will learn how to identify poison ivy and get to

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Elaina Wamhoff of LaMoille has continued to learn during the summer while she volunteered in high school. She is shown while volunteering at the Hall Township Food Pantry in Spring Valley.

See SLIDE page 6

Abby Brown, 7, and her mother, Michelle, check out a display inside the Starved Rock State Park Visitor Center. Visiting state parks is a great way for kids to continue learning during the summer.

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explore trails. Children will learn how to read a map along with learning the importance of what to do and what not to do when hiking, such as bringing water and not picking flowers.

At Starved Rock, there is a packet for those ages 5 to 8 years old and a packet for ages 9 years old and up.

“It’s far too easy these days with technology to fall in with the virtual world and not get out and explore,” said Lisa Sons, Natural Resource Coordinator for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for Starved Rock and Matthiessen state parks.

When it comes to county forest preserves, city parks, and state parks, there’s a whole world out there left to explore – fishing, hiking, learning how to identify trees and plants, bird watching, and camping.

To get a Junior Ranger booklet at Starved Rock, visit the Visitor Center. Answers can be found on the IDNR website, at the Visitor Center, and on some of the trails. When finished, children bring the packet to the front desk, and Sons will grade it.

Children will get their Junior Ranger badge and go through Junior Ranger pledge to become an official Junior Ranger at Starved Rock. For more activities at Illinois state parks, visit www2.Illinois.gov/Dnr online. You can search for any state park under the Parks and Recreation tab.

For the Starved Rock page and Matthiessen pages, Sons suggests looking at information there under Activities, Interpretive and Visitor Center tabs. The Education tab at www.2.Illinois.gov/DNR also has more activities to do.

EMBRACE PATIENCE, TOLERANCE, KINDNESS AND UNDERSTANDING

Remember that this year has been hard for children when encouraging them to learn.

“The pandemic has caused students a challenging variety of loss, trauma, microtrauma, and social isolation. It is important for student well-being and academic progress in the coming school year to establish a basis of welcome, safety, acceptance, growth, and relationship, and to avoid comparative learning loss, learning gap, or deficit mindsets,” Mendota High School counselor Mitch Landgraf said. “By meeting students where they are emotionally and

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON

academically, professional educators will help students be and feel safe and ready to learn in a safe, supportive and predictable learning environment.”

Resist the urge to make your child feel as if they are failing to be perfect.

“Progress, not perfection applies. A student will be more motivated to continue learning by seeing their knowledge, skill, and mastery improve, as opposed to being noted as ‘deficient’ in comparison to normative standards,” Landgraf said. “Further, under stress, humans exert their unique and intrinsic psychogenetic values with even greater vigor. As such, it’s a time for educators, students, and parents to embrace patience, tolerance, kindness, and understanding as the best means to empower students and academic gains.”

LISTEN TO INSTRUCTORS, AND KNOW THAT YOUR LIBRARY OFFERS MORE THAN BOOKS

Take advantage of summer school if it’s suggested by teachers to do so, said Emily Schaub, teen services manager at the Peru Public Library. Read the books, websites, and blogs they suggest.

Every parent should go through their child’s backpack as soon as they get home on their last day of school, says Lynn Sheedy, youth services manager at the Peru Public Library. Generally, schools will send home information about summer reading programs, camps, summer school information, and activity packets for children to complete so children can retain skills during the summer.

Your local library can help children to continue to learn with more than just books. Brainfuse is a free program for all ages for those with a Peru Public Library card. Included is live tutoring from 2 to 11 p.m. every day and a writing lab where you can get feedback on a paper – students can send a question and get an answer within 24 hours. Students can also get help with filing FAFSA for college expenses from 1 to 10 p.m. Monday - Thursday. There is much more available through Brainfuse.

BE INVOLVED IN YOUR KIDS’ LIVES

“Having very involved parents is important. Our parents need to be involved in what their kids are doing and learning and participating in in the summer,” said Chris Gibson, associate principal for teaching and learning at La Salle-Peru Township High School.

“The more they get involved, that puts kids in a better position to grow and succeed educationally,” he said.

For example, an opportunity to get involved is when kids go on vacations with families when educational outcomes can be achieved. He remembers going on vacation with his family, and they’d play games, looking for license plates from different states, which help in areas like learning geography.

In addition to a relaxing time, vacations can also offer an opportunity “to culturally learn about where they’re going, what has happened there, and what type of geography is there,” he said.

Other examples of being involved include getting kids in extracurricular activities, signing kids up for summer reading programs, and possibly setting them up with a tutor or tutoring academy.

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