Preventing the Summer Slide: What Surrey Parents Need to Know
Most children lose 2–3 months of learning over the summer. Here's what the "summer slide" is, why it happens, and what Surrey families can do about it.
Every June, Surrey children walk out of School District 36 schools for the summer — and by September, many have lost significant ground in math and reading. Researchers call this the "summer slide," and it's well-documented: the average student loses about 2–3 months of learning over a typical summer.
For children who were already behind, this setback can be hard to recover from. For children who were at grade level, returning to school in September and feeling rusty is demoralising.
Why Does the Summer Slide Happen?
Learning skills, like most skills, require regular practice to maintain. When children stop practising reading and math for 8–10 weeks, the neural pathways weaken. Math facts that were automatic become effortful. Reading fluency slows down.
The effect is larger for math than for reading, and larger for children from families where summer activities don't naturally include academic content.
What Surrey Families Can Do
Keep reading daily. Even 15–20 minutes of independent reading each day maintains reading skills over the summer. Surrey Public Library has an excellent summer reading programme — sign your child up early.
Do math in everyday life. Cooking, shopping, and budgeting are full of math. Ask your child to calculate change, double a recipe, or estimate how long a drive will take. This keeps math thinking active without worksheets.
Maintain some structure. Children thrive on routine. A predictable daily schedule — even a loose one — that includes reading time helps avoid the complete shutdown of academic habits.
Consider a structured programme. For children who need to catch up or who are ready to move ahead, a summer programme provides consistent practice and measurable progress.
How Kumon Helps Over the Summer
Many Kumon Strawberry Hill families continue through July and August — and it's one of the best investments they make. Rather than losing ground and spending September re-learning, their children arrive in September having advanced a full level or more.
Because sessions are only twice a week and home practice is short, Kumon fits easily into a summer schedule without feeling like school. Many students actually prefer summer Kumon because there's less school stress and they can focus on the work itself.
Contact Kumon Strawberry Hill to discuss summer enrolment options for your child.