RLS Tutoring, Inc.

School is finally out, and you are now looking at an entire summer ahead of you. While the promise of summer may be filled with hopes and dreams of long, lazy days of lemonade stands and sleeping late, we all know that it passes much too quickly. Suddenly we are on the threshold of school and there is much to be done. So, how do we make the best of our summer?

The first thing that should be done, if you have not already done this, is to clean out school backpacks. You don’t want to wait until August to do this, only to find out that registration materials were in there and they are now overdue, or that your child had summer homework and now there is not enough time to complete it. Cleaning out backpacks is also a good way to close the year out and feel like summer offers a fresh start.

Once backpacks are emptied, the next thing you can do for your child is establish a summer routine. It certainly can be more relaxed than the school year, but kids really do thrive on some kind of structure. It’s a great idea to include your child in planning their ‘new normal’. Have your children wake up around the same time every day. Require them to do daily tasks around the house. They may be as simple as make the bed, clear the table, fold your laundry, etc. Establish when these chores are to be finished. Then allow your children to determine (with your guidance) how they will spend the rest of the day.

Part of this routine should include some kind of review of skills that were learned during the school year. If your child has summer homework, break the homework down by what should be completed each week. Then determine the daily routine of getting the homework done. This will avoid the dreaded ‘Oh, by the way…’ statements that we hear the night before school starts!

Include summer outings as a family, if possible. They don’t have to be expensive. Trips to the library, a local park, or the neighborhood pool are great ways to spend a summer afternoon. Take advantage of the amenities offered in your neighborhood that you don’t have time for during the school year. Visit a local museum or petting zoo. Spend some relaxed time as a family.

Finally, if you find that keeping up with some of the summer homework is getting a bit overwhelming, don’t be afraid to call a tutor. Tutors can be the perfect solution. Sometimes having a third party handle the school side of things can bring peace to a household because the battle to get the homework done no longer falls completely on the parents and their kids. Kids understand the student-teacher relationship and sometimes they respond better to the ‘teacher’ than the parent. Let’s face it--you are the one telling them to eat their vegetables and clean their rooms. Homework is just one more thing to argue about. Often hiring a tutor takes that fight out of the equation.

Summer is a great way to recharge and reconnect. Let us know if we can help you this summer so that you can spend more time with your kids and less time worrying about preparing your children for the upcoming school year.

Ahhh, those lazy days of summer! School will be out soon, which means kids (and their parents) are excited at the prospect of sleeping in, no lunches to pack, and relaxing! While everybody deserves a break, did you know that kids can lose as much as 2-3 months of the previous year’s learning over the summer? You can avoid the summer slide without making them feel like they’re doing homework by enrolling them in summer learning programs. And chances are, they’ll be having so much fun they won’t even realize they’re learning!

Most summer learning programs run on a regular schedule, which is extremely helpful for those kids who suddenly have 8 or more hours of unscheduled time each day. Children crave routine, and sticking to a schedule during the summer will make re-entry into school in the fall less painful for all concerned. Especially if a child is not involved in sports, having a daily plan will eliminate the temptation to spend the day glued to a screen watching tv or playing video games.

One area that is especially hard hit with summer learning loss is mathematics. Summer programs that build math skills, either through classroom work and drills or through real-world experience are a great help in getting those kids off to a strong start next school year.

If your child had a rough time in a particular subject last school year, summer offers an opportunity to focus on improving skills in weak areas. Reading camps, math camps, test prep camps, and even study skills camps can turn a struggling student into a superstar next school year. Summer is also a fantastic time for kids to try something new. They could discover a love of art, music, or theater that may have gone unnoticed during the busy school year.

Summer programs offer kids a new environment to make new friends, foster teamwork skills, improve communication, take risks, and gain confidence. Necessary life skills like collaboration, oral communication, and information sharing are fostered in a fun, non-threatening environment.

At RLS Tutoring, Inc., we offer summer programs in chess, forensics, military games, mathematics, placement test preparation, reading, adventure, and theater. For more information, or to register for this summer, please visit our Summer Camp, 2017 page.