Each summer kids across the country ditch the classroom for a summer-long recess. I remember spending most of my summers at camp in Maine, about as far away from the classroom as possible. But it was also a different time. We didn’t have laptops, the Internet or mobile phones. These days, camp programming often incorporates many of these technological innovations – either for simple means of communication – or for further enrichment. Recently, our staff came across a great article discussing the use of technology to counteract the “summer slide” – the loss of critical knowledge that occurs in our children when they take extended breaks from the classroom each summer. With all the applications, web sites and even (dare I say) educational video games, can working adults who lack the time to provide directly supervised activities for their children in the summer, help prevent this summer slide effect?
Arming your children with the right tools and information is a start. And of course finding some of your spare time to spend with them to explore these web sites, games and tools, can be a mutually rewarding activity. After all, how many times do we find ourselves at the bottom of the tech curve, when it is our children who introduce us to the latest gadgets and gizmos?
So this summer, take a moment to find some neat education sites… surf Google Earth to see what tropical islands you never knew about… dial up the latest Wikipedia articles on historical events and learn something new… right beside your child… you’ll be surprised what you can both learn.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/24/2844709/hundreds-of-apps-can-help-kids.html
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