Combating the Summer Slide with Board Games

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - May 13th, 2015

This time of year, the summer slide looms as kids begin to mentally check out of school. As kids get ready to spend more time in front of the TV or playing video games, they run the risk of losing up to three months of progress that they made in school the year before. This phenomenon, known colloquially as the “summer slide,” presents a real problem for kids when they head back to school in the fall and have trouble catching up to where they were in May or June.

The good news is that you can combat this phenomenon without boring your kids or yourself. No worksheets or textbooks necessary: you can use fun, interactive tools to help your child stay academically active and hit the ground running in September.

One of the most fun ways to fight the summer slide is with board games. There are countless board games out there that help your child retain the knowledge they accumulated during the school year while also allowing you to have fun as a family.

Here are just a few board games to consider this summer:

Simon: this game incorporates colors to test kids’ memory and motor speed. It’s a great way to stretch your child’s “attention muscles” during a time of year when they’re more likely to get distracted.

Connect Four: This classic game combines strategy and math skills to combat the summer slide in a way that will keep your child entertained for hours. You may have played it when you were a kid!

IQ Fun Pack: This board game, created by the Testing Mom herself, is ideal for kids getting ready to enter kindergarten. Along with combating the summer slide, this game gets pre-K students off on the right foot when they enter school – crucial for kids who want to go on to a top high school and college.