Students need not suffer 'summer slide'

BALTIMORE, June 19 (UPI) -- U.S. educators say that parents can avoid the "summer slide" when children forget what was taught during the school year.

Teachers often spend four to six weeks at the beginning of each school year re-teaching material that students have forgotten, according to Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Fairchild encourages parents to make the most of children's summer vacation and suggests:

-- Find out what your child will be learning during the next school year and preview concepts and materials.

-- Encourage reading every day.

-- Many summer camps often have an educational or enrichment focus.

-- Keep a schedule over the summer and help children to stay in daily routines.

-- Take educational trips.

-- Practice math skills every day -- whether during trips to the grocery, tracking daily temperatures or playing educational games.

-- Limit time with TV and video games.