Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Carson-Dellosa. I reviewed the free content on their website  to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
PROBLEM: Â Children experience a loss of academic skills and knowledge over the summer. Â
What is “Summer Slide?” Based on a survey conducted by Carson-Dellosa, 84% of teachers say students forget or “lose” some skills, knowledge or grade-level equivalency during the summer. Studies show that “Summer Slideâ€Â is estimated to be equal to about 1 month, but this varies across subject matter:  Math – 2.6 months and Reading 1-2 months.  There is the obvious negative impact of the setback, but the loss also impacts your child’s confidence and may make them more reluctant to return to school in the fall.
How can you avoid the “Summer Slideâ€?  This is where parents have to step in.  Not only with reading and math but also skills to maintain attention span, analyze information, make conclusions, and solve problems.  Sounds difficult and complicated?  Summer Bridge from Carson Dellosa gives you the materials you need to fight Summer Slide in only 15 minutes a day!  AND most importantly you don’t have to abandon FUN.  Summer Bridge activities make it fun.
And the best part? You can access Carson-Dellosa Summer Bridge materials and printable worksheets FREE! There are even free learning games for your kids to play online. My daughter loved the games. They are first of all fun, with education added in. It’s a win-win! We played the 3-4 grade level games and she loved Spelling Word Zap the best because of the fast action! There are different games on different days and we’ve seen lots of variety. The materials are standards-aligned resources which apply to curriculums everywhere. There are over 900 printable and reproducible activities.
It’s easy to use the Carson-Dellosa website (and did I mention free?). Just sign in with your name and email address. The next screen will show you the age-appropriate computer games and downloadable worksheets.
If you want to go beyond the website there are materials to purchase and resource guides. There are even certificates to reward completion of different goals! As a parent, I especially appreciated the innovative and fun ways the worksheets are designed. After finishing a section, my daughter actually said several times, “That was fun!” I almost fell over when she would say, “Can I do another sheet?” and voluntarily want to do more. The sheets were challenging for her without being overwhelming and didn’t feel like homework or studying. In the beginning, we were doing the sheets at random times, but then we settled at making it a breakfast activity and it worked well. The night before I print out a sheet and put it next to her breakfast in the morning. This may or may not work for you, but I’d recommend finding a regular time to do it, otherwise days slip by and you forget.
I was curious about Carson-Dellosa and was not surprised to see it was founded by teachers. From their About page: “Started over 38 years ago by two teachers, Carson-Dellosa Publishing is the leading provider of supplementary educational products for educators and parents around the globe. What does this mean? Well, step inside almost any classroom or home and you’re sure to find any of our 4500+ learning products on bulletin boards and desks, in learning centers and reading nooks, and in backpacks and backseats.”
To learn more:
Carson-Dellosa Summer Learning ActivitiesÂ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarsonDellosa
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CDPub
Hashtag: #SmarterSummer