Summer has arrived in Phoenix, and kids across the valley are ready for all the fun that comes with a break from the school-year routine. While a chance to reset and reconnect is essential, parents and educators know how critical it is to balance a well-deserved break with opportunities that nurture and sustain their learning from the past year.

The "summer slide" is a real concern for many families, but keeping their academic skills fresh doesn't have to involve mind-numbing flashcards and boring drills. There are countless exciting and engaging ways to reinforce reading, writing, and math skills, so students of all ages can jump back into school feeling confident, not burnt out. If nurturing those executive function skills is also on your radar, there are ways to make that a part of the summer fun as well.

READING: FOR THE LOVE, NOT THE REPORT!

Summer is the perfect time of year to foster a love of reading without any assigned pages or book reports. Even the most reading-resistant kid can get excited! Here are some quick ways to embed reading into your family’s ‘vacation mode’:

Library Adventures (and not just for books!): Our local Phoenix libraries are treasure troves of free programs, story times, and summer reading challenges. Let your child choose any book, comic book, or magazine that captures their interest - no judgment. The goal is to get them reading something that they chose for themselves.
Audiobooks on the Go: Whether it’s for long car rides, hanging out by the pool, or even during quiet playtime or bedtime, audiobooks are a fantastic way to make reading a natural part of your child’s day. They effortlessly expose kids to new vocabulary and share stories without the visual strain.
Family Read-Alouds: Children of all ages - even teens - generally love being read to. Try taking turns reading chapters from a longer book, or explore a collection of short stories or poetry together. Even better, talk about what you read during and after reading; these conversations help strengthen comprehension and create shared experiences.
Real-World Reading: Point out signs, browse recipe books, or ask your child to read the instructions for a new board game. By taking advantage of the ways that reading naturally occurs in the world around them, they discover that reading is a valuable life skill, not just a school subject.

WRITING: FOR CREATIVITY, NOT AN ESSAY!

Writing doesn't have to mean academic essays and formal assessments. Even if your child says they ‘hate writing’ during the school year, summer opens the door to rekindling their enthusiasm. Here are a few to get you started:

Summer Journaling: Give your child a fun notebook and encourage them to jot down their daily adventures, thoughts, or observations. No pressure for perfect grammar – just get those ideas flowing!
Creative Story Tellers: This can be prompted (with numerous story-starter ideas available online) or given free rein - simply provide a notebook with space for pictures and written text, and see where their imagination takes them.
Recipe Writers: Have them help you write down a family recipe, or even create their own silly concoction. This can help enhance math skills while navigating measurements as an added bonus.
Thank You Notes: There are so many benefits to practicing gratitude, penmanship, and writing skills in one go! If your child is an artist, have them create a drawing as an accompaniment to their written expressions of appreciation.

MATH: FOR REAL LIFE, NOT THE TEST!

Math is everywhere, and summer is the perfect time to highlight its practical applications. This is especially true if you can connect math and play as the powerhouse couple they are!

Cooking and Baking: Measuring ingredients is a fantastic way to practice fractions and understanding quantities. Doubling a recipe? That's multiplication!
Shopping and Money: Encouraging math skills through money is a highly effective way to connect their learning to the world around them. Have your child help with the grocery budget, calculate discounts, or figure out the change you should receive.
Board Games & Card Games: Many classic games like Monopoly, Uno, or even simple dice games involve counting, strategy, and basic arithmetic.
Time Teller: Help them keep track of time for activities, calculate how long until dinner, or understand schedules.
Sports Statistics: If your child loves sports, explore batting averages, points per game, or other fun stats.

The goal of summer learning isn’t to ‘school’ children during their much-needed time away - it’s to keep their curiosity, critical thinking skills, and thinking brains active and engaged. The more natural and enjoyable these experiences are, the better!

This fun and low-pressure approach reinforces essential reading, writing, and math skills while also encouraging a positive attitude towards learning. If you ever feel like your child could use a little extra support or a more structured approach to maintaining those executive function skills, Peak Academics is always here to help.

Written by Brandi R.

Get organizeD

During the summer months, many families experience less structure in their daily schedules and may fill their time with non-routine events such as camping, vacations, playdates, summer camps, and more. This transition can be challenging for students who may have relied on visual supports or daily routines during school. You can support this transition at home by using organization/planning tools to keep track of important dates and information, setting timers as needed to display how much time your child has left to complete a task, and helping your child create morning/afternoon checklists to stay organized and keep track of any routinely scheduled tasks that need to be completed.

Be mindful

Another way to practice executive functioning skills is through daily mindfulness exercises. Angela Pruess, a licensed clinical family therapist, highlights eight benefits and examples of mindfulness for children. Practicing mindfulness can look like daily meditation, “down time” or “quiet time”, yoga, nature walks, spending time outdoors, mindfulness apps, blowing bubbles, coloring, journaling, and listening to music.

Play, play, play

Playing games is a great way to practice skills like planning, memory, self-regulation, flexibility, self-control, organization, and goal setting. Specific games like Monopoly, Uno, Bingo, Connect 4, Jenga, Mancala, Memory, Battleship, and Guess Who can work on these skills. Prepped Learning offers additional suggestions for games to improve executive functions. Not only are games a great way to improve critical thinking skills, but they are also a fun way to make connections and create memories with your child.

Create a summer activity wish list

Have your child create a summer “wish list” of realistic activities and goals for this summer. Goals can range from “read 10 books” to “see a new movie”. Then, encourage your child to plan out and set a timeline to accomplish each task. You can add this to your family organizational system or create a personal calendar with your child so they can view and self-assess their progress.

Join an organized sport or activity group

Your child could join a summer camp, team, or program to increase their team building and executive functioning skills. Many sports and activity groups (band, music, theater, martial arts, etc.) help children develop skills such as organization, self-awareness, self-regulation, attention, memory, vision, and goal setting.

Run a lemonade stand

Your child can plan an activity with friends, family, or independently to run a lemonade stand. They can create a list of materials, set goals of how much lemonade to sell, practice following multi-step directions while making the lemonade, organize their stand, modify plans as needed, and improve task initiation skills. This can also give an opportunity for children to reflect, using developing their metacognitive skills, and problem solve for any necessary improvements.

Create checklists for planned activity days

If you have an activity planned, such as a beach day, vacation, camping trip, etc., you can ask your child to get involved in the planning process by creating a checklist of necessary items to pack. Not only does this checklist help create responsibility, but it also works to improve skills like planning, organization, and prioritization.

Whether your summer has a jam-packed schedule, or is filled with rest and relaxation, there are many fun, and exciting ways your child can continue to develop their executive functions and prevent the summer slide!

Written by Ami Z.

Summer Learning Made Easy: Fun, Simple Tips for Parents