GRANDVILLE, Mich. — There's a pretty easy way to avoid the Summer Slide; get kids reading.
Grandville's Central Elementary School Principal is celebrating his students' accomplishments this year— and has some advice to help parents keep them on track for next year.
“The whole idea is creating independence in education,” Principal Mike Gelmi explained the best way to do that is to put books in their hands.
He knows the value of a good book and what it takes to inspire kids to read more. Central Elementary students smashed reading goals set this school year, and it's thanks to teachers and parents getting involved— helping the kids reach over 1,300 hours of reading time in under a month.
Gelmi will spend the next 24 hours on the roof of the schoolcelebrating that achievement as the school year ends, but wants parents to know break-time is no time to take a break from expanding young minds.
Summer Slide - Phenomenon where kids lose roughly 20% of what they learned in the previous school year over the summer.
Kids who read once a day during the summer tend to avoid learning loss. Reading with a parent and seeing parents reading can increase their odds of success.
It doesn't matter if it's a chapter book or children's book; nonfiction, comic book, or a cookbook. A good book is one that sparks an interest to learn more.
“I think that, when you address that summer slide, it's an opportunity for kids to kind of find their own path to grow who they are as a person as well as families,” Gelmi told FOX 17.
Other ways to avoid Summer Slide include doing things together, playing games and puzzles, getting out of the house regularly, and limiting screen time.
