SOMA Living April 2022

EDUCATION Time to think Spring! We are heading into the home stretch for this school year and anticipating summer (CAMP!). We, at Best in Class Education Center in South Orange, want to wish you well as you develop your summer plans for your children. Looking forward, summer is, and should primarily be a time for fun, enjoyment and family time. In our SOMA and Essex County home the town pools, diverse festivals, exciting concerts, and beautiful parks give us much to enjoy in the summer with our children. At the same time, summer can provide children with an opportunity to jump ahead academically in their core subjects: math and English. Many parents worldwide routinely use summer as a time to expose their children, through academic camps, to material they will face in the Fall when school resumes. This summer preparation pays off when their children can excel in their classes the following school year. Additionally, summer learning activities can also go a long way to stave off “summer slide” or summer learning loss. Most research shows that students can lose as much as a month’s worth of school year learning over the summer. That’s a lot! A few hours a week of enrichment can allow students to stay engaged with their academics without overtaking the whole summer. A tip from research on summer learning suggests that any approach taken will be most effective when children attend to it consistently (week-by week) and spend more academic time on task. Learning doesn’t (and shouldn’t ever) feel like a burden. Whether you choose to assign a few minutes of math practice online daily, read a book a week at home, or enroll your children in a summer program with an academic element, you’ll go far to give your child the benefit of ongoing academic engagement.

Whatever activity you choose, keep your children’s minds exercised or let Best in Class do it for you.

Alissa Gardenhire, Ph.D., Owner of Best in Class Education Center, South Orange. We are excited to offer our awesome summer camp (see our ad). For 2nd to 6th graders we are offering intensive Summer Enrichment Classes in math and English to give them a real boost and provide strong readiness for next school year. Our half day camp is fun, curated to your child’s needs and your wants, and most of all effective. Visit Bit.ly/thebrainzone to register.

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