BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) — Teachers say it happens every year – students get out of school and end up forgetting a big chunk of what they learned during the school year.
It's often referred to by teachers as the 'summer slide.'
"Students can often fall as much as two months behind during the summer," said Jennifer Combs, Integration Specialist for the Boise School District.
Math is one of the more difficult subjects to get back on track with once a student has fallen down the summer slide, according to Shelly Wray, math supervisor for Boise School District.
That's because things move quickly and are always building off of what came before it.
Fortunately, there are things to do with your child to make sure they're ready for the next year.
"You would be surprised how often you run into math just in your every day life," said Wray.
According to Wray, the best way to teach your child math is by simply showing them how common it is... and fun!
"A lot of people say, 'well there is school math and life math.' [But] if you can make life math more apparent, then school math makes way more sense for kids," said Wray.
Things like cooking dinner, playing cards, dominoes, and board games like Monopoly all help children better understand math.
"Even though it doesn't feel like it's directly related to [math], it keeps that part of your brain active and it will definitely help with that. All of that just kind of keeps math alive in your brain while you're off on summer."
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