The Summer Slide

Can you believe summer is almost done? School will be here sooner than we know it because once again the summer has gone way too fast!  As we prepare our little ones to head back to the classroom in September, have you found that certain skills that were mastered by your children in June have begun to deteriorate? In other words, has the “summer slide” has found its way into your house?

The “summer slide” is described as the loss in learning that occurs when students are not engaged in scholastic, academically enriching activities for a prolonged period.  By the end of summer vacation, the average student loses approximately a month’s worth of learning acquired from the previous year.  And it doesn’t end there, as studies have shown the impact is cumulative. A 2007 Johns Hopkins University study found that by ninth grade, about two-thirds of the achievement gap in reading, for example, can be attributed to summer learning loss that took place in the first five years of schooling.

Nationally, there are approaches being discussed to prevent learning loss over the summer months.  However, as parents and caregivers what can we do here and now to help our children?  Today The Philadelphia Nanny Network wanted to share some ideas to help spark some creativity as we get ready for Back to School. Here are just a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing and help make summer fun also equal summer learning.  There are still precious few summer days left, here are some ideas that both parents and nannies can work on together to make the most of them:

1.       Build a family game – game building is a very creative approach to science and math.  This is a great way to develop problem-solving skills while allowing children to be innovative.  Nannies can help the children work on a plan for the game, research and get supplies.  The children and nanny can build the game together.  After nanny hours, parents and children can play the game together, and the children get to “teach” the parents how to play.

2.       Find a reading program at the local library or bookstore that can fit into the children and nanny’s daily schedule.  Visit http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/ for additional resources on summer reading that can be carried into the new school year.  Parents can ask the child about the “rose” (best) and “thorn” (worst) part of the trip and read a library book before bed.

3.       Do a project together as a family.  Summer is the perfect time to complete DIY projects around the house.  Assign each family member an age appropriate job to research and complete.  Nannies can help the children plan budgets (math), plan out measurements (math and science), colors (problem solving) and so much more.  Projects can be incorporated into a fun family project to be enjoyed throughout the year.  With parents, the children can complete the project.  Each new day, the children can give a status update to the nanny and show off the work that was done.

It takes a village, and these are just a few ways that parents and nannies can work together so that children are ready to hit the books when school starts.

Is your child ready for the upcoming school year?  If so, what did your family network do to keep the “summer slide” out of your home and in the back yard where it belongs?

Can Women Have It All?

These past few weeks, the internet has been abuzz discussing “the working mom”, as though it’s a new concept. And while the concept has existed for decades upon decades, the strong opinions surrounding the Mommy-Wars are as fresh as ever. Thanks to Anne-Marie Slaughter’s anything-but-brief article, entitled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”, feminist ideas are coming under fire and maternal guilt is on the rise. Slaughter argues that, as the title suggests, women cannot have both a successful career and a successful family life. It comes down to a choice: either your career or your family can flourish, but not both. She notes that many successful career women, now in their 50s and 60s, have had to sacrifice time with their children and spouses to push against the glass ceiling; while women in their 30s and twenty-somethings are hesitant to begin a professional career because they someday want a family and have already come to the realization that they will never be able to have both. Naturally, her opinions received some opposition including many response articles. One of which, written by Jacoba Urist for Forbes Magazine, unveils the very solution to creating a manageable work-life balance. A solution that The Philadelphia Nanny Network, Inc. has been long aware of-

A really good nanny.

Urist discusses a novel idea that maybe women CAN have it all, if they just spread “it all” throughout the day. Between 6p and 8a, a woman can be a mother and raise a loving and successful family. Then from 8a-6p, she can be a lawyer, a writer or whatever her professional calling may be. And she can do all this by finding a nanny that is the right fit, an extension of her family and someone she can trust to raise her children while she is in her other role. As Urist states, “The key to a stronger family unit isn’t trying to juggle parenting and being something else. It’s about letting go and trusting the person or people who raise and educate your kids while you’re not around— and believing that your bonds with your child are strong enough to withstand your workday.”