The Benefits of Tutoring Over the Summer

By Julie Diamond, OCT

The summer is almost here and, with the rocky school year it’s been, many families are looking forward to a break from schoolwork. Though more and more families are signing up for tutoring. There are many benefits that tutoring can give students over the summer. Here are a few that come to mind:

1. Continue the Learning & Curb ‘Summer Learning Loss’: One of the main reasons families opt for tutoring over the summer is to keep the learning going. Students who take a break over the summer months are prone to something referred to as ‘summer learning loss.’ This is when students can lose up to two months of the progress they made through the school year. However, if students continue with learning, even setting aside one or two days a week, it helps to continue with the momentum of the school year and not skip a beat. This can be especially challenging for students who are already behind in school and/or when it comes to early literacy and numeracy learners.  

2. Close Learning Gaps & Boost Confidence for Next Year: Tutoring is an effective way to build upon foundational skills and empower children to believe they can do anything they put their mind to. Academic success has been directly linked to self-esteem especially in primary learners. With the help of a tutor over the summer, who can create a tailored program incorporating the student’s interests bridging last year and next year’s curriculum, the student will be able to close learning gaps and feel confident for the next grade.

3. No Distractions: Without the distraction of schoolwork, the summer gives children time to learn about things that interest them. If a child has a love for the outdoors, get them outside learning about nature, animals or geography. If a teen is glued to their video games, challenge them to make their own video game characters and storyline. If you start with a child’s interests, approach it in a fun and casual way, you may be surprised how they embrace learning.

4. Prevent Summer Boredom: The summer can be a stressful time for parents to think of how to keep their children from getting bored especially with all the time at home in lockdown after lockdown. Tutoring has a lot of benefits and keeps children from getting bored (with the right tutor!). Tutors can assign creative activities to keep students occupied in between sessions. Here are a few ideas Teachers to Go Tutors have used:

• Creating and cooking/baking recipes to practice Chemistry and/or math
• Outdoor scavenger hunts to practice math and literacy
• Creating TikTok dances to practice math (patterning)

Your child will be engaged and might even forget they are learning!

5. Learn Important Skills: With remote school being offered again in the fall in many provinces, self-regulatory skills such as: organization, communication, self-motivation, time management, and study skills will be crucial for your child to be a successful online learner. Over the summer gives children the opportunity to learn and practice these skills in different ways. A tutor can show students how to create and manage their own schedules, create To-Do lists, and use timers to stay focused and get tasks done.
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