Consumer alert: Free online tools to prevent brain drain this summer

Summer brain drain is the top topic of this consumer alert. Friday was the last day of school in many districts across the region. And while we all love summer fun, parents are worried about learning loss during school breaks. We’re practically having to dip into our retirement funds to send our kids to camp.

Call it what you will – summer brain drain, summer regression, learning loss – it all means the same thing. If your child is having fun in the summer sun, he could forget a lot of what he learned.

A 2020 study published in the American Educational Research Journal found that students who experienced some brain drain lost, on average, about 20 percent of their gains in reading and 27 percent in math. But about half of the students in that study showed learning gains. These were children who participated in remedial activities over the summer.

Tech guru and AT&T sales manager Jason Komenski recommends a free website called “The Achievery,” created by AT&T.

Jason Komensky: “So you and your child can go on the platform and continue learning all summer long. (The site is) fun, engaging, and has multiple subjects, science, literature, STEM. I mean, it’s all there.”

Deanna Dewberry: “For my kids, we plan these camps. And when they come home from camp, all they want to do is hang out in front of the TV and watch TikTok. (It) drives me crazy.”

Jason Komensky: “On The Achievery, you can actually play games. You earn points as you do so. Maybe they have to earn points beforehand, they have to learn 50 or 100 points before they can log into TikTok.”

The Achievery is for grades K-12. In addition to The Achievery, here are some other free online tools recommended by the National Education Association.

– Funbrain.com is intended for children ages K to 5.

— Fishing for Phonics is great for K-2. Phonics is being taught again in New York, and you can give your little one a head start next year.

– Fact Monster offers great games and quizzes for students in grades 3-5.

— Teenreads

– Cool math games

You can have a lot of fun and learn something at the same time. I love the idea of ​​kids collecting points to get half an hour of video games or whatever they want to do. Let’s make sure our kids are the ones who are ready for school in September.