Greg Lucas: Kids need to exercise their brains to prevent ‘summer slide’

Since summer is here, now’s the time to make sure “summer slide” isn’t going to be part of it. Luckily, there’s a simple – and absolutely free – way to prevent “summer slide” available in any of California’s 1,112 libraries.

There are 100 years of studies and data showing that when kids don’t participate in some form of educational activity during the summer, their test scores are lower in the fall. Like other muscles, if the brain isn’t exercised, it isn’t as strong.

Kids who start the new school year without exercising their brains during the summer begin behind their peers, for which they’ll be playing the difficult game of catchup. After a couple years, those kids fall behind, particularly the ones in underserved communities.

There are a number of programs offered at public libraries that provide plenty of summer brain exercise. Math workshops. Computer coding courses. But the brain exercise anyone can do anytime almost anywhere is reading.

It’s that simple: Keep reading, and prevent summer slide.

Except it isn’t easy for everyone to get access to libraries. Many lower-income families don’t have books at home and that makes the impact of summer slide worse. By fifth grade, low-income students who haven’t been reading over the summer are two years behind classmates.

As part of California’s summer reading efforts, First Book – a national nonprofit aimed at placing books into the hands of kids – is partnering with libraries around the state to get more books to those at-risk kids. Helping First Book helps them help more kids.

Libraries are offering all kinds of awesome reading programs for kids of all ages this summer.

The California Library Association’s “Read to the Rhythm” campaign, for kids and adults, is being conducted by numerous libraries. Other libraries operate their own reading programs. The association has set a goal of getting 1 million kids involved in a summer reading program this year. One million kids is roughly 10 percent of the 18-year-olds or under in California.

Public library summer reading programs are for everyone. Each year California libraries reach out to underserved kids to make sure everyone has the opportunity to take part. Successful outreach efforts have focused on kids in homeless shelters, teen mothers and fathers, home-schoolers, non-English-speaking youths, and many others who aren’t library regulars during the summer.

Reading is the most cost-effective and far-reaching investment in human capital that can be made because it returns such rich dividends.

So make reading a part of your summer vacation. Help First-Book provide more books to more kids. Ask your local library about its programs for readers of all ages.

Just turn to Page One and put the brakes on summer slide.

This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Greg Lucas: Kids need to exercise their brains to prevent ‘summer slide’."