Summer is a time for sun, fun, and freedom—but it’s also the perfect season to spark curiosity and build real-life learning skills. While the school year focuses on standards and testing, summer gives families a unique opportunity to slow down and explore the world in a hands-on, meaningful way.

At The Study Hub, we believe that learning doesn’t end when the bell rings in May. In fact, some of the best learning happens during the relaxed, open-ended days of summer—especially when it comes to building a scientist’s mindset.

What Is the Summer Slide?

The summer slide is the term used to describe the academic regression students often experience during summer vacation. Research shows that students can lose up to 2–3 months of progress in key areas like reading and math if they aren’t actively engaged in learning over the summer.

This learning loss accumulates year after year, and by the time a student reaches middle school, they could be as much as two years behind their peers who continued learning through the summer.

Kindergarten and first grade are deemed to be the “window of opportunity” to prevent long-term reading problems. Without early intervention, the “reading gap” between struggling readers and their peers continues to widen over time.