A recent PBS KIDS survey revealed that 84% of parents believe it’s important to support their child’s learning with at home activities. The survey also indicated that parents are less likely to support their kids’ math skills from the earliest ages, and that many parents have anxiety about supporting math learning at home. The survey suggests parents place even less emphasis on math, since they view other skills as “the greatest predictor of achievement later in life,” ranking reading and literacy (26%) and the ability to pay attention and work hard (47%) as most indicative versus math (14%).
Research shows that children who don’t maintain key math and literacy skills over the summer experience significant learning loss and are likely to start the upcoming school year at a disadvantage.
Teachers typically spend between four and six weeks of the fall semester re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer. That loss is often amplified among low-income communities.
There are simple things that parents can do to support early math learning that can all add up to make a big difference. From offline activity ideas, to on-air programming, to online games, mobile apps and more, PBS KIDS content featuring kids’ favorite characters is available to help parents make any time learning time and prevent the “summer slump.”
Lesli Rotenberg, General Manager, Children’s Programming, PBS, & Children’s Media Expert talks more about the survey and offers tips for parents to help their kids retain what they’re learning in the classroom.