10 science-backed ways parents can make their kids smarter this summer
Every parent knows their kids' memories aren't as sharp at the end of the summer as they are at the beginning.
Three months of video-game marathons and weekend sleepovers can create a mess of cobwebs where algebra and chemistry used to be.
Thankfully, science has discovered ways that people can expand their intelligence without any formal education.
Here's how parents can help their kids get even smarter over the summer, without paying for expensive camps or private tutors.
1. Encourage them to read.
A mountain of research has shown that reading makes you smarter. It expands your vocabulary, helps develop writing skills, and improves your ability to think abstractly.
If you don't want to spend a fortune on books, Richard Allington, a professor of education at the University of Tennessee, suggests hitting up a public library, visiting local garage sales, and using the Scholastic website to preview books your child might like.
And "don't worry about their choices," he tells Tech Insider. "Remember that the most popular books for adults and for children have never won any literary awards as high-quality literature."
The important thing is that they're opening a book.
2. Get them to play an instrument.
Whenever Albert Einstein hit a roadblock in a big theoretical concept, he'd turn to his piano to regain a sense of clarity.
Studies have shown that music doesn't just train your ear it molds your brain, improving your baseline levels of calmness, alertness, and ｅxecutive functioning (that's the voice in your head we call "self-control").
To keep costs low, parents can buy secondhand instruments for cheap on Amazon. Many towns also offer public music lessons, or kids could try their hand at online learning.
3. Exercise with them.
The list of cognitive benefits achieved through exercise seems to be endlessly growing.
A major 2014 study published in the journal Pediatrics, for example, found that giving kids physical activities to do — sometimes as simple as a game of tag — every day after school for a full year improved their abilities to concentrate and switch between tasks.
The control group in the study also saw small bumps in their scores — a sign that all the kids were developing. But the kids who went to the most exercise sessions scored the highest on the mental tests.
4. Make sure they get enough sleep.
Kids might not need to wake up for school, but they should still go to bed at a reasonable hour.
According to a study from Tel Aviv University, a 6th-grader who misses out on an hour of sleep functions essentially like a 4th-grader who's well-rested.
"A loss of one hour of sleep is equivalent to [the loss of] two years of cognitive maturation and development," Dr. Avi Sadeh, the lead researcher, told New York Magazine.
Multiply that decline over three months, and it's easy to see how quickly all that history and math go out the window.
5. Give them activities that cultivate grit.
University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth knows full well the importance of grit — that quality of perseverance and toughness that gets people through difficult situations.
Duckworth's research has found the highest-achieving students are those that cultivate grit on an ongoing basis. Doing things like karate or crossword puzzles trains kids to appreciate the value in investing their time and energy in a long-term goal.
When September rolls around, the kids who are in the best position to succeed are the ones who are ready, willing, and able to work hard.
6. Find play groups with kids who will serve as good influences.
A study of college students' behavior can give parents of younger children some sage advice.
When students with low GPAs started rooming with high-GPA kids, the under-performing ones began performing better — without dragging other students down.
The same effect can work for kids: Socializing with children who are equally bright or brighter can help them learn good habits. They can start to internalize certain positive behaviors and standards.
The idea that kids can be "good" or "bad" influences is true.
7. Let them play video games.
Gory shoot-em-ups probably won't get kids to think flexibly or develop pattern recognition skills, but some video games definitely will.
"By balancing gameplay enjoyment with an appropriate level of challenge, games have the ability to keep players in their own unique optimally challenging and engaging zone for learning," wrote Jan Plass, an NYU professor of digital media and learning sciences.
In other words, if you give kids games that are intellectually challenging and have concrete goals, they can develop unique problem-solving skills that will serve them well for tests and quizzes.
8. Study a new language with them.
Three months isn't enough time to gain fluency, but there are plenty of free apps that can get parents and kids off to a good start with language-learning.
And according to the science, people should give it a try.
A 2015 study from Georgetown University discovered that people who spoke two languages had more gray matter in their brains than people who only spoke one. In practical terms, that means they have better short- and long-term memories, attention spans, and self-control.
Given that kids' brains are still highly plastic, parents would do well to download an app like Babbel or Duolingo and encourage them to practice.
9. Introduce them to open online courses.
Kids are curious beyond measure, and sometimes parents don't feel equipped (or awake) enough to sate that curiosity. Massive online open courses — or MOOCs — can help.
Universities like MIT and programs like Khan Academy offer catalogs of free lectures and courses, spanning many different subjects. If a child has a question about life or the universe, direct them to one of the many online classes that can give a detailed, first-rate explanation.
MOOCs are the closest thing to an elite education parents can find, short of shelling out the money for an Ivy League summer camp.
10. Leave room for unstructured play.
In Finland, where schools consistently rank near the top of global measures of achievement, kids don't start formal school — that is, a system of testing and grades — until age 7.
Research on the benefits of play back up the merits of that model — study after study has found that delaying traditional forms of education gives kids time to think more dynamically and develop emotional intelligence.
Even when they're doing structured activities, giving frequent breaks that let them burn off energy will help them develop healthier attitudes toward learning when it's time to buckle down.
After all, a precocious 10-year-old is still just a 10-year-old.
Article Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-parents-can-make-their-kids-smarter-this-summer-2016-6
Image Source: http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5762e42edd0895694d8b4d83-1200/1-encourage-them-to-read.jpg
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Cultivate (v.) ~ try to acquire or develop (a quality, sentiment, or skill)
2. Sage (n.) ~ a usually elderly person noted for wisdom, knowledge, and judgment
3. Sate (v.) ~ satisfy (a desire or an appetite) to the full
4. Buckle down (idiom) ~ to settle down to something to begin to work seriously at something
5. Precocious (adj.) ~ ahead in development, such as the mental development of a child
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. When is the start of summer vacation of children in your ｃountry? When the children are on vacation, what kind of activities do they usually do?
2. Do you agree that playing video games can help develop certain skills of children? If yes, what kind of skills? Discuss your answer.
3. What is “unstructured play”? Why is it good for children?
4. What kind of activities do you like to do with your children when they are on vacation?
