Right, let's be honest about the summer holidays. Six weeks sounds glorious in June. By week three you've run out of ideas, the tablet has become another family member, and you've got a niggling worry at the back of your mind: are they forgetting everything they learned this year?
I'm Chloe. I'm a primary school teacher, and I'm also a mum of four, so I'm living this right alongside you. And I want to tell you two things that might seem to contradict each other but don't. First: please don't panic, and please don't run a summer school at your kitchen table. Second: a little bit of learning, kept ticking over through the holidays, genuinely matters. Let me explain why, and how to do it without it becoming a battle.
The "summer slide" is real, but let's keep it in proportion
You'll have heard about the "summer slide", the idea that kids go backwards over the long break. There's truth in it. When skills aren't being used day in, day out, they can slip, and reading and spelling tend to be the first to wobble, simply because children aren't doing them constantly the way they do in class. It usually comes back once they're back in the swing of school, but those first few weeks of September can feel like a hard restart if nothing's happened all summer.
So no, your child won't forget how to read. But the difference between a child who's done nothing for six weeks and one who's done ten minutes here and there is real, and you can feel it in September. One walks in rusty. The other picks up where they left off. That second child is the goal, and honestly, it takes very little to get there.
Here's the bit I really want you to hear
The reason I'm so passionate about this is that I see both sides. In the classroom, I see which children come back ready and which need to rebuild. At home, I know how hard it is to fit anything "educational" around days out, late mornings and the general lovely chaos of summer.
So the answer isn't worksheets. It's keeping their brain gently switched on through play. That's the whole trick, and it's exactly what keeps a child on track at their current level rather than slipping back from it.
How to keep it ticking over without the meltdowns
Ten minutes, not ten hours. A short burst a few times a week is plenty. I promise. Forget the idea of "doing schoolwork", that's where the tears start.
Make it part of the day, not an event. A busy book while you're having your coffee. A playdough mat in that grim late-afternoon stretch before dinner. Nobody announces "now we're learning", it's just part of the day.
Read together. Every day if you can. If you do one thing this summer, make it this. Bedtime stories, library trips (free, brilliant, air-conditioned), audiobooks in the car. Reading is the skill that slips most, and the easiest to protect.
Take it outside. Count shells on the beach. Spot letters on number plates. Do "how many minutes till we're there" maths in the car. It all counts.
Have things ready they can do on their own. Half the battle is having something to hand when you need ten minutes' peace. That's where reusable activities earn their place.
What I'd reach for, by age
This is genuinely what our products are built for. Grab-and-go, screen-free, and reusable so they last the whole six weeks:
- Little ones (2 to 5): a busy book and some playdough mats. Keeps small hands busy and quietly builds the early skills.
- KS1 (5 to 7): the KS1 maths and English bundles keep number bonds, tricky words and phonics fresh.
- KS2 (7 to 11): the KS2 bundle keeps times tables and spellings ticking over, and trust me, you want those times tables solid for September.
Everything's gloss film laminated, so they can do it, wipe it, and do it again. One set covers a whole summer, lasts for years, and gets handed down. (And every component's available on its own if you'd rather just top up one thing.) These are made by me, a real teacher, so the activities actually match what your child's doing at school, not just pretty busywork.
One honest note: ages are a guide, not a rule. Every child's at their own stage, and a "younger" resource is completely fine for an older child topping up a skill. That includes children with additional needs. Go with where your child actually is.
So, enjoy your summer. Genuinely. Have the lazy mornings and the ice cream for dinner days. Just sprinkle a little learning through it, mostly disguised as play, and your child will walk back into class in September steady, confident, and right where they left off. That's all it takes.