‍We haven’t even passed the summer solstice yet, and I’m already thinking about ways to prevent the summer slide. Haven’t heard the term? Basically it’s the retrograde mental motion that can happen for some kids over the summer. Or in other words, the loss of reading, math, or other academic skills that can occur between June and August, resulting in weeks of reviewing old material in the fall. 

However, the good news is that there are many straightforward and fun activities you can do as a family to prevent summer slide, and save slipping down for the inclined planes on your neighborhood playground. Along with visiting your local library, here’s a couple of recommended academic resources:

5 Ways To Prevent Summer Slide

How to Beat the Summer Slide

‍But what about summer spiritual slide? Is it possible that the departure from our school routines, healthy as that is, could catch us off-guard, finding us stepping further away from our formative spiritual disciplines, much to the devil’s delight? This phenomena is more common than you might think, but the good news is that spiritual slide is also preventable.

Kids naturally have many questions about the Bible, and summer is a great time to get into the habit of reading it regularly, especially since you might have more time to investigate answers to those questions and dig deeper into your kids’ thoughts about God. When we look to start new summer habits, we try to hook our habit to a regularly scheduled event that won’t be missed, like lunch or tea time. Snuggle up with a full belly, read the next story in your child’s Bible, and ask them simple questions:

• What happened in this Bible passage?
• Who was involved and what did they learn?
• What questions do you have about this Bible story?

These open-ended type questions can work for a variety of ages of kids. Don’t worry about not knowing how to respond–you can investigate and search together to find the answers. This demonstrates to your children that you value their questions, their opinions, and that you’re willing to spend time learning together on what’s most important – a relationship with God through His word.

If you’re looking for recommendations on a new children’s Bible, a few come to mind:

We’ve used the Jesus Storybook Bible for a variety of programs at Epic, and it’s a favorite among story Bibles and can be used with all ages.

A good Bible to read with toddlers through preK would be The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes.

A couple of Bibles good for elementary kids who are reading on their own would be The Adventure Bible or Seek and Find Bible.

For older elementary/preteens and families who prefer video to written word, The Bible Project is a great resource! But I’d recommend you engage in the content together – check out this video on public reading of scripture: The Bible Project 

If you watch the three-minute video in that last link, you’ll see how important it is to learn about God in community. Together is truly better, and if you commit to attending your local church each week through the summer, you’ll see your kids engage in their community while learning about God. In SF, we hope you call Epic your home, but while you travel, make attending a local church a priority. By doing so, you show your kids that learning about God happens in communities around the world.

Think of summer as an opportunity, a time to establish healthy spiritual practices for year-round growth for the entire family! God isn’t bound by time or place, and He desires us to build our relationship with Him in all seasons. So with intentionality and a bit of planning, parents can nurture both academic and spiritual learning over the summer – preventing the summer slide. 

We hope this monthly blog is encouraging for your family. For more week-to-week information on Epic Kids @ Home family lessons, activities, and prayer prompts, please visit the Kids page on our website and join our Epic Family Facebook Group. We post resources each week to support your family in Bible study. 

Grace and peace,

Annikki

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