When I was a young, I cherished summer as an opportunity to do nothing except rollerblade and read. I had a daily ritual, and I loved it.

For me, reading was a way to explore fascinating worlds and wild stories. I also used it as a way to keep learning – I had heard on some newscast that reading fiction makes you smarter. I wanted to get ahead of my class and excel at school. So, while I tried to play it cool with my peers, I was secretly a book nerd.

Although we have tons of novels to offer, summer reading may not be the best option for all kids. Not everyone digs fiction, our minds work differently. Still, being on summer break doesn’t mean that learning has to stop, or worse, regress.

At the risk of making a gross generalization, I think most people would agree that children love to show off their smarts. Kids light-up when they finally “get” that math formula, learn to “do math” in their head, or when they know the periodic table and what happens in chemical compounds. They also want to express themselves well, because they like sharing their experiences with others.

But the brain is a muscle, and, as the saying goes, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” According to a study by Harris Cooper of Duke University, the average student loses at least a month’s worth of learning over the summer.  Other studies conducted throughout the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, came to similar conclusions, finding that students lose an average of 2.6 months of math, and 2 months of English over the summer when they don’t actively practice their skills. Further studies have also determined that there is a correlation between a family’s socioeconomic status and the degree to which children fall behind in the summer – most families need affordable ways to keep their kids actively learning.

Since it is part of Alpha Textbooks’ mission to provide affordable educational resources to families, this summer we teamed up with Popular Book Company to promote Popular’s SummerSmart series. Our business is in education, we care about the quality of learning and student success at school, and we want to help students keep achieving while still enjoying their summer.

Popular’s summer workbooks serve a unique function. The age/level appropriate books give kids the opportunity to hone their existing skills, but also get ahead. The books function as a bridge between two grade levels. Children review what they learned in the previous school year, but also learn ahead for the coming grade.

Staying true to our education system, the workbooks correspond to the Canadian curriculum and explore Canadian content and themes. They can be used as eight week courses that cover English, math, science, and social studies. The books also contain “hands-on” activities – after all, it is summer.

We are offering a special summer promotion for the series. From now, until July 31, you can pick up the SummerSmart books at Alpha for 30% off the retail price.

Visit this webpage or come into our store for more details. We ship all over Canada.

… In case you are wondering, with all that reading, math was never my strong suit. Unfortunately, I was looking for the other kind of popular in the ‘90s. Although I excelled at school in the liberal arts, I wish I could have been a stronger student in other subjects. My own experience has made me a big advocate of encouraging children to keep trying at all the subjects all year-round, even if they think it is too hard.

Posted by Cris Costa, Alpha Textbooks Communications Manager