Sharpen Your Child's Executive Function Skills This Summer

As the summer is now underway, many parents start wondering how to prevent the dreaded "summer slide" in academic skills. However, focusing just on academics may mean missing out on developing another critical area – executive function skills.

What are executive function skills?
Executive function is the brain's control center that manages cognitive processes like working memory, flexible thinking, self-regulation, planning, and prioritizing. Strong executive function skills allow kids to set goals, ignore distractions, control impulses, follow multi-step instructions, and persist through challenges.

These high-level abilities are crucial for success in school and life. Poor executive function can lead to disorganization, failure to turn in assignments, losing focus, emotional outbursts, and difficulty making plans. The middle school years are a key window for developing and strengthening executive skills.

So how can you help boost your child's executive function over the summer? Here are some tips:

Find an Engaging Summer Program
Look for organized activities like academic camps, arts intensives, coding bootcamps, etc. Having to follow a structured schedule, abide by rules, and work towards goals builds vital skills. Bonus points if your child gets to explore a passion!

Designate Chore Time 
Assign regular household chores that require planning, task initiation, time management, and working memory (e.g. meal prep, gardening, organizational projects). Guide them on breaking down bigger tasks into steps.

Encourage Goal-Setting
Have them set personal goals for the summer whether related to skills, hobbies, fitness, etc. Make a plan for how to track their progress and what resources they need.

Get Outdoors
Being in nature inherently demands focus, navigation, risk assessment and other executive skills. Try hiking, camping, rock climbing, exploring new parks, etc.

Play Strategy Games
Games like chess, checkers, Sudoku and certain video games promote strategic thinking, planning, prioritizing and cognitive flexibility.

Read for Comprehension 
Guide them on strategies for active reading like predicting, visualization, summarizing and making connections. Discussing complex books builds comprehension abilities.

With a little creativity, you can easily weave plenty of executive function practice into your child's summer routine. These vital skills will pay off both in the classroom and in life!