Beat the Summer Slide: How STEM Keeps Kids’ Brains Sharp Over the Break
July 1 , 2026 | MakerKids Team The summer slide is the learning loss kids experience over the long break, when months without practice cause reading and math skills to slip backward. Most students return in September behind where they finished in June, and the loss is steepest in math. Hands-on STEM keeps those skills active, so kids start the year ready rather than rusty. What is the summer slide? The summer slide, or summer learning loss, is the drop in academic skills that happens when kids stop practicing over the holidays. A widely cited review of 39 studies found the average student loses about a month of school-year learning each summer, with bigger losses in math than reading. Worth noting: some newer studies find the effect is smaller than older figures suggest, and the biggest predictor of loss is how much a kid gained during the school year. Either way, no research says an unstructured summer helps, so keeping skills active is low-risk and high-reward. (Sources: Cornell Evidence-Based Living , NWEA ) Why STEM beats the slide STEM disguises practice as play. A kid debugging a Scratch game is reasoning through logic. A kid measuring parts for a 3D print is using fractions. Because they are building something they care about, they practice the exact skills that fade fastest, and they do it for hours without being asked. Summer programs work best when kids attend consistently and get real hands-on time. In RAND’s National Summer Learning Project, students who attended regularly across two summers pulled ahead of their peers in math, reading, and social-emotional skills, a boost worth roughly 20 to 25 percent of a typical year’s progress. (Source: RAND ) How MakerKids camps keep kids sharp MakerKids summer camps turn the break into a building season. Campers code, design, and create with the tools that make problem-solving feel like play: Scratch and Python, Minecraft, robotics, 3D printing, and Unreal Engine. Camps run at our Leaside , Bloor West Village, and Mississauga locations. Spaces are sensory-safe, with soundproofing and noise-canceling headphones for kids sensitive to noise, and families who prefer a weekly class over a full camp week have that option. Trade the summer slide for a summer of building . Explore MakerKids summer camps and reserve a spot → Spaces fill fast once summer starts. FAQ What is the summer slide? The drop in academic skills that happens over summer break when kids stop practicing. The average student loses about a month of learning each summer, with the steepest losses in math. How much do kids lose over the summer? Studies suggest one to two months of reading progress and one to three months of math progress, with the loss growing in higher grades. How does STEM prevent summer learning loss? Coding, robotics, and 3D design keep math, logic, and problem-solving in constant use, and kids practice more because they enjoy the projects. Do summer camps actually help? They can when kids attend consistently. RAND found that regular attendance across two summers gave students a boost worth about 20 to 25 percent of a typical year’s progress. What age should kids start a STEM camp? As early as Grade 1. MakerKids groups campers by age, from Mini Makers ( Grades 1-2 ) to Maker Mavericks ( Grades 6-8 ). Are STEM camps a good fit for neurodivergent kids? Yes, with the right setup. MakerKids uses sensory-safe spaces with soundproofing and noise-canceling headphones, plus virtual and weekly-class options. The post Beat the Summer Slide: How STEM Keeps Kids’ Brains Sharp Over the Break appeared first on MakerKids .