Happy summer, to those in the northern hemisphere! I am in the US, so this seasonal words blog may have reversed application to those in the southern hemisphere. Many people who attend school in the US do not have any classes during the summer. This has led to a phenomenon called “summer learning loss.”
One way to mitigate that loss is to read during the summer. There are so many kinds of reading material! Magazines, blogs, and books, or comics, graphic novels, and picture books; all sorts of reading material is available. Many of these options are available online or even in audio format.
Seasonal choices
In the fall, when people return to classes, the curriculum often begins near the end of the third quarter of the previous year. This is an unnecessary redundancy. Fall could be just as packed with new information as winter. What are some ways you can help keep summer learning loss to a minimum?
Of course, homeschool families can choose to learn all year long with breaks as desired at any season. A trip to the mountains in the fall is a wonderful time to enjoy foliage that is flaunting brilliant colors. Winter can be a fun time of skiing, enjoying a warm break in a southern climate, or celebrating the various holidays surrounding the end of the calendar year.
Spring is a perfect time for outdoor activities, as the leaves are budding, flowers are blooming, and the weather is beginning to warm up. The first signs of spring often add liveliness to classrooms as students begin to see hope for the summer break. This is not the time to slow down on reading, however.
Capital or lower case?
You may have noticed that the seasons are not capitalized in US English. The main time a capital letter is used is if the word begins a sentence or is part of a title. So, we capitalize The Summer of My Discontent, but we do not use a capital letter when referring to the summer of being discontented with learning loss.
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) has this information in chapter 8, and an exception listed in chapter 14. You can look up CMOS 8.88 and 14.171 for reference. If you use another style guide with a different rule, shoot me a comment. Writing is a great way to communicate, and how much better to be doing it in a way that people can understand!
Happy summer!
Liza the Bookworm