Education franchises help kids stay sharp in summer

Posted on August 02, 2010 by Franchise Gator Admin

In Chisago City, Minnesota, Sylvan Learning Center recently gave parents advice when it comes to helping their children during the summer vacation period.

Local Sylvan employee Amy Knudson said that while students are away from the traditional classroom, skills such as reading and math can be improved by working at home. While most people think of the summer as a time for playing ball all day or endless hours in the swimming pool, children can risk losing months of learning by not having skills re-enforced.

According to the National Center for Summer Learning, "most students lose about two months of grade-level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over summer months."

In order to help prevent this, Sylvan suggests that everyday activities can be used as a tool to help keep kids' brains engaged. For example, when shopping in a local grocery store it can be helpful to ask the off-season student to count the items in the cart or add the dollar amounts of different food products.

Education franchises like Sylvan are gaining popularity. Sylvan itself has been ranked in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 ranking 24 times, and spends three times as much as similar franchises on advertising campaigns.