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If your child has an IEP, it may or may not cover summer. Some kids get extended school year services built into their IEPs, but many don鈥檛. If your child isn鈥檛 attending a , you may worry about how they鈥檒l keep up while school鈥檚 out. But you can help reinforce the IEP goals, even if your child doesn鈥檛 have school services in the summer. Here鈥檚 how.

Identify summer-friendly IEP goals

Start by re-reading . It鈥檚 the first place to turn when you鈥檙e trying to create a summer plan. Not all goals are things you can work on at home, however.

When your child鈥檚 IEP team , its focus is on skills to help your child succeed in school. So some goals are designed to be worked on at school.

For example, your child鈥檚 IEP may say, 鈥淥livia will increase reading accuracy and fluency to a fourth-grade level. To do this, she鈥檒l use a research-based reading program.鈥�

In that case, the goal is tied to a . You鈥檙e probably not trained to use that program. But there may be more general goals you can tackle, such as decoding words or learning how to use fractions.

Your child may have goals that aren鈥檛 strictly academic, too. Kids may be working on social-emotional skills or functional goals. For example, one of your child’s goals might be, 鈥淥livia will identify and manage feelings (anxiety, stress) on a daily basis.鈥�

That鈥檚 something you can help with at home. If your child has a behavior intervention plan, there鈥檚 even a description of how the teachers worked with your child at school on this goal. You can use the same approach.

Break IEP goals down into skills you can work on

Looking over your child鈥檚 IEP can help remind you of the bigger goals they’re working toward. But goals span a whole year and aren鈥檛 met all at once. In many cases, it may make sense to focus over the summer on specific steps toward those goals.

Think of each goal as sitting at the top of a ladder. There are many rungs your child has to climb to get there. Each rung is a skill your child needs to learn to get to the next one. For example, before a child can write a sentence using two different meanings of a word, they have to be able identify the different definitions.

Sometimes an IEP plan breaks goals into smaller steps or skills already. If your child鈥檚 plan doesn鈥檛, check the progress report or ask your child’s teacher to help you list the skills that make up each goal.

Plan your summer program

As you start getting ready for summer, make sure you get the support you and your child need. Here are some guidelines.

• Meet with your child鈥檚 teacher and service providers. A few weeks before the end of the school year, talk to . The people on it can help you get a sense of your child’s current skill level and which skills are most important to work on over the summer. You can also ask for activity suggestions, book lists, and even work to take home over the summer.
• Share goals with summer programs. If your child will be attending camp or summer school, take time to meet with the director before the program begins. Share the goals you鈥檙e working on. Ask what opportunities your child might have to practice those skills in the program. The more people who are working to reinforce learning, the more likely your child is to maintain and grow skills.
• Be realistic about what you can accomplish. Trying to tackle too much can be counterproductive. Make a list of the top things you want to work on over the summer. And be specific. For example: 鈥淥livia and I will read three books from her summer reading list and work on fractions for 20 minutes every day.鈥�
• Find creative ways to work on skills. You can support your child鈥檚 learning in all sorts of ways. Take a field trip to a local science museum. Help your child practice fractions and measurement while you cook together. You can even work on social skills and money management by having your child order and pay at a restaurant.

In addition to working on IEP goals, don鈥檛 forget the real-life learning opportunities your child has during summer vacation. It鈥檚 a good time to work on making friends and to . But remember to build in some downtime, too!

Key takeaways

• Breaking goals down into smaller skills makes them easier to work on.
• You can ask your child鈥檚 IEP team to suggest activities to support your child’s goals.
• You can reinforce learning in creative ways, like going to museums or cooking together.

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