As soon as summer rolls around, many parents and teachers start thinking ahead to the new school year. Often, there's a worry about how to "catch up" after a break, with the assumption that summer slows down learning. But the truth is, learning doesn’t stop when school’s out—it just looks a little different!
At Pitsco, we believe summer is full of opportunities to keep young minds active and inspired. We’re here to challenge the idea that summer is a setback and that STEM only happens inside a classroom. With the right tools and experiences, students can stay curious, engaged, and learning all year long—no matter the season.
Myth 1: Summer Causes Fall Test Regression
Sure, when fall testing starts and educators see lower scores than in spring, it’s hard not to assume that summer days dry up knowledge like a puddle in the sun. But summer doesn’t cause test regression—a lack of mental exercise does.
According to research on knowledge retention, students quickly forget information and skills that aren’t applied shortly after initial learning. If we want to boost test scores, we need to turn memorized facts into long-term knowledge. To do this, students need an opportunity to apply what they’re taught.
Just as easily as summer can be a break from the usual routine, it can also be a time of inspiration.
Instead of thinking about the season as lacking structure, we can think of it as providing more freedom to cater learning across environments, processing styles, and paces. Summer opens the possibility for flexible lessons and individualized learning at any time. When kids don’t have to change the way they learn to fit the class standard, they can grasp concepts more deeply. Combined with activities that both refresh and apply subject knowledge in a multisensory way, summer becomes the perfect environment to stimulate learning; the iSprowt Herb Garden Kit is the perfect solution.
With this all-inclusive kit, kids further explore concepts of plant life as they apply what they know in a fun, hands-on way. Through stories, videos, puzzles, and games, students practice science vocabulary and see what words mean in the natural world. These contexts aren’t just convincing hypotheticals either: kids grow their own basil, conduct experiments that demonstrate how plants absorb nutrients and photosynthesize, and dissect beans to discover the hidden plant inside.
When kids see how ideas connect to things they enjoy, it helps them remember and learn better.
Myth 2: Fun Learning Requires Tons of Resources
No parent wants to hear their child say “I’m bored” all summer. But it’s also true that most parents don’t have unlimited funds or access to classroom resources to keep every experience feeling exciting and informative.
The good news? There’s an alternative to running across town, scouring stores for all the materials your child needs for their bedroom lab (this was the summer they decided to indulge their inner mad scientist).
The Mazes STEM Boost Kit keeps all the room for STEM creativity without requiring a hundred spare parts (or a bill that size either). This kit has everything to complete the activities in one convenient place. Your kid’s favorite kitchen corner can become a spy’s headquarters or a hero’s den as they measure, draw, and design 2 and 3D mazes that inspire wild storylines and imaginative problem-solving. It’s a single resource that unlocks a whole world of activity.
Myth 3: Elementary-Grade Students Need Adult Facilitation
Looking for projects that kids can complete on their own?
With the Bird Feeders STEM Boost Kit, kids can open the box and start creating right away—no waiting, just hands-on fun from the start! It’s a project that helps kids practice independent thinking as they build their very own, usable bird feeder—no assistance required!
When children are able to make something tangible themselves, pride is written all over their faces, and as their confidence soars, so will their readiness to take on new challenges. Not only that, but when students feel capable with new tasks and subjects, their interest in those areas increases. This makes it easy to turn a child’s enthusiasm for a STEM project into an intriguing discussion about biology, engineering, and physics.
By the end of the day, your child will be all smiles, ready to say, look what I did!— and by the time school rolls around, their teacher will be hearing the same phrase.
This is the Summer Kids Do It All
Wherever summer is spent, it’s meant to be an adventure. We’re here to make sure nothing stands in the way. Why settle for either fun, affordable, accessible, or educational when kids can have it all in one? When teachers ask your child what they did this summer, planting a garden, creating and solving a maze, and building a bird feeder will be on that list. And when it’s time to get back to school, your kid will be ready—with a sharpened pencil and mind—to apply STEM skills like they never left the classroom.
Customize your summer STEM adventure. Explore the STEM Boost Kits and iSprowt Kits keeping hands busy and minds inspired all summer long.