Virtual Summer Camp for Learning

The demand for virtual summer camps started when coronavirus restrictions were in place, and parents were wondering how to fill in those long school holiday months. They were such a success, virtual summer camps have continued to gain popularity as a way to prevent learning loss in essential reading and maths skills over the summer months (the dreaded 'summer slide').

It doesn't take much time or effort to make sure your child doesn't fall behind in reading and maths over the summer break. Just half an hour a day can work to keep the summer slide away, and that includes time spent reading together and doing play‑based learning activities at home and even outside.

Preventing the summer learning slide

The summer slide is the academic setback children experience while indulging in non‑educational activities and screen time during the summer break. Experts warn that it significantly hinders kids' progress when they head back to school, and with the recent pandemic shutdowns that occurred, there is an even greater risk of overall learning loss.

Reading and maths are the biggest concerns for teachers. Studies show that summer learning loss in reading and maths tend to have a snowball effect as children experience subsequent skill loss each year. Younger children in Kindergarten through Year 3 are prone to the most learning loss because they're at a crucial stage in their development. Students learn the most in the first few years of school because learning follows a curve where it's accelerated early in life and then plateaus. Essential early reading, phonics and maths skills are very susceptible to the summer slide without frequent practice.

Check out our article with tips on how to prevent summer reading slide.

The perfect 'virtual camp' option for learning

Summer reading program for kids

Reading Eggs helps kids ages 2⁠–⁠13 develop and retain essential reading and phonics skills over the school break. Free reading and maths access for 30 days.

Reading Eggs is carefully designed by experienced primary educators and based on solid scientific research to help children learn to read.

The highly motivating, step‑by‑step program includes hundreds of self‑paced lessons, interactive phonics activities, multiple learning areas, and over 4000 e-books for children to explore. It also includes printable activity sheets so children can practise essential literacy skills offline too.

Children start by doing a short placement test, which matches them to the perfect starting level for their ability. They then complete the sequence of lessons while collecting exciting “golden egg” rewards, which they can use to purchase games, furniture, and clothing for their character and house.

Reading Eggs includes regular assessment tasks and quizzes to make sure kids achieve mastery in all core literacy areas, including phonics, sight words, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension. Parents can also view detailed progress reports and adjust their child's level in the family dashboard. However, the program is perfectly suitable for independent learning, which is very convenient for working parents and carers over the summer.

Summer maths program for kids

Mathseeds help kids ages 3⁠–⁠9 develop and retain essential maths skills using fun lessons that match your child's ability. Free reading and maths access for 30 days.

Mathseeds is designed by the same team of primary educators as Reading Eggs and covers essential early maths skills from preschool through Year 3.

Like Reading Eggs, the program is based on scientific research and proven learning principles to help kids master key maths concepts at their own pace. Children complete a placement test which matches them to the perfect starting level for their ability, while lessons progress at a comfortable pace.

Children travel through different maps and explore different virtual worlds as they play. The Mathseeds characters make the learning journey fun and highly motivating, with a variety of activities, fun songs, and exciting rewards to collect.

Both Reading Eggs and Mathseeds can be used on a desktop, iOS, and Android device, making learning possible anywhere over the summer months. You can add multiple children under the same account and each child will have their own profile and avatar. Progress is saved automatically so children can pick up right where they left off each time they log in.

Free summer learning resources

In addition to the online learning programs, Reading Eggs we offer a huge selection of free summer learning resources for reading and maths. Use the search filters to find detailed workbooks and activities for your child's level.

Why parents love Reading Eggs for summer learning in 2024

“I highly recommend this amazing program to teach and challenge your child. I see huge progress in English and Maths for my 5‑year‑old daughter. You can learn, play and do worksheets. Thank you, Reading Eggs!”

– Jenny, Verified Reviewer

“This program is amazing, especially during this world pandemic. I'm happy to say my son is doing well! My son is 6 years old and has missed out on months of his kindergarten year and this is definitely making up for it! He is also autistic and it's so good for him to have so much fun doing his work.”

– Monica, Verified Reviewer