We are your official back to school station! We are continuing our series with a look at ways you can help your kids get back into school mode. As NBC 15's Michelle Riell tells us, this is an important step you can take before school starts so your child is ready to learn!

For many kids, summers are spent sleeping in and forgetting a large part of what they learned the year before. Jay Affeldt says, "As fun as summer is, it means that a lot of that knowledge from the year before goes away." According to research, about 2 1/2 months of learning loss if you do nothing educational all summer long. Something Memorial High School teacher Jay Affeldt has seen over the years.

That's why he says it's important for kids to get their mental gears turning *before the first day of class. Kids can do that simply by reading. Affeldt says, "It can be complete fiction and have no meaning to any sort of anything they're working on in their life, but it can also be non fiction and something that really inspires them." Lisa Duffy who is with Sylvan Learning Center adds, "I wouldn't say strict school like things, but reading is definitely good, maybe a quick math worksheet you can get online." Online, probably where your kids already spend a lot of time. But now, you can encourage them to incorporate some fun *and educational games into their favorites. Duffy says, "I've also found some cool games like on yahoo games for spelling and math, just some very simple ones that are totally free." Affeldt adds, "There's a lot of students here that I know are addicted to text twist, which is an online scrabble sort of thing where you're looking at jumbled letters and trying to make words out of them. Anything like that that they find remotely entertaining that gets them more into something schoolish is really helpful."

There's also a free site that encourages kids to read and rewards them for their work. Duffy says, "There's a really awesome reading website called bookadventure.com, and there is all grade levels of books on there and they play fun games and quizzes that have to do with the books they've read and they can earn lots of prizes too on there."

Another thing parents can do is set up a routine for your child before school starts. Affeldt says, "Instead of starting their day at noon, to move that forward so when we expect them here at school at 7:30, 8:00 am that they're in the habit of getting up, getting ready to go and not only being here, but also being ready to learn. Being able to interact and think that early in the morning." Duffy adds, "Even the scheduled meal times or if there's a good homework time we can plan on, then have them sit down and say now's going to be homework time, so let's sit down and read for a little bit or just really get the student's mindset ready for the different schedule once school starts."

And, once you set a schedule, stick to it! The sooner students get into a routine, the more successful they'll be. Affeldt says, "Those things are all helpful just in getting that thought process going, the kind of things teachers are going to expect them to do on a regular and daily basis once school starts. Reading just kind of opens up that whole window of thought and creativity."

Sylvan Learning Center offers a free, downloadable activity book and math book that is not only fun, but designed to re-engage your child. Activities include math problems and a writing journal that encourages kids to think creatively and write about things they're interested in, like their favorite sport or TV show.

www.educate.com

www.bookadventure.com

http://games.yahoo.com/games/texttwist.html