right now right now on news 4 this drain andsummer brain how to prevent it. more than two months off from school means months of lost progress, but it doesn't have to be that way. we're going to show you some tips from empowering your phon the apps you can download right no to help you learn new skills and new languages, and staying healthy including getting your eep rkt avoiding too much of those summer junk foods and getting some exercise. this special edition of news 4 this weekve preing brain drain begins right now. welcome to news 4 this week. >> and hello,everyone, i'm leon harris. it is summer and that means kids

ded breaking a much n from homework and tests, but experts say a summer free of learning can erase months of progress in the classroom. recently on news 4, our doreen gentzler asked the experts aut ways to p the summer brain drain. through this next half hour, we're going to share doreen's stories once again. things you can do now to keep unwind from school and . settle iumo sr vacation mode. >> research shows kids can lose up to two and a half months of progress in langua, ad math. >> ann dolan is a former fairfax county schooleacher and mother. she's also the founder of educational connection, an in-home tutoring service. one of the best ways to keep kids mentally sharp is by reading. >> that is really the start, engaging kids, t even signim up for your local good old fashioned library program where

they can be incentivized andte moti to read books this they love. >>f a reluctant reader, audio books are a good option too. >> stues showhat that's just as positive and helpful than reading books independently. newnd teaching your child a skill over the summer like cooking is another easy way to integrateh into their day. >>n if it's oh, can you measure a half a cup of what's half of a half a cup,enetting themged. asking them to measu the ingredients is a very easy way to incorporate math. >> look for creative ways to bring the classroom into your home with flash acards. >>time you can have that part to learning and not just a thatitory part by reciting facts, you're more likely to cement it into your memory. >> how abo a multiplication beach ball? >> it's fantastic. the way you playth iw it to your child, wherever their left

thumb lands where they catch it, they have to say the facts to you. so 3 times 3 is 9. research shows kids retained info it comes to math facts 30% more when they're up and moving. dolan says the bottom line for parents is to plan ahead to makes are ready. > don't wait until the last minute, which is often what happens. my child hasn't read a book i or forgot about that math packet due at the beginning of school. >> teachers spend about four to eight weeks every fallev rwing material students have forgotten over the summer. putting in the time now will definitely pay off later. speaking of brain drain, those digital devices that all of us seem to have can cause o plenty it. if they're used e rig way, all of the screens can help avoid the summer learning slide. wreen shows us four different apps thatl keep your kids'

minds moving. >> as a pare, we want to find this balance between trying too hard and, you know, asking your kids to do work sheets every day and then doingothing at all. >> letting your child zone out on cartoons or videoes gam can lead to summer brain drain and a loss of learning. >> many teachers complained that they have topend a tremendous amount of time reviewing because the students that come back t a lost abe the nning. >> and that's where technology can come into play. ann dolan runs a local tutoring service called education connections. she says those digital devices your kids love can be used strategically to learn a new skill and inspire their curiosity. >> duo lingo helps kids of all ages learn a foreign language. i was talking to my mom the other day and she said her 5-year-old is just obsessed with learning german because of duo lingo, and he does it completely independently. it's so engaging and like a

video gam format that kids love using it. >> for middle school children, try skill share, the app teaches kids how to do calligraphy, photography, how to cook different recipes. there are thousands of courses on this app, some of them are free. another app called sky view encourages kids to look up and learn by engaging witthe stars. >> this is fascinating, especially for kids that love science or if you want your child to be interested in astronomy. te their iphone and ipad and point it up to the sky. it can identify constellations, star patterns or satellites that kids can learn allbout just by shooting and pointing and learni about astronomy. >> and conde acamy is a esnonprofit educational rrce that's backed by the bill and melinda gates itfoundation. has thousands of inructional videos for students from kindergarten through earlymollege years fro coding and music to math and history lessons.

>> key point here, parents ndould set limits when it comes to how mucs spen their screens. make sure the devices are all turned off an hour before bedtime. >> when we come back, our brain drain special continues with a look at summer sleep schedules. is it okay to let the kids sleep in past noon, and ho we'll hear some surprising new research on bed times. plus, summer weight gain, and why kidsre more likely to pack on the pounds this time of theier. who'sost at risk, and what you o keep it from

mom's finally finding her sea legs, and she's about 10 minutes from a hotel by wyndham. he's having the best. day. ever! and he's about 10 minutes from a wyndham. with over 6,000 hotels across the country, a great hotel by wyndham is closer than you think. visit wyndhamhotels.com. . welcome backci to our spe edition of news 4 this week. doreen gentzler is taking us through the many different things you can do right now to idck sure your k are ready for school in the fall. it shouldn't be a big surprise that sleep has a lot to do with w much you learn when you're awake, but you may be surprised to learn it's not just how long you sleep but what time your kiep go to sle and what time

they wake up. doreen walks us through the new research, which may have you rethinking that bedtime routine. >> these clocks in our body tell us when to go to sleep. >> it's so easy to get off sc wdule in the summertimehen you don't have the structure of school or morning routines. those changes can really throw off your child's internal alarm clock. >> so young children, there's a strong tendency for them to want to go to bed earlier and wak up earlier. putting a very young child to bed very, very late is problematic. it just does not fit with their body clock. just as putting an adolescent to bed at 8:00 or 9:00 at night is problemac because they just can't fall asle that early. >> dr. danny lieu is the associate medical director here in d.c. he says it's not just about how long your children are sleeping but also what time they'reoing to bed. >> we tend to think about only duration, but it's really critical to think about when we're sleeping as a critical mponent of sleep health,

mental health, learnial, physhealth. >> children's national is par a publish research on optimal bed times based on a child's age. it builds off recommendations that many parents already use from the american academy of fe ed yac. guidelines call for babies to sleep from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a. with several additional hours factored in for nap. toddlers should go to bed around 6:00 p.m. andesprchoolers should aim for a 6:30 bedtime getting 11 to 13 hours of sleep. get them in bed by 7:30. they need about 12 hours of sleep and should avoid taking naps. 8 to 12-year-olds may not be ready for bed until 8:00,while teenagers just aren't wired to go to sleep until 9:30 or 10:30. dr. lewen says the key is

suven in the er, or it can lead to a phenomenon called social jet lag. wild time free zone not be to stay up as late as you want, if they're delaying their time by three or more hours, it's kind of like they're living in california on the weekends ask then they have to come back to the east coast for school on monday morning. we know that our bod well for t. >> those dramatic shifts in sleep can lead to swings, changes in a and trouble concentrating. our metabolism isn't functigop immune system is not functioning optimally. >> it's okay to let teenagers sleep in and stay up a little later in the summer, but try to keep it within one hour of their rmal bedtime and normal wake-up times. >> when we come back after a break, summer vacation doesn't mean taking a vacation from your

tr special brain drain series continues withs to keep your kids eating right. >> plus,dvice from personal trainer on keeping your whole including fun and easy exercis

dale's little girl is heading to college. luckily her dorm is about 10 minutes

from a hotel bwyndham. ashley's meeting all her in-laws, and she's about 10 minutes from a wyndham. with over 6,000 hotels across the country, a great hotel by wyndham is closer than you think. visit wyndhamhotels.com. with over 6,000 hotels across the country, lc welcome back to our news 4 this week specialti on preven thatr brain drain. the summer months mean sleeping in and staying up late, and they probably also mean eating a little bit more than normal, and

a little bit lessn healthy tha normal as well. in fact, research shows that kids are more likely toain weight during the summer, especially african-amerin and hispanic children, but there are some simple things you can do to savor the summer without tipping the scales. once again, here's doreen gentzler. >> if someone said try this, it's good for you, the first respon is going to be yuck. >> getting kids to eat healthy can be challenging with summer camps, vacations, long days at the pool, be there are s simple things you can do at home to encourage smart decisions, and it starts with where you keep your fo placement in the rr and freezer and counter are critical. studies show if they are visible and grabable, that's when children and adue more likely to at something. >> katherine is a registered dietitian and the author of "diet simple." to promote healthy habits she tells parents tonake childre part of the process from grocery

shopping to pre the meanst - meals at home, and try to keep m times consistent, even on vacation. >> that's one of the reasons people gain weight when they're not atk or nott school. they don't eat at their regular times, and when you skip breakfast, that's going to make you hungrier later and less particular perhaps about your choices. the ryou're hitting try to plan ahead to avoid stopping at fast food restaurants th line all the exits on your way to the beac >> we've gotten out of the habit of packing food. put some peat butter and jelly sandwiches in there, put in some yogurt and a bunch offruit. >> and even though ice cream can be veryard to resist in the summer. >> so thi is made with cherries. >> look for healthier alternatives like fruit frozen fruit s or pop sickles, for younger kids

especially, you have to focus on the nutritional value, instead focus on how good it tastese seeating ahe crry and say oh, my god thiss taslike e blueberries arehe best i've had. and the child says hey, what about me? you can resst veggi to perfection s that even carrots tae like french fries. >> now, that may not work as ll with teenagers, but young kids can't aff bad habits. >> nutrition is especially important when you're growing, developing. all your organs are developing.o your brain, heart. >> and it's important to stay hydrated during the summer, so encourage your kid to drink lots of water. experts also say to eat more meals at home since restaurant a cs no matter how oaded with healthy they look. you can do all the healthy eating you want, but if you don't exercise, it's not going to get you too far.

when we come back, the four exercises you can do on the go toeep your family fit this . -off.

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welcome back to news 4 this week. we've been telling you how to help your kids prevent the summer brain drain. we already talked about eating healthier during the summer, but what about exercising? nobody's doing that onvacation, right? doreen spoke with a personal trainer who's a mother of three, and she has four easy exercises you can do with your kids to stay healthy and active all summer long. >> we kind of go out of our regular routines and we're not sleeping properly, eating whatever we see. >> summertime is the perfect time to relax and unwind, but if you're notcareful, the change in schedules can wreak havoc on your family's health. a new study publishe in journal of the academy o nutrition and dietetics finds tot children are more likely gain weight during summer break.

researchers say it happens when kids fill up on sugary drinks and carbs and cut back on their fruits and vegetables. a personal and the owner of break away fitness in mcclain, virginia. home for summer break, it's kind of hard to hive summer acties especially with two working parents. we have to set aside tim for activity, at least an hour a day for children. >> she encourages her clients to work out together as a family and showed us some easy exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home or even on vacation in a hotel room. t andy don't require any equipment or machinery. >> and you would just step out, go slow, keep your hips down, step in, up. you can do this anywhere at any time. >> a simple push-up with a shoulder tap. she demonstrated this with her 10-year-old son gordon. >> i'm working my core, elbows , chest right to the bench.

okay? whatever you have, you have a bed, a chair, something. >> your family can also try a three-way lung with a squat or a wall si both work the lower body. >> here we go again, side, side, back, back, and then hit the squat, again, to make thisny a more challenging, add weight. you're going to go lean against the wall, and y're going to have a 90 degree bend in your knees. try to keep your elbows and arms as close to the wall as possible, and you're going to reach up and try to touch the hands together, keeping your arms as close to the wall as . possible looks, y harder than it but you'll really feel a good retch in your upper back and shoulders. >> aim for 10 to 15 reps of each exercise fou times each. the best advice, set aside time each day for family walks or bike rides to help everybody calories.energy and >> because children need time ta

move be active, and if you can do that with them, it's a win-win for everybody. >> studies show that children and teens consume more junk food if they're spending hours at home in front o a screen, and that's why staying active is so key. from diet and exercise to sleep hedules and educationalools to stay mentally sharp, you can look back at our week long series on preventing summer brain drain. we posted a you will of our st our website and on our app. thanks so much for watching us on news 4 this week. enjoy the rest of your summer. school and the cooler weather, that's all going to be back soon going to all be back sotn. have a greek. choosing my car insurance was the easiest decision ever.

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