How to keep children learning outside of the classroom

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Meet Owen.

He's a spunky third grader at Conger Elementary in Delaware, and he's ready to hit the books for the new school year.

There's also Caitlyn Craycraft. She's a ninth grader at a central Ohio high school. The teenager said she spent the entire summer gearing up for a new opportunity at a much bigger school but admitted that she was a little nervous entering another year.

"[I] just don't know my teachers and [I] don't know if they're nice or not," she said.

Despite the anxiety, Owen and Caitlyn said they're ready to tackle a new set of classes. However, that's not the case for all students, especially after a nice break.

The concept of the "summer slide" has been researched by experts over the past few decades. According to one of the first studies , the p