Slides are fun, EXCEPT when they refer to learning loss. By the time a struggling reader reaches middle school, summer reading loss has accumulated a two year lag in reading achievement.

Benefits of Summer Programs
Regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic level or previous achievement, children who read four or more books over the summer fare better on reading-comprehension tests in the fall than their peers who read one or no books over the summer.
It is estimated that the "summer slide" accounts for as much as 85% of the reading achievement gap between lower income students and their middle and upper income peers.
Having reading role model parents or a large book collection at home has a greater impact on kids' reading frequency than does household income.
An overwhelming 92% of kids say they are more likely to finish a book they pick out on their own.