If you're looking for ways to ensure that your kids and mentees don't fall backward next summer, start planning and thinking about "soft skills" training now. Better yet, become an "education coach" and treat learning like a fun game.

Carrie Jasper, director of outreach to parents and families at the U.S. Department of Education, blogs about avoiding summer problems on the department's website (ed.gov)—with tips that will help your child learn and develop needed "hard" and "soft" skills year-round.

Here are her ideas on playing coach:

• Set goals—What will you and your child accomplish by a set time?  Examples:  "After two weeks, we will know how to count by twos to 50," or, "After one week we will know how to print your first name."

• Practice—Take 15 to 20 minutes a day to work on each goal. Talk about the importance of practice and grit—patience and resilience—in making steady progress.

• Put some plays into effect—Look for different ways to apply the skills being developed. Example: Take your child to the store and have her add up the items you purchased.

• Make some touchdowns that will make a difference in their upcoming school year. Help your child see how what he or she has done over the summer that will put him ahead in the fall. Get a workbook or reading book at the grade level in which he or she will be. By mid-summer, take out the book and let her begin to work on the areas she has been practicing.

• Take your team on the road—Have fun and incorporate learning into a summer adventure. Example: Visit a museum, zoo, aquarium, beach or park. Look at maps together and identify where you will visit and how far you will travel. Have your child draw and write about their favorite parts of the trip in the order the events happened.

• Celebrate—Have a mid-summer (or mid-school year) reward and really celebrate all the goals set that your champion has accomplished!

In a separate post, Jasper explains the all-important "soft skills" that so many employers today complain that young job applicants and new employees often lack—and that 77 percent of employers say are just as important as more technical skills. By focusing on the following soft skills—versus the "hard skills" of, say, learning math—year-round and especially during the summer, parents and mentors can help children prepare well for college and the job market.

Here are Jasper's suggestions.

• Work ethic—This is also known as "grit." Grit allows us to keep going and not give up. Give your child a difficult task to complete and encourage them throughout the process to not give up and teach them how to bounce back from failure.

• Goal Setting—Have your child write goals for each week and then have them check them off as they get done and celebrate success!

• Dependability—Make your child responsible for tasks that they can complete independently. Give them a chance to be the leader at a family meeting, or decision-maker for family activities for a day.

• Positive attitude—Create a gratitude calendar with your child where each day, they write down one thing they are grateful for in their lives.

• Teamwork—Get your child involved with athletics or other activities where they will need to work as a part of a team. Create family and friend activities where all members must work together to accomplish a fun task.

• Problem solving—Think about ways to make everyday routines and activities a puzzle, such as leaving clues around the house that lead kids to solving puzzles while doing chores. Have them interact with online simulations to solve problems.

• Reflection—Help your child begin a journal. Each day, have them write about the events of the day, observations in nature or things they have learned. Younger students can use pictures to express thoughts.

• Communication—Create opportunities for your child to speak to you, family and friends. Use pictures, online field trips, role-play scenarios or educational videos as conversation starters to get your child thinking and talking. Don't forget: The best way to teach vital "soft skills" is to model them daily.