School Is Out But The Learning (and FUN) Doesn’t Have To Stop!

The end of the school year may have come but you don’t have to let the learning stop! Continue creating learning experiences that feel like fun and spark creativity this summer. We’ve got our top list of ways to do JUST THAT!

Fun Ways To Learn Where The Kids Don’t Even Realize It’s Educational

Keeping kids engaged and learning during the long summer break can be achieved through a variety of fun, hands-on activities, toys, adventures, and experiences that spark curiosity and build on their interests. You can start by focusing on topics and things they enjoy and then you can reinforce research, reading, and critical thinking skills in an enjoyable way as they experience learning through play.

Hands On Manipulatives And More

Learning through hands-on manipulatives, (or physical manipulatives (PMs)), involves using tangible objects that help engage students in learning. These come in particularly handy in math, science, and literacy. This approach aids in concrete understanding, enhances engagement, and promotes deeper learning by allowing kids to physically interact with and explore concepts, making things more real to them!

Miracle Gro Wheelbarrow and Garden Toolset

The Miracle-Gro Wheelbarrow and garden toolset is the perfect educational toy for any of the young gardeners in your life. Gardening is a wonderful way to enhance a child’s playtime but also a lifelong skill.

This Miracle-Gro Wheelbarrow and gardening set has been specially designed for kids and proudly showcases the brand’s iconic colors while offering your child hours of joy while fostering skill development.

Featuring handles tailored for small hands, it’s both easy and safe to grip. Perfect for summertime fun and learning, this kid-sized wheelbarrow and tools set mimics real gardening tools, allowing young gardeners to dig, plant, and explore the outdoors and assist with their yard work. Built to handle the rough and tumble of energetic play, this set also encourages hands-on exploration, creativity, and skill development. (Buy It: BJs.com)

KOMARC GAMES StickiKubes

Perfect for honing physical and mental skills, StickiKubes are mini stacking cubes that stick to anything except fabric. Kids can use them to make their own custom 2D and 3D designs. They provide endless entertainment while the kids also get to explore creative architectural play. Best part? They never lose their ‘sticky’! If they get dirty, simply rinse with water or wash with soap, and they’re like new…every time! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

LEGO® Botanicals: Tiny Wildflower Bouquet

This new LEGO Botanicals series features micro-scale versions of popular LEGO sets everyone loves. Each small box includes enough elements for an adorable mini build, perfect for display on a shelf, desk, or bookcase.

Based on the popular LEGO Botanicals, you can use the elements in the Wildflower Bouquet kit to build a tiny collection of flowers including Gerber Daisy, Larkspur, Lavender, Welsh Poppies, and more! A companion 32-page book includes build instructions and fun facts for every flower in the bouquet.

It’s a great way to kick off a botanicals unit study! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

MindWare Marble Run 110 Piece Building Set

Exercise 3-dimensional thinking while putting your creative problem-solving skills to the test! The possibilities of play are endless. Twistier turns, trickier tricks and taller towers create a hands-on physics lesson like no other. With a motorized elevator, obstacles and trick pieces, this marble run kicks creativity up a notch.  Kids can practice building taller, trickier marble runs with this deluxe set.

The 110 Piece Elevator Marble Run set includes Marble Run stunt pieces such as a spinner slide, marble jump, double funnel and track splitter and much more! The best part is that all pieces are compatible with Mindware’s original set.

If you’re looking for building toys for your young engineer, stop the elevator. This is one of the best STEM toys for kids looking for continuous marble action. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Wise Block Building Toys Off Road Stunt Racer

Build it, drive it, tear it apart, and do it all over again! This stem building toy vehicle kit, which includes 498 pieces, is super fun for kids.

The 2.4 GHz Radio and high performance motor of the off road RC Car enables kids to control the vehicle’s flexibly for outdoor and indoor playing.

In addition to following the manual to build this off road RC truck, kids can build their own RC stunt cars according to their preferences as they cultivate their creativity and imagination too. All the while, they’ll be learning practical skills and hand-eye coordination will be improved during building these stem toys. (Buy It: Walmart.com)

Reusable Water Bomb balloons

Are you wondering ‘how can a water ballon fight be educational’? Well it can be! Team the kids up, have a board to tally ‘strikes’, and get ready to get wet!

Education has never been more fun and tracking ‘hits’ is a great way to practice math, counting tally marks, and working on counting by 5s. My kids LOVE when we practice math this way. Plus, it’s a great way to cool down on a hot day. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

TOSY Magnet Cube 4×4

Featuring 560 rare earth magnets (8 magnets in each corner of the cube), the TOSY Magnet Cube can be rotated and rearranged in any way, allowing you to explore the cube inside out, and improve your puzzle solving skills.

Users can build impressive shapes and structures from your vivid imaginations using the 70 included magnetic blocks, which is a great way to encourage brain activity and improve dexterity and creative thinking skills.

Finally, kids can also use this magnet cube as four transformable Fidget Spinners, eight customizable Infinity Cube, or a real-life 2D and 3D falling blocks puzzle game. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Marvel Super Hero Trainer – Interactive Fitness Toy for Kids

You want the kids to get active, right? Well, now they can complete missions alongside their favorite iconic Heroes of the Marvel Universe such as Spiderman, Captain America, Black Widow, and Iron Man as they share advice to help you throughout your journey.

Using its motion detection technology, Marvel Super Hero Trainer will recognize your movements as you crawl, fight and jump to victory against the villains. Including 10 interchangeable Hero Tokens, each token unlocks unique sound effects and lights, creating an immersive superhero training experience that keeps kids engaged as they interact with their favorite Marvel characters. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Lego Stationery Creativity Set with Duck Building Toy

Explore endless creativity with this LEGO Stationery Creativity Set; designed to allow you to build, draw, and color numerous duck variations. Attach your unique duck to the end of the marker and let the fun begin! This set includes a gel pen, markers, 25 different building instruction coloring sheets, and a 10-piece LEGO duck build. It features LEGO bullet sticky notes for planning your builds and adhesive backing to display your drawings proudly. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Tytan Official Disney Frozen Magnetic Tile Castle

Build, design, play, and explore with magnets with Tytan’s Official Disney Frozen Magnetic Tile Castle. This 68-piece magnetic tile set featuring authentic Frozen-themed designs inspired by Arendelle’s magical world, making it a great choice for Frozen fans of all ages.

Some tiles feature beautiful glitter accents, adding a shimmering touch that brings the Frozen castle to life and enhances imaginative play. For added playability, kids can decorate, draw, and customize their castle with reusable dry erase decals and three colorful markers.

This STEM set offers skill building including: problem-solving, creativity, and fine motor skills while introducing kids to early engineering and architectural concepts in a fun, hands-on way. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

KOKODI LCD Writing Tablet

Whether sketching, making lists, free-drawing, practicing spelling and math, or just doodling; this writing board is a handy tool for all ages.

This LCD writing tablet has a unique unicorn shaped design that kids love, but KOKODI has several other designs available as well. With the lanyard to attach, your kids are able to get the stylus when using the Drawing Tablet anytime and anywhere. NO worry about losing the stylus any more! Just use it to write, draw, calculate, scribble, doodle and draft anything you want!

We love these boards and use them both at home and on the go. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Super Wings Transformable Toys 4-Pack

The Super Wings team is always ready to transform and use teamwork on any mission to rescue, help, and teach kids about the languages and cultures of the world.

This fun toy set features 4 fan-favorite characters in the 5” transform-a-bot scale: Jett, Paul, Astra and Donnie. Each 5″ figure transforms from plane to poseable robot in a few simple steps. Children can reenact and enjoy the transformation while watching the popular TV show — Or create their own new rescue adventures with their imagination!

Great for manipulative and imaginative play, my kids LOVE these toys! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Disney Stitch Sticki Rolls

Get ready for an intergalactic adventure with the newest addition to the Sticki Rolls lineup. In collaboration with Disney, Sticki Rolls proudly introduces the Disney’s Stitch Sticki Rolls Collection.

Featuring one-of-a-kind designs inspired by Stitch’s lovable antics and Hawaiian life, this collection brings wearable sticker fun to a whole new level.The limited-edition release is packed with exclusive stickers and accessories, perfect for fans of all ages to collect, wear, and share! (Buy It: FiveBelow.com)

LEGO® Botanicals: Tiny Desert Garden

Another great option for that botanicals unit study is this Tiny Desert Garden! This beautiful set includes over 50 LEGO® pieces to create and customize your very own desert garden, plus a 32-page book packed with facts and tips on cacti and succulents. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Exploration, Imagination, And Fun

Learning through imagination and exploration involves using mental imagery and creativity to deepen understanding and enhance retention of information. By visualizing concepts, creating scenarios, and connecting new knowledge to existing experiences, learners can make learning more engaging and memorable. Exploratory play is a perfect compliment to imagination as it allows children to learn about the world and the effect they can have on the environment and things around them.

Zipstring Rope Launcher Toy

The Zipstring is an amazing, jaw-dropped toy that ALL AGES love! I kid you not, from our 2 year old foster son to the adults, people just can’t keep their hands off this one.

Buckle up for the ZipString experience! This thing is not your average toy—it’s an absolute blast that even caught the attention of the Shark Tank crew.

Whether you’re into playful lasso games, mind-boggling finger tricks that will leave your friends shocked, or creating enchanting magic loops that will mesmerize everyone around you, ZipString has got your back.

Portable and fun, this little gem is not just for play —it’s an imagination booster that will take you on a journey through the realms of propeller dynamics and the science of levitation. It’s like having your own personal museum of mind-blowing spinning and flying adventures, all right at your fingertips. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

KOKODI Digital Camera for Kids

Create a bucket list of all the things the kids want to capture and then hand them this adorable camera to do just that!

The KOKODI kids camera comes equipped with 48MP dual-camera, 8x digital zoom, and 1080P HD video resolution. Your kids can take landscape photos and also take selfies! This digital camera can easily achieve auto focus, capture wonderful happy moments for your kids, cultivate their creativity, and imagination and realize the little photographer’s dream! It’s the perfect addition to a busy summer of learning and fun. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Mindware Oh So Fun! Pop-Up Firefly Tent

Let your imagination run wild under a canopy of twilight skies and glow-in-the-dark fireflies. This indoor tent is absolutely gorgeous and sure to bring about a variety of adventures. My kids love hiding out in here with their books on rainy summer days as it allows them to feel like they’re still having an adventure (and I love knowing they’re still learning!). (Buy It: Mindware.OrientalTrading.com or Amazon.com)

Mindware Oh So Fun! Bear Sleeping Bag

Whether you use this sleeping bag as an intro to teaching about bears or to make a rainy day story time a little cozier and inviting, the Oh So Fun! Bear Sleeping Bag is where it’s at! Made of soft, plush materials and stitched with high-quality embroidery, this long-lasting kids’ sleeping bag just as comfortable as it is adorable. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

TOSY Magnet Pyramid Glow

Get ready to unlock your endless creativity and relax your mind! This STEAM accredited toy offers many benefits for all, including kids 6+, teenagers, and adults: encouraging brain activity, increasing dexterity, relieving stress and anxiety, improving geometry, and creative thinking skills.

You can even build larger and more impressive shapes by collecting and connecting multiple magnetic pyramid blocks. Featuring 243 rare earth magnets, an included UV Flashlight to make the holographic stickers glow even brighter and longer, and the spinner accessor; the playability and possibilities for innovative transformations are almost endless. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Super Wings Dizzy Rescue Helicopter Hospital Playset

Check out this brand-new rescue helicopter from Dizzy, which has the ability to transform from helicopter to hospital mode and can save or help the little pets! Super cute with lots of playability for those active little imaginations; this set is a must have for Super Wings fans.

Featuring more than 20 accessories, this set also has 2 modes of play; helicopter mode and hospital mode. When transformed into the helicopter mode, there are 3 areas to play including: inspection area, patient waiting area, and medical treatment. It’s the best pretend doctor set for kids to satisfy all their imagination of being a doctor/nurse/veterinarian. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

KOKODI Kids Smart Phone Toys

My toddlers LOVE these ‘kids’ smart phones’! (And I love how they offer some fun, education, singing, and play WITHOUT access to the internet.)

With photoing and videoing, kids can freely capture any moment they want. And exclusive features include ABC, stories, painting, and more to cultivate empathy and foster logical thinking skills. Besides, habits help children manage time and help them feel less overwhelmed and in turn, make them feel more accomplished and confident in completing tasks throughout all areas of life.

The 13 pre-installed educational puzzle games, three game modes: easy, normal, and hard, thousands of music, and hundreds of stories all come together to deliver a fun, interactive toy that’s perfect for long car rides, waiting for appointments, and rainy days. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Playmobil Giant Shark with Pirate

Asking kids what they’re interested in and then pursuing a specific topic is a great way to have long-lasting learning. The next time your child says they want to learn about sharks, snag this Playmobil Giant Shark with Pirate, head to the library for some books, watch a documentary on sharks, and really dive deep on this topic!

This monstrous shark and a sneaky pirate just might lurk in the deep waters of the pirate world. On his ride through the seven seas, you’ll notice how the pirate holds on to the monster shark’s net with his sabre drawn. What adventures await here? Only you can decide! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Nex Playground

It’s the new game in town! The NEX Playground is no ordinary gaming system. Nex redefines family entertainment by combining physical activity with immersive gameplay.

This active play system transforms your living room into an interactive gaming space, thanks to motion-sensing technology. It’s essentially a game console that tracks your body movements to control gameplay, eliminating the need for traditional controllers. The system connects to a TV via HDMI and utilizes an ultra-wide angle camera to capture player movements.

Straight from the box, you can begin to play the five included games. Or snag a PlayPass for unlimited access to their entire gaming library featuring characters and brands you know and love! (Learn More: Full NEX PlayGround Review Or Buy It: Amazon.com)

South Beach Bubbles

Learning through bubble play offers numerous developmental benefits for children, including enhancing motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and visual tracking. Plus, it’s great for all ages! (Come on, even us adults enjoy them!) It also fosters cognitive skills like cause and effect, problem-solving, and spatial reasoning.

Bubble play also encourages social interaction and communication skills as children share experiences and learn to take turns. Bubbles also demonstrate several scientific principles, including surface tension, surface area, and light reflection. Check out some of our FAVORITE bubble (learning) and play options.

The PoppinColorz Cozmic: Color Bubble Blaster set includes the bubble gun blaster and four non-toxic bubbles solutions (1 pink, 1 blue, and 2 are classic clear). No dipping needed, these non-toxic bubbles vanish magically and wash off easily, ensuring hassle-free play. Kids love how the easy click trigger is hassle free and simple enough for the little ones to manage. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

This uniquely designed bubble blaster offers a fun twist to the standard bubble gun. (While some people use for gender reveals, because it would be PERFECT for that too), the kids think the design is HILARIOUS and love the never ended bubble play. (Buy It: SouthBeachBubbles.com)

The Hydra Color Bubble Blaster is not your ordinary bubble blaster, it’s also a water gun powerhouse! Load it up with the innovative color bubble refill and turn any outdoor space into an epic bubble battleground. The kids just can’t get enough and constantly say how awesome it is how this blaster combines bubble-blasting and water gun fun, and the different bubble solutions make everything even more exciting. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Make bubble learning and play EASY. Just add water to turn this concentrated bubble refill into 1 full gallon of long-lasting bubble solution. Safe and non-toxic, the easy-pour spout and built-in bubble solution dispenser for clean, spill free use. This resealable pouch keeps solution fresh, and the carry handle makes on the go bubble play simple and fun. I love it WAY more than bulky plastic bottles! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Games, Games, And MORE Games

Game-based learning is a fantastic teaching method that utilizes the power of games to define and support learning outcomes. A GBL environment (at home, school, or ANYWHERE) works to achieve this through games that have elements such as engaging gameplay, immediate rewards, and healthy competition. This can make students’ motivation to learn soar.

Mindware Math Sandwich & Alphabet Soup Games: Set of 2

I am a HUGE Peaceable Kingdom games fan! The kids and I have been playing them for years and give high accolades. So when I saw this dynamic duo, I had to include them in my roundup.

Alphabet Soup: Roll the dice and challenge yourself to spell a word in Alphabet Soup! Players get three tries to roll three dice in hopes of spelling out a three-letter word. Players collect a word card for each word formed, giving children a sense of accomplishment as they watch their pile growing! This game is perfect for engaging young minds in preschool learning activities and kindergarten learning games. It helps develop essential skills such as reading, learning sight words and mastering spelling while having a blast.

Math Sandwich: Kids can get ready to open their very own sandwich shop! This deliciously educational game lets children explore mathematical concepts while they build sandwiches from durable felt food pieces. Kids will practice counting and adding as they follow the menu cards to place colorful vegetable, meat and cheese items on each sandwich. With over 100 food pieces, they can experiment with a wide variety of sandwich combinations, counting as they go! Play alone or use the guest check tablet to take orders from customers of your pretend restaurant. (Buy It: Mindware.OrientalTrading.com)

Tummple! Wooden Block Stacking Tower Game

Test your wits, dexterity, and strategic thinking to the max with the game of Tummple. It will have you on the edge of your seat with each turn as you attempt to place your brick or block the other players. Stack, strategize, and triumph in a game of skill (with a little luck). Great for building strategic thinking skills! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

World Of Eric Carle

This unique game is based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Bakeshop A Peek-Through Book. It offers interactive play, memory building, and find motor skills tuning. An engaging and educational game for preschoolers ages 3 and up, players take turns flipping over colorful Bake Shop Cards, racing to ring the Bell when they find a match. Each match includes the number of baked goods on the Card, adding a layered learning aspect to the game for a parent/guardian and child. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

The Game of Pay Day

Get ready for an entertaining family night in without electronics! It is never too early to start teaching your children about making money, paying bills, making investments, selling property – or about going into debt. Thanks to the Payday, it can all start here. Roll the die and make your way around the 31 day calendar game board. Try to get as many deals as you can, find a buyer, maybe win the lottery, and get your Pay Day at the end of the month. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Guess Who?

There’s a mystery person on your opponent’s card. Can you find the matching face in the crowd. Guess Who is a light game of deduction best suited for young kids. This classic game with all your favorite characters is sure to keep the kids busy for hours at a time. It’s truly a family favorite around here and never gets old! The kids LOVE challenging my husband and I to Guess Who? matches! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Jumbo, Stratego – Junior Dinos

My boys are HUGE fans of Stratego so I just had to feature this Jumbo, Stratego – Junior Dinos edition.

The classic game of Stratego is ready for the next generation. Stratego Junior allows budding gamers to play the famous game two ways Stratego Quest (ages 4+) is a memory game where players roll the die to try and find matching colored dinosaurs on the board. In Stratego Triumph (ages 6+), players are ready for a Dino battle. Simply move and attack for command of the board and – but watch out for rocks and meteors. First to find the missing dinosaur egg wins! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Classic Twister

It’s the game that will have you up and off your tush! Who doesn’t remember playing Twister as a kid? The Twister game is for adults and kids! Classic Twister gameplay challenges players to place their hands and feet on the correct spots without falling and will have you twisting and turning; not to mention laughing! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Classic Chutes And Ladders 

Number recognition and counting are two great skills for younger kids to practice during the summer and this classic game is perfect for both. No reading required, the numbers on the game board give preschoolers all they need to know! When players land on good deeds, they can climb ladders and advance toward the winning spot. If they land on bad deeds, they will lose their place and ride the chutes back down. Featuring the charming graphics you know and love, it’s a trip down memory lane for adults too. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Vango The UpsideDownChallenge Game Backyard Edition

This summer, game night is about to be flipped upside down, LITERALLY! In this unique game, players attempt to complete seemingly easy activities such as tossing a ball into a cup, stacking cups into a pyramid, and even just walking through an obstacle course made out of rings while wearing googles that flip your vision upside down.

Interactive and fun, it’s a fantastic option for game night, backyard barbecues, and picnics that will create hours of laughter and entertainment while trying your hand at a variety of skills. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Classic Yahtzee with Retro Artwork

Classic Yahtzee is the best-selling and most famous dice game of all-time. A little bit of luck and a little bit of deciphering skill makes this game irresistible for all ages. It’s also perfect for math and counting practice. And did you know that the odds of rolling a “Yahtzee” (5 OF A KIND) on your first roll are 1295 to 1?! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Pass The Pigs Big Pigs

If you’re a Pass The Pigs fan, then you’ll love Big Pigs! These oversized foam swines land in all the same kooky poses that the original tabletop Pigs do! Same great game in JUMBO SIZED FUN! Pick up these fabulous foam swines and give them a toss. You’ll score points based on how they land. Sider, Trotter, Razorback, Snouter – or maybe even the crazy Leaning Jowler! Roll and count to your heart’s desire and dare. But watch out! You PIG OUT and you’ll lose your points for the round and if you roll an OINKER, you’re back to zero. This fast pace game is super exciting and crazy so kids don’t even realize they’re practicing counting skills while playing! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

That Color Speaks to Me

How well do you know your opponents? You’ll be a winner if you match their crazy answer cards with the correct color that “speaks to them!” If you’ve got at least 3 players, you can be laughing and playing in no time. And with over 400 different colors, you’ll never run out of ways to describe how the “color speaks to you.” (Buy It: Amazon.com)

HI-Ho Cherry-O

For over 60 years parents and children have been loving Hi-Ho! Cherry-O. I remember playing this fun game with my cousin every time I would visit her house. The rules are simple, with no reading needed. Children just spin the spinner to determine how many cherries to pick from their tree. First one to fill their bucket wins! But be careful for the bird or dog, as players must put 2 cherries back onto their tree. And if you land on spill your bucket, everything goes back. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Monopoly The Mega Edition

Bigger, faster, and our family thinks SO MUCH BETTER; Monopoly The Mega features 12 additional spaces, Train Depots, and Skyscrapers. How could the game play faster? Well, thanks to the SPEED DIE, a full game will only take about 90 minutes! Players buy, sell, wheel, and deal their way to riches – quickly. This game features learning of all kinds. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Boggle Jr.

This delightful Boggle Jr. edition is perfect for young kids. It’s a first game for preschoolers that grows with your child by introducing the ABC’s with 2 levels of play. The first level of play is suitable for 3 year olds. Players match the big letter cubes to the letters on the 2-sided picture cards. Then cover it. Use the word shield to cover the word and have your child spell (from memory) without seeing the letter. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Risk The 1980’s Edition Artwork

Everything from the 80’s is hot again. This charming edition of Risk features the wonderful graphics from the best-selling 1980’s editions. Can you acquire the most armies, play them most effectively and conquer the most territories? Players control their army and attempt to capture territories from other players. A miss-step and you’re wiped out. Make the “right moves” and you’ll conquer the world. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

13 Dead End Drive

While this game may not have as many educational aspects, it’s still 100% a must have for EVERY game closet! The bluffing, hide your identity, sprint to survive, mystery game from the 90’s is STILL fun for all! There will be counting involved. And players need to be on their toes to keep up with everyone’s movement – and to conceal their real identity. It takes a shrewd strategy. Do you have what it takes to solve the mystery AND win!? (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Pass The Pigs Original

When Pass The Pigs was first designed back in the 1970’s it was called Pigmania. Now very well known as just ‘Pass the Pigs’, these little cuties still pack a punch of fun, counting practice, skill, and a bit of luck. Play just like the jumbo version above, but in a smaller, easier to take on the go size. (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Books At Home, Books On The Go, Books For All You Love And Know!

Learning through books involves engaging with written text to acquire knowledge, skills, and understanding on a wide range of topics. This process can be enhanced by actively engaging with the material, such as pre-reading, annotating, and summarizing. But for younger kids, just introducing them to a variety of writings, topics, and facts is important. Books provide a structured way to learn about diverse subjects, from history and science to literature and philosophy, and more.

Gross FACTopia!: Follow the Trail of 400 Foul Facts

Rainy days are perfect for great reads and Gross FACTopia!: Follow the Trail of 400 Foul Facts is sure to be an attention grabber! In this disgustingly marvelous world, you will discover facts about smelly sports, weird world records, rank rodents, vile Victorians, horrible medicine, gory gastronomy and more – all of which are connected in unexpected and hilarious ways! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

The Greatest Stuff on Earth: The amazing science of sunlight, smartphones, microphones, mushrooms & everything in-between

Full of fun info, this quirky, surprise-filled and light-hearted romp through the stuff that makes up our world, from atoms, elements and light, to water, soil and DNA, to buildings, books and smartphones can be found in this great read. Have you ever stopped to think about all the stuff you encounter every day? There’s the stuff you breathe, the stuff you eat, the stuff you wear, the stuff you read, the stuff you walk on, the stuff you ride in, the stuff your body is made of… plus water, trees, sunlight, soap, electricity, vaccines, smartphones, and so much more! Check this one out! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

Britannica All New Kids’ Encyclopedia: Updated Edition – What We Know & What We Don’t

What We Know & What We Don’t! Earth, Space, Animals, History, STEM: This landmark encyclopedia from Britannica has them all! With more than 400 pages of up-to-the-minute information, including the very latest facts and figures, cutting-edge expert insights, and over 1,000 illustrations, photographs, and maps, this gorgeous compendium will satisfy even the most curious minds. Unlike old encyclopedias that are structured from A to Z, this encyclopedia will take you on a journey from the beginning of time to the present day and even into the future! (Buy It: Amazon.com)

More Fun Ways To Incorporate Learning During Summer Break:

• Visit your local zoo.
• Do (age appropriate) scavenger hunts around your parks and towns. (Free printable scavenger hunt for toddlers here -or- Free printable outdoor scavenger hunt for big kids here.)
• Tour a local museum.
• Visit a landmark in the area and talk about the history of it.
• Cook and bake together, practicing math skills, reading comprehension, and more! Meal planning is also a life-long skill that comes in handy.
• Participate in a summer reading program at your local library.
• Do a puzzle on a rainy day.
• Read aloud to the kids and have them also read to you.
• Encourage the kids to write a play and then the family can act it out.
• Look for volunteer opportunities in your community.
• Sign up for a summer camp.

Keeping kids engaged throughout the summer doesn’t have to feel like an overwhelming chore. The most important part is finding a variety of ways to create opportunities for continued learning that are enjoyable for the kids. Talking to them about the importance of structure and routine should be a year-long lesson we use to help kids learn as they grow and mature so try not to slack on that aspect during break. And remember, a little goes a long way, so you don’t have to overload their brains either. Summer should be a fun, stimulating, and enjoyable time for all; which is why we recommend a variety of ways to sneak in that learning!

Of course, you can always be like us and add a NEW PUPPY to the family! LOL. The kids have been learning all kinds of responsibility, time management, and skills with our new puppy Penny.