With school out, many kids toss the books aside to focus on play.

Over the summer kids can lose some of the knowledge they learned in the previous school year, and lose some good study habits.

But there are many ways to add learning opportunities to regular play and activities throughout the summer. We have a few simple suggestions to keep your kids learning while also having fun. 

Public libraries across Ontario offer the TD Summer Reading Club, where kids are encouraged to read and participate in fun learning activities, and are rewarded with prizes. Reading as a family is an effective way to keep kids interested in books - try coming up with alternate story endings together to help kids feel extra creative!

Satisfy your kid's curiosity with some cool summer experiments for all ages. Or, try cooking or baking with your kids, which allows them to experiment and use their math and reading skills. Playing board games like Yahtzee, Scrabble, and Battleship can help kids exercise their brains by using strategy while having fun.

If your kids are tech savvy, playing online games might pique their interests. Similar to board games and card games, these online games strengthen reading and math skills:

Slipping in a little learning during family vacations can be easy. Kids can help pick a vacation spot by researching different places to visit that are open with social distancing measures. Some educational trips include going to the zoo, museum, art gallery, or National Historic sites.

Getting children to learn while having fun shouldn't be hard. If you find yourself pushing your children to learn every day, take a step back and try to find subtle ways to include learning in the things you do as a family. Learning through the summer should be fun, relaxed, and entertaining.