(StatePoint) With the encouragement and support of parents, a love of learning can begin early and last a lifetime. To inspire kids to have fun while learning this summer, consider the following tips:

• Reward Curiosity: Children are naturally curious, and the way you respond to their questions, stories, and observations about the world around them is important. Be sure to reward their curiosity with your authentic attention.
• Build Reading Confidence: Literacy is the foundation of all learning, and you can help improve reading comprehension and fluency, while building spelling, vocabulary and writing skills, using tools that offer instant guidance and feedback. The interactive pages of the LeapReader Learn-to-Read 10-Book Bundle build reading and writing confidence by allowing kids to sound out letters and words, or follow along with the stories as they’re read out loud. Each book includes lively character voices that spark interest, as well as activities that introduce vowel sounds, sight words, word blending, spelling skills and more. The LeapReader also helps kids build writing skills with stroke-by-stroke guidance and instant feedback using mess-free, no-ink paper.
• Get Outdoors: Whether it’s a trip to the backyard or a vacation out of town, a change of scenery gives young minds an opportunity to absorb and process new information, while encouraging them to explore new sights and sounds. Be sure to mix things up whenever possible.
• Introduce Learning Toys: Games, puzzles and creative challenges are all interactive experiences that can enhance learning. Check out learning toys with these features built right in, such as the LeapStart Preschool Success interactive learning system from LeapFrog. It features touch-and-talk pages that help build math, reading, problem-solving skills and more. An expansive library of books, sold separately, cover a variety of preschool through first grade subjects, with more than 30 activities in every book. Many activities have two levels with over 50 key skills per grade level, so kids can play and learn at the right level and move up when they’re ready.
• Expand Horizons: Exploring new places can build knowledge, as well as the natural curiosity that helps inspire kids to keep learning. Using the Magic Adventures Globe, young explorers can travel the world and experience new places, languages, cultures, animals, geography, habitats and more through high-quality BBC videos. Featuring a 2.7-inch integrated video screen, animations and live-action videos fully immerse kids in the curriculum to provide a better understanding of the world through more than five hours of videos. Kids can also play three interactive games called Around the World, Quiz Show and Where in the World to explore the globe, challenge a friend and solve mysteries.

With interactive tools, toys and strategies, it’s always the right time of year to get your child excited to learn!