School's out and summer is quickly upon us. For most people, that means an abundance of backyard barbecues, baseball games, and pool parties. Days spent outside are full of fun, but too much sun can damage your little one's skin, causing activities to move indoors.

VTech encourages you to take advantage of time spent inside and plan activities that will help your child soak up new information, instead of too much sun! For example, visit a local museum or exhibit to learn about a new culture, explore a new book on their summer reading list or plan an upcoming family gathering. All of the above can be done without a lot of planning, and they're great ways to keep summer learning engaging. Other indoor activities, such as VTech's V.Smile Art Board and V.Smile V-Motion, can help kids express their creativity and fun exercise.

Indoor Activity Ideas:

• Start a summer scrapbook and gather pictures from recent family vacations, school trips, or little league games and assemble a scrapbook with your child. It's a great way for kids to learn how to chronicle vacation days and events and have their own book of memories to share with family or friends.
• Get crafty with arts and crafts projects. Use your television as a learning center with V. Smile Art Studio, an extension of the V.Smile TV Learning System, to encourage your budding Picassos to create and save their own works of art. Through more than 12 games and activities, kids can experiment with drawing pictures, mixing colors, and creating animations.
• Make cookies together and have your child read the directions to you. Let them measure out the ingredients and learn about what makes up the recipe. For a challenge, double the recipe and have him or her figure out the new measurements. For fun, share the cookies with a neighbor or take them to a play date.
• Dance to the music because a day spent indoors doesn't mean your child isn't still active or exercising. Find fun ways to incorporate dancing into indoor day or household chores. Turn up the music and encourage them to spend 30-40 minutes helping to pick up the house or complete their chores.