Take Time to Do Something Special with your Child

Put aside one day to make a special dinner with your child. Have them decide on the menu, go grocery shopping with you, and help cook the meal. To make things extra special, have them set the table with the good china or a dinner pattern they like.

Fun Family Activity

Kids getting bored this summer?
This is a creative idea. Get out some old magazines. Have your kids cut out lots of words from them. Then have the kids put the words in a bowl. Have the kids reach in the bowl and take out words using them to make up sentences and stories. Use the words again for new stories. Parents can join in this fun too!

Happy Father's Day! Family Activity.

Family Activity. Beat the summer heat. Pack a picnic. Put it in a backpack. Take a walk through a shallow stream with your kids (for sensitive feet wear rubber soled sandals/water shoes). Bring a pail to collect crawdads and pretty rocks in. Play Twenty Questions or I Spy using the nature around you. Example: What you choose is a fish. Your child asks, "Is it bigger than a tree leaf?" You say yes or no. Other questions- "Is it brown?" "Is it a mineral, vegetable, insect, bird, mammal or reptile?" "Does it live in the water?"
Later in the shade eat your lunch and ask your kids if they have any questions about nature. If you don't know the answer then when you get home go online (or go to the library) and find out the answer. Questions might be, "What do crawdads eat? Do crawdads sleep?" "Why is the sky blue?" "What causes streams?"

Summer Activities

Write down a list of places in or around your city where you can take your kids this summer. Find out days and hours of operation. And price if applicable. Put on Frig.

Places to consider: Childrens museums. Science and History museums. Doll museum. Car museum. Wax museum. Civil War museum. Indian museum with Teepees. Newspaper or Firehouse tours. Victorian house tour with costumed docents. China Town. Aquarium. Water park. Working farm. Zoo or Petting zoo. Miniature golf. Arcade. Batting cage. Roller or Ice skating rink. Indoor child play area. Public gardens. Special parks. Dog park. Outdoor concerts. Lake (bring swimsuits and a picnic). Beach with tide pools. Hiking trails. Bike trials. Rock climbing areas. Horse back riding. Chocolate festival. Kids art and craft festival. For older kids: Haunted history walking tour. See if your newspaper carries a section where they write about museums and places of interest. As a nanny I had over 50 different day activities on hand, not including amusement parks.

Simple outdoor activity to do with your child

Simple outdoor activity to do with your child:

Flower display for outdoor BBQ picnic table.
This is something even a five-year-old can do. Have your child pick three light-weight flowers. Example: two daisy's and a blooming rose. You should cut off the stems and leaves of the flowers. You want only the top of the flower. Have them choose a pretty bowl. Fill the bowl with water. Have your child place the flowers on top of the water. Floating flowers in a pretty dish is an attractive centerpiece.

Family Activity

Go on a nature hike. Hunt for roly-polies, lizards, newts, ladybugs, grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies, etc. whatever wildlife is in your region. You can check out a bird book from your library and find bird species. You can stop and have a picnic. You can put colored pencils and paper in your backpack. Then your children can draw pretty pictures of nature when you stop for lunch. If you plan to picnic on the ground, bring lightweight, hardback picture books to place the drawing paper on. It will make drawing easier.

Family Activity

Family Activity: Grow a garden for Autumn pumpkins, carrots, lettuce (look for vegetables that will grow in your climate). Children like to watch things grow. Pick a patch of dirt in your yard. Till the area. You might have to add better soil. Seed. Note: Seeds germinate faster in warm weather. Add a netting over area once seeds sprout if you live in a hot climate. Water. Weed when necessary. To keep small critters from snack'n on your vegetables put chicken wire around garden patch, and over it if you know they are pesky.