OUTDOOR Summer Activities

Ok so let's be serious.  My last post was about indoor summer activities, but in truth my kids want nothing more than to be outside playing.  That is, unless it becomes too hot and then we have to refer to the indoor activities posted about before.  As promised...here are some OUTSIDE activities to get your kids playing and keep them busy!
Teach your kids about primary and secondary colors using food coloring & water inside of water guns!  My (younger) kids have really been loving water coloring lately and I know they would get a kick out of this!  Thanks My Little Princess World for such a great idea!!

She Wears Flowers came up with this homemade DIY sprinkler system.  I might just have to make a trip to Home Depot this week!

How about having a sail boat race!?!  Alphamom suggests a different approach...make your own {ice cube}boats.

Here are a few more ideas...Use what works for you and your kids.  These ideas might vary depending on where you live and the ages of your kids!

*Wash the car.

*Have a lemonade stand.

*Take your own "field trip" and see things around your town you might not have before.

*Go on a {service} scavenger hunt.  Make sure a grown up goes too and go in a neighborhood you are familiar with!

*Go on a picnic.

*Have a dog show.

*Go to a water park.

*Have a cook out...marshmallows and hotdogs (or tin foil dinners) with a real fire!

*Go camping, hiking, or on a nature walk.

*Have a family game night or movie night.

*Play night games (my kids do this all the time...kick the can and all!)

*Plant a garden

*Dig for worms/collect insects.

No worries....more ideas and activities to come.  For now though, have a FUN summer!!

INDOOR Summer Activities for the Kids

I love summer!  It's great to sleep in, let go of the schedules and just hang out with my own kids for a few months.  Truthfully, come May I begin looking forward to summer, but by August I am ready for the routine of school to start up again.  Any of you feel the same way? 
With all the fun that comes during the summer months, it can also be challenging to entertain kids, especially if your kids have ever used the phrase, "Mom, I'm bored!"  A few back up plans might be handy to have on hand, if you want to keep your kids happy and yourself sane!  Here are a few great INDOOR ideas I have come across...perfect for when the weather is bad or just too hot to be outside.
Make homemade bouncy balls from Making Memories:

Homemade Moon Sand (made with real sand!) from Home Spun Threads:

Also from Home Spun Threads, these make your own pet cages.  This would be right up my son's alley!

Get crafty by turning your old toothbrush into a bracelet by Two Girls Being Crafty:

A few more on the list...

*Build a fort to read books in.

*Play hide & go seek.

*Watercolor pictures, or if you don't like a mess (although it is easy to clean), try the paint books where you paint over with the paper with water and watch the colors appear.  I saw one of these last week at Walmart!

*Play dough...you could even try making your own with the kids!

*Have a game day.

*Make popsicles or try out a new recipe.

*Bake sugar cookies and decorate them.

*Have a pillow fight.

*Tie dye or puffy paint shirts.

*Paper mache - make & decorate a mask or a pinata.

OUTSIDE ideas for your kids coming soon....

**Question for my readers...I have thought about doing linky parties at the end of posts before.  The only problem is that I am not sure how to do it.  Is it free to do?  Is it beneficial to you (the reader)?  Does it make it any easier to find what you are looking for? Any suggestions??  You'd think I would know this by now!

Summer Reading

Sorry that it has been about a week since I posted anything here.  My family took a much needed vacation last week and it was great to get away and spend time together doing nothing but playing.  We returned Sunday and yesterday I came down with the flu and spent the whole day in bed.  I HATE getting the flu (not that anyone enjoys it!), but the timing couldn't have been better...at least we were home.
Anyway, I hope you all had a great Father's Day and maybe even were able to find something useful on my blog to give?!?
I have come across some summer ideas and activities for you kids, but I thought I would start by featuring this great reading incentive that came from Brown Paper Packages. 

Basically, each child is given a bucket with their name on it.  {You could use another approach depending on what works best for you...a basket, bag, box, etc.}  Time is set aside each day for the family to sit down and read.  As each person attains their goal (either 20 minutes of reading or a book read), they earn a tag to place in their bucket.  Each week the kids are rewarded for their reading efforts and the prizes get larger as the weeks go on.  Kierste has even suggested a list of books broken down into two categories; 4-7 and 8+.  Check it out for all the details and for FREE downloads of the tags.
For my kids, I have enrolled them in our public library's reading program.  Once a week they have story time with various programs and activities throughout the summer.  The library set a goal for young kids to read/have read to 10 books a week, while the older kids (8-11) have to read 50 pages a week.  Kids 12 and older are asked to read 100 pages a week.  To get my older son excited about reading, I bought him the Percy Jackson series and told him he has to complete the series by the time school starts again.  He is excited to do this only because of the books he now has to read.
Barnes and Noble also has a summer reading program.  Your child has to read 8 books and write them down on the chart they give you and then they earn a free book.
As a teacher, I know how important it is for kids to continue reading over the summer.  Make it fun and exciting so they will want to read and then it won't seem like such a chore.

What are you doing with your kids to keep them reading over the summer??

Summer Ideas

Make your own Guess Who game using real family pictures!  This very clever idea comes from The Madsen Times.

I really liked this idea, of creating a summer bucket list...you know...a list of things to do with your kids for the summer.  Think up what there is in your area or what interests your family has to make it work for you!  I found the idea at Mommy Guru.

I love this idea of a handled towel.  So cute and so much easier for a child to carry their own towel.  These would be a great birthday gift!  Thanks Salty Pineapple for the tutorial and idea!!

Melissa from the Polkadot Chair shared a great idea for making a zipper pouch bag (for wet swim clothes) out of a shower curtain.  The tutorial was featured on 30 Days.  Seems like a very handy thing to make for the summer!

Sister Stuff featured a list of 100 things to do in the Summer.  Check it out for some fun ideas to do with your kids!

Some Summer Ideas Before Summer Ends!

Like I mentioned before, I have kind of put this blog on hold for the summer and I am sorry about the lack of ideas lately. I totally skipped over ideas for Father's Day and the 4th of July, but I know that all of you crafty people out there have provided plenty of ideas. Anyway...summer isn't over yet, so I am going to feature some ideas I have come across lately.
Check out these adorable Petite Watermelons from Chocolate on my Cranium. Yummy and oh-so cute!

From Make and Takes, comes a watermelon Pie made from sherbet:

And while we are on the subject of watermelons, why not use a cookie cutter and punch out a shape and stick it on a Popsicle stick? Such a quick and yummy summer treat idea. (The star would be super cute for the 4th of July!)

Make some sidewalk chalk for the kiddos like it's done over at Skip to My Lou.

Homemade moonsand you can make with your kids. Also from Skip to My Lou.

Or check out Kinderinfo for a recipe for homemade finger paint.

Not sure what this has to do with anything, but I want it! I honestly want to make one of these handy "take along race track and toy car holder". The problem is that I think I would love it more than my son...he's more the animals kind of guy.

Try 50 summer crafts for kids over at the long thread.

"I'm Bored" Jar

Every summer it seems like at least one of my kids comes to me {daily} and tells me they are bored. This is especially true when my kids' friends can't play or they can't think of something to do. Recently, on Studio 5, Kristine McKay featured an "I'm Bored" jar. Today when my daughter told me that she was bored, I decided to try out the idea. I used a plastic peanut butter jar (Jiffy) and added a few more ideas than what was provided to the jar. My kids are already dying to try it out so hopefully this is our cure for summer boredom. Hope the idea helps someone else out too.

Free downloadable 10 page booklet with GREAT summer ideas found HERE, including the "I'm Bored" Jar, or you can follow the link above.