Parenting Tip - 37 Things to do this Summer

Several years ago I compiled the following list of Things-to-do-instead-of-watching-tv.  I mailed it to my grandchildren with an empty container and instructed them to cut the ideas apart in strips, fold the strips in half, put them in the container and then pull one idea out and do it when they were bored.  

You might want to use these ideas for some fun summer activities. 

• Play with play doh or make some if you don’t have any.  Find new things to play with like toothpicks, kitchen utensils, paper cups, muffin tins, etc
  
• Read books- maybe you could tape record yourself reading them.
• Dress up in dress up clothes or old baby clothes, or Mom’s clothes
• Play with magnets.  Go around the house and find things made of metal.
• Play with Puzzles.  Or make your own out of a magazine picture or coloring picture.
• Make cookies
• Make bread
• Wash windows in your house with a wet cloth
• Put a small amount of  rice in a container.  Draw alphabet letters and pictures with your fingers in the rice.
• Write your name with glue on a piece of paper, then put macaroni on top of the glue
• Put a little bit of hair gel in a zip lock bag and squeeze it or/and practice writing alphabet letters on the outside.
• Listen to children’s music Cds
• Play a game with your mom for 15 minutes then it’s your turn to play alone
• Play with empty boxes.  Find different sizes.  What can you make?
• Make animal faces out of paper plates or masks or draw colorful designs on them.
• Cut newspapers with scissors.  Cut long strips or squares.
• Color with markers.  Mail your picture to Grandma.
• Write or draw on a dry erase board.
• Dig in the dirt.
• Scrub floor and walls with wet sponge
• Play with spray bottle outside
• Write name in a fancy outline font on the computer, then print and color with crayons
• Write numbers or the alphabet on the computer and then color them.
• Make up a game to play with socks
• Play store
• Play library
• Play school
• Play Primary (let them discover their own microphone.)
• Hold a mirror so it shows the ceiling and walk around on the “ceiling”
• Make designs on sandpaper with different colors and lengths of yarn
• Tie a clothesline on 2 chairs and hang an assortment of "clothes" with clothespins
• Make sticky masking tape balls to throw at the wall, fridge, etc. Watch them stick!
• Have treasure hunt in tub of cotton balls (lots of goodies can hide in a tub of cotton balls)
• Play a game with salad tongs.  Gather several items and a big bowl.  See if you can pick up the items and place them in the bowl using the salad tongs.
• Lay wash cloths or towels or pillows on the floor.  Jump from one to another without touching the floor in between them.  Pretend the alligators or sharks are in the water.
• Play with a hairdressing prop box. Don’t throw away that old hairdryer, remove the cord and save it for the hairdresser box. Throw in some rollers and hairbrushes and clips and you have a great start to a salon.
• Play with shaving foam in the bath tub or on the kitchen table.
• Have fun this summer!
• Thanks for reading!
• Cathy