200-PLUS IDEAS FOR SUMMERTIME (or anytime!) FUN! SUBMITTED BY: Deborah Taylor-Hough --Debi (wife and mother of three) is a free-lance writer, editor of Simple Times [mailto:subscribe-simple-times@ds.xc.org] and Bright-Kids [mailto:subscribe-bright-kids@ds.xc.org], and author of the bestselling book "Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month" and "A Simple Choice: A Practical Guide to Saving Your Time, Money and Sanity." Visit Debi online at: http://members.aol.com/dsimple/

200-PLUS IDEAS FOR SUMMERTIME (or anytime!) FUN!

SUBMITTED BY: Deborah Taylor-Hough --Debi (wife and mother of three) is a free-lance writer, editor of Simple Times [mailto:subscribe-simple-times@ds.xc.org] and Bright-Kids [mailto:subscribe-bright-kids@ds.xc.org], and author of the bestselling book "Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month" and "A Simple Choice: A Practical Guide to Saving Your Time, Money and Sanity." Visit Debi online at: http://members.aol.com/dsimple/

Since we don't use the phrase "I'm bored!" in our home, we don't hear our kids complaining about being bored during those long days at home during the summer months. But ... I have to admit that we're still an incredibly normal family. Even without the "b-word" in their vocabulary, there are still those times when my three children (ages 14, 10 and 6) just seem to be at a total loss for something constructive to do.

On one of those "I-can't-think-of-anything-to-do" days, I had my children sit down and make a list of everything they could do completely on their own without parental help. After they brain-stormed about it for over an hour (which was a good anti-boredom activity itself!), the kids had a list of about fifty activities. Surprisingly, they even included a few household chores like dusting and weeding. I asked for input from some other moms, and now my children have a list of over two hundred ideas to beat summertime boredom. And the list just seems to keep growing!

Thanks to the suggestion of one mom, we've put each item on this list onto individual pieces of paper, placed the papers into a container, and when the children need inspiration for an activity, they choose two or three papers and then decide which idea they want to do, either as a group or individually. The mom who suggested pulling ideas out of a container told me she found this method more helpful than giving the kids a huge list of possibilities. By narrowing the choices down to just two or three, it was easier for the kids to pick out the one that sounded the best to them.

200+ IDEAS FOR SUMMERTIME (or anytime!) ACTIVITIES

In no particular order, here's our current (but continually growing!) list of activities:

1) ride bikes

2) roller skate

3) play basketball / shoot baskets

4) play board games

5) make a tent out of blankets

6) squirt with hoses

7) run through the sprinkler

8) jump rope

9) read books

10) blow bubbles

11) make homemade play dough

12) play with play dough

13) press flowers

14) do crafts with pressed flowers

15) write a letter to a relative, friend or pen pal

16) clean bedroom

17) vacuum livingroom

18) clean bathroom

19) make a craft

20) draw

21) color

22) paint

23) pull weeds

24) watch a movie

25) write stories

26) use binoculars

27) use magnifying glass

28) use microscope

29) bird watching

30) write a play

31) act out a play

32) invent circus acts

33) perform a circus

34) play card games

35) make art on the front walkway with sidewalk chalk

36) play catch

37) play baseball

38) collect rocks

39) collect leaves

40) collect feathers

41) play Frisbee

42) make Frisbee's out of old plastic lids; decorate with markers

43) dust the house

44) brush the pet

45) write "thank you" cards

46) read a magazine

47) play dress-up

48) play Cowboys

49) pick vegetables

50) play outside with the pet

51) build a fort in your rooms

52) build a fort in the backyard

53) do a jigsaw puzzle

54) play on the Geosafari

55) play on the computer

56) listen to a story or book on tape

57) do extra schoolwork to get ahead

58) do brain teasers (ie: crosswords, word searches, hidden

pictures, mazes, etc.)

59) cook

60) prepare lunch

61) surprise a neighbor with a good deed

62) play store

63) prepare a "restaurant" lunch with menus

64) hold a tea party

65) have a Teddy bear picnic

66) play with toy cars

67) play dolls

68) play house

69) chase butterflies

70) collect caterpillars and bugs

71) plant a garden patch or a pot of flowers

72) collect seeds

73) hunt for four-leaf clovers

74) learn magic tricks

75) put on a magic show

76) plant a container garden

77) sprout seeds or beans

78) make sock puppets

79) put on a puppet show

80) make Christmas presents

81) make homemade wrapping paper

82) make homemade gift cards

83) make picture frames from twigs glued onto sturdy cardboard

84) crochet or knit

85) make doll clothes

86) sew buttons in designs onto old shirts

87) run relay races

88) make bookmarks

89) take a quiet rest time

90) take a shower or bath

91) bathe a pet

92) feed the birds or squirrels

93) watch the clouds

94) organize a dresser drawer

95) clean under the bed

96) empty the dishwasher

97) vacuum under the couch cushions; keep any change found

98) write these ideas onto pieces of paper; pick out one or two to do

99) whittle

100) whittle bars of soap

101) practice musical instruments

102) perform a family concert

103) teach yourself to play a musical instrument (recorder, harmonica,

guitar)

104) fold laundry

105) sweep kitchen or bathroom floors

106) sweep front walkway

107) sweep or spray back patio

108) sweep or spray driveway

109) wash car

110) vacuum car

111) vacuum or dust window blinds

112) clean bathroom mirrors

113) clean sliding glass doors

114) clean inside of car windows

115) wash bicycles

116) clean garage

117) play in the sandbox

118) build a sandcastle

119) work with clay

120) copy your favorite book illustration

121) design your own game

122) build with blocks or Legos

123) create a Design Box for craft supplies (copper wire, string,

odds-and-ends of things destined for the garbage, pom-poms,

thread, yarn, etc.)

124) plan a neighborhood or family Olympics

125) have a marble tournament

126) paint a picture with lemon juice on white paper and hang it

in a sunny window and see what happens in a few days

127) finger paint with pudding

128) make dessert

129) make dinner

130) give your pet a party

131) paint the sidewalk with water

132) start a journal of summer fun

133) start a nature diary

134) have a read-a-thon with a friend or sibling

135) have a neighborhood bike wash

136) play flashlight tag

137) play Kick the Can

138) check out a science book and try some experiments

139) make up a story

140) arrange photo albums

141) find bugs and start a collection

142) do some stargazing

143) decorate bikes or wagons and have a neighborhood parade

144) catch butterflies and then let them go

145) play hide-and-seek

146) create a symphony with bottles and pans and rubber bands

147) listen to the birds sing

148) try to imitate bird calls

149) read a story to a younger child

150) find shapes in the clouds

151) string dry noodles or O-shaped cereals into a necklace

152) glue noodles into a design on paper

153) play hopscotch

154) play jacks

155) make up a song

156) make a teepee out of blankets

157) write in your journal

158) find an ant colony and spill some food and watch what happens

159) play charades

160) make up a story by drawing pictures

161) draw a cartoon strip

162) make a map of your bedroom, house or neighborhood

163) call a friend

164) cut pictures from old magazines and write a story

165) make a collage using pictures cut from old magazines

166) do a secret service for a neighbor

167) plan a treasure hunt

168) make a treasure map

169) make up a "Bored List" of things to do

170) plan a special activity for your family

171) search your house for items made in other countries and then learn about those countries from the encyclopedia or online

172) plan an imaginary trip to the moon

173) plan an imaginary trip around the world; decide where you would want to go

174) write a science-fiction story

175) find a new pen pal

176) make up a play using old clothes as costumes

177) make up a game for practicing math facts

178) have a Spelling Bee

179) make up a game for practicing spelling

180) surprise an elderly neighbor or relative by weeding his/her garden

181) fingerpaint with shaving cream

182) collect sticks and mud and build a bird's nest

183) write newspaper articles for a pretend newspaper

184) put together a family newsletter

185) write reviews of movies or plays or tv shows or concerts you see during the summer

186) bake a cake

187) bake a batch of cookies

188) decorate a shoe box to hold your summer treasures

189) make a hideout or clubhouse

190) make paper airplanes

191) have paper airplane races

192) learn origami

193) make an obstacle course in your backyard

194) make friendship bracelets for your friends

195) make a wind chime out of things headed for the garbage

196) paint your face

197) braid hair

198) play tag

199) make a sundial

200) make food sculptures (from pretzels, gumdrops, string licorice, raisins, cream cheese, peanuts, peanut butter, etc.) and then eat it

201) make a terrarium

202) start a club

203) take a nap outside on your lawn

204) produce a talent show

205) memorize a poem

206) recite a memorized poem for your family

207) read the newspaper

208) write a Letter to the Editor about an article or issue in the newspaper

Have a wonderful summer! (And for all of you living in the Southern Hemisphere, feel free to save this email for December reading!)