Summer Slime: In a cup, mix 4 teaspoons of Borax with 1 1/3 cup of warm water. Mix well and set aside. In another cup, mix 3/4 cup water, 1 cup white glue and two drops food coloring. Mix everything together and stir. Lift the slime out of the cup and it’s slime time!
Summer Spritzers: Decorate empty plastic spray bottles with permanent markers and stickers. Have a water fight or water the plants in the backyard.
Backyard Fort: Use patio furniture, beach towels and sheets to build a backyard fort.
Wild Windows: Draw on a sliding glass door with washable window markers (Crayola makes great ones!) or use paint brushes and water.
Bike Parade: Decorate bikes with streamers and ride through the neighborhood or park. It’s especially fun to make patriotic bikes with flags and red, white and blue streamers for the 4th of July!
Scavenger Hunt: Have kids make lists of objects around the house or in the backyard, and then have them switch lists with each other and hunt until every item is checked off the lists.
Chalk Art: Decorate the driveway with chalk drawings and messages to greet a parent when they get home from work. This can be a fun surprise birthday celebration idea, too!
Guessing Jars: Have each child fill a baggie or jar with an item from around the house. Dry pasta, candies and small toys all work well. Let everyone guess how many items are in each jar. Closest estimation wins!
Backyard Picnic/Tea Party: Spread a blanket in the backyard. Enjoy mini sandwiches (cut PB&J’s with a cookie cutter), fruit kabobs rolled in coconut (use pre-cut fruit to make it easy), your favorite cookies and lemonade in mini paper cups.
Book Exchange: Invite friends to each bring a book to swap. Or, start a Summer Book Club (See article on page 46.)
Bubbles Bonanza: Mix 1 cup water, 4 Tablespoons liquid dishwashing detergent and 2 Tablespoons corn syrup to make your own bubble mixture. Experiment with various household items as bubble wands – try bent pipe cleaners, yogurt lids and cookie cutters.
Ice Pop Party: Fill mini paper cups with fruit juice or yogurt and place in the freezer. Once they begin freezing, add a plastic spoon or stick into each one and continue to freeze until solid. Peel off the paper and pop out to enjoy!
ADD TO THE FUN: Put all these ideas in a jar and draw one out each time boredom hits! See if you can do them all before school starts.
Alii Goedecke is author/illustrator of One Fun Thing, a children’s book which tells the story of a family discovering how just One Fun Thing can brighten any day. Visit www.oneFUNthing.com for more One Fun Thing ideas—the list keeps growing! One Fun Thing is available at Amazon.com.
