Category: Recommendations

  • 50 Things to Do With Kids Before Summer Ends

    50 Things to Do With Kids Before Summer Ends

    Some of life’s best memories are created during the lazy days of summer.

    Here are 50 ideas for how to create some great memories before the school bell rings.

     

    1. Go on a mystery drive. Jump in the car, set the timer and every 5 minutes, pick a direction (left, right or straight). Stop when you discover something fun!
    2. Have a chalk and bubbles party. Cover the driveway with art and then dance around it while blowing bubbles!
    3. Camp out in the backyard. It’s an adventure, but you still have a bathroom and a bed if you get scared.
    4. Go peach picking (or whatever is ripe in your area). Picking your own fruit is fun and teaches kids about where food comes from
    5. Go to a splash pad or water park. There is nothing quite as fun as playing in water on a hot day.
    6. Take a hike. Find a local forest or trail. Bring along a magnifying glass and a bag for your treasures.
    7. Find a new playground. Kids LOVE the playground. Find a new one. It’s free and it’s fun!
    8. Dance walk. Grab your mobile, crank up the music and dance down the street.
    9. Find a charity where you can donate school supplies. As long as you are shopping for your kids, grab some extras for a family who needs them. Be sure to involve your child.
    10. Eat ice cream outside. Nothing says summer like ice cream.
    11. 50 things to do with kids before summer (1)Go geocaching and go on a treasure hunt in your own town.
    12. Have a water balloon fight in the yard.
    13. Put on dresses and dine al fresco (even if it’s just a sandwich…you can still be fancy)
    14. Plant seeds and grow some new flowers.
    15. Visit the Farmer’s Market and get some wonderful in-season produce
    16. Go window shopping at an outdoor mall.
    17. Visit the library. Bring a big bag and bring home lots of books. Spread out a blanket in the yard and read and imagine.
    18. Look at the clouds
    19. Look at the stars and make wishes on them
    20. Plant a tree to remember this summer
    21. Decorate a tree with yarn or ornaments
    22. Catch fireflies (and let them go)
    23. Paint the sidewalks with water
    24. Have a dance party in the rain
    25. Go on a scavenger hunt in nature
    26. Collect rocks and paint them
    27. Invite some friends over for an ice cream sundae party
    28. Collect bugs
    29. Climb a tree
    30. Have a picnic at the park
    31. Put on rainboots and jump in puddles (yep…go ahead…get wet!)
    32. Catch frogs. Name them. Let them go.
    33. Visit a local museum
    34. Build something at Home Depot
    35. Give your kid a camera and let them capture what summer looks like to them
    36. Watch a movie outside at a local park or drive in
    37. Grill out
    38. Throw a penny in a fountain
    39. Skim rocks across a pond
    40. Play catch
    41. Go horseback riding
    42. Make popsicles by freezing juice in dixie cups
    43. Decorate bikes and have a kids parade around the neighborhood
    44. Visit the local pool
    45. Attend an outdoor concert or play
    46. Road trip to a nearby town
    47. Go to a baseball game, professional or at the local park
    48. Sit on the front porch and talk
    49. Paint your toenails then walk through the grass barefoot
    50. Capture your memories – in words, pictures and video

    Image by Ano Lobb

  • The 5 Best Things You May Have Missed This Week

    The 5 Best Things You May Have Missed This Week

    Sixth-Grade Girls Create Prosthetic Hands for Kids in Need – Parenting

    Three Columbia, S.C., sixth-grade girls used their brilliant young minds to come up with a creative and charitable project: creating prosthetic hands for kids who need them by using a 3D printer.

     

    My Child is “Weird” and That’s Okay – Oklahoma City Moms Blog

    My daughter can throw the fiercest fastball. She can wrestle with the boys, and she can give them a run for their money. She may choose to participate in an occasional dance class, but I guarantee that under her frilly pink tutu she has on a pair of boy’s Spiderman undies.

     

    This 9-year Old’s Hobby? Building Shelters for the Homeless

    While most 9-year old’s are playing house, this girl is building homes for the homeless.

     

    Parents Give Their Daughter a History Lesson By Recreating Photos of Famous Heroines

    When Brooklyn photographer Marc Bushelle and his wife Janine decided to teach their daughter Lily about famous African American women, they had her dress up as the historical figures for a series of photos. The Black Heroines Project has not only taught Lily about strong and courageous women, it has also gone viral and has been educational for others. “When people talk about black history, there is a list of names they rattle off. But we wanted to cover women that were not normally at the tip of people’s tongues,”

     

    Darth Vader is for girls, too: the young fan who forced Disney to change toy labels

    Upon exploring the UK Disney Store’s website with her mum, Rebecca, she was devastated to see that the outfit was listed as a “boys’ costume.” “Her face fell,” says Rebecca. Her eyes “filled with tears and she said, ‘I can’t have it, it says they’re only for boys.’”

     

    Image by Fadzly Mubin