Super Summer Sanity Savers for Parents

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

09 Jul 2009 05:40 AM

"Moooooooom! I'm bored!"

Sound familiar?

Now that we're halfway through summer, days of no school and unlimited unstructured time may be taking a toll on the entire family. If you are looking for simple ways to keep your kids from compromising your sanity on hot summer days, then consider the following fun projects:

OUTDOOR KITCHEN

Go through your kitchen drawers and place extra utensils in a bucket. Then, take the utensils outside, fill up a kiddie pool, and let your kids paint the house, driveway, or their bikes with your pastry brushes (or old paintbrushes) and squirt each other with your turkey basters. My young daughter loves pretending her kiddie pool is a big pot of soup. She adds fake food and play fishes and stirs it all up with my whisk. Then, she ladles out her masterpiece into plastic bowls.

SPONGE TAG

Gather up as many sponges as possible (the bigger ones work better than the smaller ones) and fill a few buckets with water.

Choose a person to be "IT," then let the fun begin.

The person who is "IT" tries to tag players with a wet sponge.

Once tagged, that person becomes the new "IT."

WATER BALLOON FUN

Materials:

Balloons

Safety Pin

Water source (a faucet or hose)

Directions:

Fill up several balloons with water and place them in a bucket or kiddie pool.

Use the safety pin to poke a hole in one balloon. This will create a time bomb with a slow leak.

Have kids stand in a circle and toss the balloon around.

The person who is left holding the balloon when it runs out of water is eliminated.

Keep playing until one player is left standing.

If you have extra balloons at the end of the game, then simply use them for an old-fashioned water balloon fight.

Related Articles:

Affordable Ways to Keep Kids Busy This Summer

Super Summer Fun for Kids

Edible Sand Castle and Other Summer Fun for Kids

Serious Summer Fun

Fun and Affordable Family Activities

Ways to Have Fun on a Budget

Family Fun for Less

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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