JUNE 2009 - 100 Things Your Kids Can Do This Summer

1. Start a summer scrapbook.

2. Plant flowers for an elderly neighbor.

3. Make a list of all the words that rhyme with June.

4. Declare a "No TV Day." Entertain yourself.

5. Make a drum out of a decorated coffee can.

6. Create a summer journal.

7. Visit the local library.

8. Make a backyard birdfeeder out of a milk jug.

9. Play a favorite board game with the whole family.

10. Try a food you have never tried.

11. Put on a play.

12. Bake cookies for a neighbor.

13. Play Twister.

14. Go for a walk. How many types of trees can you identify?

15. Help clean out the cupboards and donate to the local food pantry.

16. Write a letter to a friend (not a text or an e-mail).

17. Help cook dinner.

18. Make a "where I live" collage with photos you have taken.

19. Declare a "No Video Game Day" and entertain yourself.

20. Lie back and watch the clouds and jet trails.

21. Do the activity in Bright Ideas in Two Lane Livin'.

22. Sprinkler time!

23. Visit a farmer's market.

24. Make a whole bunch of bubbles.

25. Find out when story time is at the local library.

26. Write a thank you note to someone who did something nice for you.

27. Have a backyard picnic.

28. Play flashlight tag after dark.

29. Start collecting something.

30. Test the shade under every tree in your yard.

31. Make a shaker using styrofoam plates, dried beans and a stapler.

32. Play with your pet.

33. Do some campfire story- telling.

34. Read a newspaper article.

35. Play dandelion golf.

36. Write a poem about summer.

37. Go on a bug hunt. How many different kinds can you find?

38. Stargaze!

39. Visit a local historical site,

40. Take a nap every time your pet does.

41. Make up a dance to your favorite song.

42. Make a pop float.

43. Chase, catch and release fireflies.

44. Make a list of school supplies you will need in the fall.

45. Draw a picture of what you did this summer.

46. Make creative masks using paper plates and yarn.

47. Wash the family car.

48. Find and read a good joke book.

49. Shop for school supplies.

50. Try out different paper airplanes.

51. Visit a local park.

52. Organize your school supplies.

53. Sort your clothes and give what you can't wear to someone younger or to charity.

54. Check your library's computers.

55. Set three ice cubes on the driveway and see which one melts faster.

56. Send a postcard to a relative.

57. Go to a drive-in or make one of your own in the backyard.

58. See if you can identify popsicle flavors while blindfolded.

59. Learn how to say hello in four languages.

60. Try to swim laps in the kiddie pool.

61. Create your own time capsule and bury it.

62. Write a poem about the weather.

63. Pick any place in the world you are interested in and research it for fun.

64. Make your own kite.

65. Sidewalk chalk anywhere, everywhere.

66. Go for a walk with a friend and take turns picking which direction to go next.

67. Master blaster water gun wars!

68. Make faces in the mirror.

69. Walk like an Egyptian.

70. Invent your own sport or game.

71. Do your best break dancing moves.

72. Try a hula hoop.

73. Make up your own karate move.

74. Create your own band using kitchen stuff as instruments.

75. Camp out.

76. Draw pictures of the clouds you see.

77. Write a story about an imaginary journey.

78. Find the origin of your favorite sport or hobby.

79. Strike a pose in the sprinkler and pretend to be lawn art.

80. Catch a frog or three, observe them and let them go.

81. Go on a turtle hunt, but leave them where you find them.

82. Find out if you really can fry an egg on the sidewalk.

83. Learn to say thank you in four different languages.

84. Paint a picture on the side of your house with a bucket of water and a paint brush.

85. Put bubble bath in the kiddie pool and make bubble beards.

86. Make your own wind chimes using stuff around the house.

87. Make a mobile with pictures from your summer adventures.

88. Use big boxes to make your own village.

89. Tell ghost stories under the bed covers.

90. Sleep out under the stars.

91. With your camera or in a story, document a day in the life of your pet.

92. Write a fairy tale then read it to someone younger.

93. Make a list of everything you can find that is orange.

94. Look at a map of Africa and find the country of Uganda and its capital Kampala.

95. Memorize a poem you like and recite it to your family or the bathroom mirror.

96. Think of a job you might like and find out what you need to do to prepare for it.

97. Make Mickey Mouse pancakes.

98. Dance in the rain as long as there is no thunder and lightening.

99. Climb a tree.

100. Learn the alphabet in sign language.

Perhaps your summer breakers can find a few things to do. If they start complaining they are bored just had them the list and say, "Give a few of these things a try."