Nothing says "Summertime" like a Little Yellow Bicycle give a way

Nothing says "Summertime" like a Little Yellow Bicycle bag loaded with goodies from our latest collection Boardwalk. I'll be posting a challenge for three winners at the end of this blog.

Little Yellow Bicycle kid of the week. Sam. FUN is his middle name.

Featuring summertime colors (of course!) with a splash of glitter and a kick-off-your flip flop attitude, Boardwalk has it all!   Here are just a few of my favorites from the collection.  Canvas stickers. Cool.  

Canvas Border Stickers. Way cool. How about changing up your kid's bedroom this summer with these cool canvas borders.  Dress up a lamp shade with these borders...or add a border to your bulletin board.

 

And, summertime Lace Cut borders... My favorite is the big splash..but I really love Hot fun in the summertime.  Which is your favorite?

  So, here is a layout to get you in the mood to scrapbook using some of these fabulous products.  This layout was created by Liana S.  I love the photos.

Here is a great project for you and the kiddos using the Envelope Album Kit from Boardwalk. 

And, here it is finished.  Notice the little spinner.  Fun, huh? All little sorts of stuff can be tucked in these envelopes.  The journal cards are part of the kit. Complete. Easy. Fun.   

Here's the challenge.  Please list a helpful idea to keep the kids busy these long summer days.  I'll choose three winners and announce on Thursday. My Emily has been to the pool every day!  I'll post some photos of her when I announce the winners.

See ya,

Lori

Comments

[ilze]

1.

I don't have kids yet but what I remeber from my childhood I loved the days when I could play together with my parents hide and seek that was great time with them. :) And of course for summer time everything conected with water is wonderful.

[Michele]

2.

For inside, I have gotten my almost 4 yr old son his own tool caddy and filled it with his scissors, new glue stick, stamps and crayons. I've sorted out paper and scraps for him and have saved back some stickers (extras and some I bought on sale just for him). He likes to "do his work" when I am working on my scrapping. :)

For outside, we have gotten him some stuff so that he can join in with the neighbor kids since he is very social and wants to play with others and not be left out. (catching mitt, water guns, etc)

[laterg8r]

3.

get out your change jar and have them wash your money with soap and water and a toothbrush. it's amazing how long they'll do this for :D

[JUDY RAY]

4.

I have my 4 year old grandson and also have a fixed income so I hit the michael's stores for all kinds of inexpensive activities that we can paint, stamp, and make chipboard scrapbooks. He always wants to do a project with grandma. Our local Bass Pro shop offers free family activities every two weeks. This week it was animal prints to paint. They gave us 8 to take home and paint so we purchased the $8.00 book about tracks to go along with it. We have learned to swim this summer and spend time at the pool at least 5 days a week. Have a wonderful and safe summer.

[Robin]

5.

"Adventuring, adventuring, let's all go adventuring..." that's been our theme song for the summer. My 3 and 5 year old boys have delighted in the adventures we are having- whether it's:
* in our own backyard (the new baby kitties, planting flowers, alphabet treasure hunts to find objects that start with all letters)
* in our small town (story hour at the library, swimming at the local pool, British soccer camp, delivering the first load of wheat for this year's wheat harvest)
* traveling around the state (Celtic Music festival with their Gran, children's museums, Tulsa aquarium, feeding chunks of watermelon to baby lemur, chiputin monkeys at a Wildlife safari with their Uncle). I am proud to raise our sons in a small town but delight in showing them the world!

[lisa]

6.

Which Thursday did you mean for you winner announcement?

[Sharyn]

7.

We make a HUGE list of items....yellow flower, a friend smiling, drawings on the sidewalk in chalk...and give my son a camera and the list. He loves to go out and try to get all of the pictures! When he finishes on list, he always asks for another!

[Suzanne]

8.

Oh my girls have three fave activities - letting them loose with my (carefully selected for them) scrapbooking stash; baking; but they especially love when I set them a treasure hunt of things to find in the house and garden. My teen DS on the other hand - Xbox all the way!

[Sharon Sprouse]

9.

send them to grandmas...heheheehe

[{vicki}]

10.

PLANT A GARDEN! My son has really enjoyed the rewards of planting a veggie garden---He loves to pick all the fresh veggies and gooble them up---He has even helped my do some canning!

[Lynette C]

11.

I love YMCA. I sign my kids up with their summer camp programs. My kids love it. And I have peace of mind that they are in good hands.

[Denise]

12.

My 2 youngest grandkids 6&7, will spend hours making things with my Cricut and then building stories about them. It is so fun to see how creative they can be. Of course, being a scrapping grandma, I take lots of pics of their creations!!

[Brenda]

13.

When my son was little, we grabbed the "bug box" and went for a walk everyday. We never knew what we might come home with. He loved those summer days!!

[ruth]

14.

i have been introducing my neices to crafting (the oldest in in kindy) and they love colouring in the fun images on papers and from stamps. it is so fun to share this hobby with them

[Ivania]

15.

Living in southern CA is such a blessing I'll be taking them to the beach, the pool, the park for bike rides and the public library. Thank you for the chance to win!

[Candice Warnke]

16.

I love taking my daughters easel outside and letting her paint her little heart out in the sunshine. No mess in the house and we can hose her off when she's finished. She loves it!

I have also found that a bottle of bubbles and some sidewalk chalk help to pass the time easily too :)

[Melissa Kaye]

17.

There are all kinds of programs at our local library and I also try to get my kids into activities once they are old enough. There is a community preschool program and this year my son is playing soccer 2 mornings a week. We also do a ton of camping as a family and go on frequent hikes.

Thanks for the giveaway!

[Jen A]

18.

Such a cute line!

My kids just love going on a "bug hunt". Plenty of time looking throught the grass and the weeds, turns into playing in the yard. SOme days they want to find out more about the bugs, so we go on the internet and try to find more info.

[Carole Hepburn]

19.

The colors in this paper line are lovely ~ summer activities : summer reading at the library, plant a garden, give them a disposable camera and have the kids take random pictures of daily adventures and make a mini album they can show friends when they go back to school, go to the zoo - just hang out in the back yard with a sprinkler - family together time !!

[Deborah]

20.

Water, Books, and Crafts!

[Leslee Barrow]

21.

Don't have little kids anymore, but do have grandkids. Play doh is good for entertainment outside. So is sidewalk chalk. I use to like to find things to made in the kitchen that didn't heat it up too much. If it is hot--the pool or a tub of water is great. I like the idea of a scavenger hunt. I feed the birds and my grand daughter is learning to identify birds because of this. Have a great summer.

[Lori in CT]

22.

I realize this is after the fact, but here are my sanity savers...With 4 children, and no neighbors with children, I am needing to get creative! So far my kids LOVE going to the weekly CSA with me and picking our own veggies. Plus they are helping me garden and each of them love to water the plants. This can occupy quite a bit of time thankfully! (Can't get them to help weed yet, though, heehee.) They also love finding letters in nature and photographing them. Pool time is a lifesaver, as is eating snacks & lunches outside picnic style. Finally lots of messy crafts - shaving cream painting, bubble art, finger painting, etc.

[Lori in CT]

23.

I realize this is after the fact, but here are my sanity savers...With 4 children, and no neighbors with children, I am needing to get creative! So far my kids LOVE going to the weekly CSA with me and picking our own veggies. Plus they are helping me garden and each of them love to water the plants. This can occupy quite a bit of time thankfully! (Can't get them to help weed yet, though, heehee.) They also love finding letters in nature and photographing them. Pool time is a lifesaver, as is eating snacks & lunches outside picnic style. Finally lots of messy crafts - shaving cream painting, bubble art, finger painting, etc.

[Megan]

24.

Check out your local library -- most have a summer reading program where kids can earn prizes!

[kasondra farmer]

25.

I gave my nieces,kid-proof cameras and have them take photos of their adventures. Everything from big to small. They are loving it!
Anything involving water works to! Pool, Slip and Slide, Garden Hose. It has been a hotter then normal summer here so far but the girls could care less. They are just enjoying the sunshine and all the happiness summer entails!

[Lara Carson]

26.

I give my kids a fun camera or mine (if I am home) and tell them to go out and take pictures of fun, unique things. Their perspective is a lot different than mine and you would not believe some of the cool pics that we get back! Thanks for the chance to win!

[Amber]

27.

Not sure if it's too late to enter...but it's worth a shot...especially for LYB line!! :)

So, this is my first summer home with my kiddos and we are really enjoying it. Here are some fun things we have done so far this summer: the movies (2 theatres in our area have free or $1 movies during the week), Bounce Planet, pool, sprinkler, lemonade and bubblegum stand, bike rides, walks, the park, boating & tubing, going to the lake, garage sales, reading and going to the libary (both my kids, ages 8 & 4, are in contests at the library that earn them prizes and gift certificates!), sleep overs, play dates, cooking/baking, board games, picnics, sidewalk chalk, and we love to put on music and dance and be silly with each other. The most important thing is that we are together and enjoying the time!

[irene]

28.

We live about 5 minutes away from the sea and what my boy loves most is playing in the waves or cathing some fish in the tide poules. He can do that for hours and hours.
So you can understand as me and my son are both often found on the beach, I had to have your boardwalk line and I can't wait to play with it. I already bought a big part of it here in the stores. But hey, some of it is still on my wishlist so thanks for this change to win.
Bye Irene from Holland.

[Genevieve]

29.

When I was a kid, my mother would give us each a coffee can of water and a 1" paintbrush on a summer day, and let us paint pictures on our big cement patio.

The "artwork" would dry in enough time so that you wouldn't have to stake out too much real estate. There were ten of us and the neighbor kids would come over and get into the act too.

We would write our names, make roads, crete maps, towns and decorations, hopscotches, etc.

It is VERY low tech, imaginative, cool, (and free!) water fun.

My kids had a blast doing the very same thing, when they were little, too.

[~Tonya]

30.

Good Old fashioned fun...the Library (daily events go on there with some really good things to do) and also the POOL is ALWAYS the BESTEST!!

I am sure not very "original", but that is what gets us by on HOT SUMMER DAYS. Thanks for the chance. Happy 4th!

[Kris C.]

31.

We love to go bicycle riding to the lake and wander through the local farmers market.

[Joli]

32.

You need the pumponator!!!! It is my kids' favorite summer activity! You can see it on Amazon, it fills water balloons and comes with string to tie them off. I was never able to keep with my kids, now I can fill them almost as fast as they throw them. It also fills the balloons with air.

[Kendra]

33.

Another idea: If you have several friends with kids plan a weekly get together. Take turn going to each other's house and rotate a week off for each Mom for some free Mom time. Each week choose a different theme with activities to match. For example, Mad Scientists (all kinds of experiements, making GAK, ice cream in a bag, etc.) or Lights, Camera, Action (put on a quick skit, Talent Show, kareoke, air guitar, etc.)Use your imagination and have fun!

[Kendra]

34.

How about putting on a family play, this can be as elaborate as you want. There are many plays you can use online, but better yet, write your own. Design costumes using paper and fabric scraps. Design back drops. Tape special effects and music to use during the performance. The ideas are endless. Make a big opening night of it with a red carpet and popcorn inviting friends and family. Hold an after party oscar night where everyone receives an award. This project can span over weeks. You can also get the neighborhood kids involved too!

[Kendra]

35.

How about putting on a family play, this can be as elaborate as you want. There are many plays you can use online, but better yet, write your own. Design costumes using paper and fabric scraps. Design back drops. Tape special effects and music to use during the performance. The ideas are endless. Make a big opening night of it with a red carpet and popcorn inviting friends and family. Hold an after party oscar night where everyone receives an award. This project can span over weeks. You can also get the neighborhood kids involved too!

[Summer Braxton]

36.

Have them help create there own water park obstacles to use in the yard with sprinkles or the hose. Have them plant and care for a small garden. My biggest tip is to get the kids to help create the fun. Often, you can use one day to create and the next day to play with what they created.

[Kendra]

37.

How about Geocaching. It like a high tech treasure hunt using a GPS. You locate hidden treasures called geocaches and post your experience online. It's something for any age, outside, educational (following a map/directions & writing), and fun. The older kids like it because it's "high tech." Check out www.geocaching.com for more info. Have fun!

[Denise Kott]

38.

Library, beach, craft day at home, zoo, we have fun water fountain things at both the mall and the city building, park. at home can also be sprinkler, pool, and sand box fun!!!! And walking and bike riding is also a fun activity if the weather permits!!!!

[Roberta]

39.

I'm very challenged by this. My daughters are 15 and 8 and my son is 2. Very hard to find something for everyone. The little ones have been having fun making good old fashioned mud pies. Very messy but keeps their attention for quite a while. Water balloons and the sprinkler are fun. We like to do a lot of baking and crafts when it's too hot. And Play Doh!!! I know so many moms who won't let the kids use it- "it's too messy"- but it's fun. Something else cheap that they always love is shaving cream. Outside with bathing suits, they squirt it allover themselves, head to toe, and just rinse with the hose.

[Roberta]

40.

I'm very challenged by this. My daughters are 15 and 8 and my son is 2. Very hard to find something for everyone. The little ones have been having fun making good old fashioned mud pies. Very messy but keeps their attention for quite a while. Water balloons and the sprinkler are fun. We like to do a lot of baking and crafts when it's too hot. And Play Doh!!! I know so many moms who won't let the kids use it- "it's too messy"- but it's fun. Something else cheap that they always love is shaving cream. Outside with bathing suits, they squirt it allover themselves, head to toe, and just rinse with the hose.

[Roberta]

41.

I'm very challenged by this. My daughters are 15 and 8 and my son is 2. Very hard to find something for everyone. The little ones have been having fun making good old fashioned mud pies. Very messy but keeps their attention for quite a while. Water balloons and the sprinkler are fun. We like to do a lot of baking and crafts when it's too hot. And Play Doh!!! I know so many moms who won't let the kids use it- "it's too messy"- but it's fun. Something else cheap that they always love is shaving cream. Outside with bathing suits, they squirt it allover themselves, head to toe, and just rinse with the hose.

[Jess]

42.

My mom used to take me to the library and pool a lot when I was little. I know that craft stores like ACMoore have free activities for kids as well.

[Jo]

43.

Making ice pops is always a fun activity and when you make them yourself you can add real fruit!

[savannah]

44.

A travel a week-every week we pick a new country to learn about and dress in their native dress and eat a dish from that country.

[katie]

45.

Water- the pool,sprinklers, water parks, water balloons

[linda]

46.

I love the summer reading program at the library. A good place to get out of the heat!

[pauline]

47.

Water, water, water!!! Pool, playing in the sprinkers, water parks!

[cynde s]

48.

while camping and having all kinds of toys for my two grandson's, kaydin 15months and Noah 19 months, they enjoyed a bucket full of water and a couple empty water bottles! fun, fun, fun!

[Linda from Lockbourne]

49.

This is such a simple idea, but is one that kept my daughters--now 32 and 27--busy on hot summer days. Fill up a bucket with water (be ready to refill it several times), hand the children a couple of big, soft paint brushes, and let them "paint" with the water wherever they want to, including themselves (P.S. It is best to keep a couple of unused brushes on hand for this activity)

[Mary B]

50.

Kids love a Slip and Slide on a hot day. Throw in a few popsicles or the Ice Cream Man and you're good to go.

[Tiffany]

51.

When my neice comes for a summer visit, she is kept busy with many activities. Her favorite is volunteering at the Assisted Living Community where I used to work. She prefers to work witht those who have alzheimer's...she said she feels confident because they all listen and trust her. She has been there alot and has a way to make them feel good.

Tiffany

[Linda Beeson]

52.

Oh how I love this collection, especially since we live in a beach town!!! I say buy them a big container of bubbles! Way too much fun for everyone.

[andrea p]

53.

since i am a single, working mom, i really wanted my son (6) to feel like summer is different from school even though he has to go to camp every day. so we made a list of all the cool things we want to do at the beginning of summer. it's on the refrigerator and we pick a few things off that list each week. amusement parks, swimming, firefighter museum, catching lightning bugs, sparklers, camping, farmers market, water balloon fights, zoo, etc. it has worked really well for us so far! it's giving our summer a vacation-y feeling.

[Lynn Furr]

54.

A neighborhood chalk art contest. Buy one of those big tubs of chalk with all the different colors in it and have a contest for all the kids (big and little) in the neighborhood.
Great news - with the next rain, it will all wash away.

[Misty Munn]

55.

WOW....I am soooo LOVIN' this line...tfs!

As for summer...well, now that Little League is officially over (insert frowny face here), my kiddos spend the days building forts in our back yard and playing in them. We now have an "Indian Reservation", a "Log Cabin", a "Grocery Store" and a "School House"...they use old pots/pans, chairs, linens, etc. from yard sales that I have picked up for SUPER cheap.

~Misty

[Michelle R]

56.

Sidewalk chalk, bubbles, sprinklers, gardening, crafts and I could go on and on!!

[Lynne]

57.

My kids have really enjoyed scootering this summer. We have scooter races around the block. We also have spent a lot of time at the library. And baseball - in our family there is always baseball!!

[Lynne]

58.

My kids have really enjoyed scootering this summer. We have scooter races around the block. We also have spent a lot of time at the library. And baseball - in our family there is always baseball!!

[Nita]

59.

My son has loved the public library this summer. They offer all types of free activities including movies, story times and crafts. Plus he has rented videos from the library every week. Saves us tons of money!

[Alisa Logue]

60.

Our local Historical Society is hosting a scavenger hunt of sorts. The kids receive a "Passport to History" and they must visit 50 locations in our county and learn the historical information at each destination to receive a stamp in their passport. Our local scrapbook store is getting involved by creating a scrapbook page of each destination to present to the historical society. So fun for the kids to learn a little history while being a tourist in our own backyard so to speak. -Alisa

[marissa]

61.

This is a great collection! I think doing something fun and different everyday helps and breaks up the monotony of summer. We do crafts, cook, they take sewing lessons, and horseback riding lessons. They love to play in the sprinklers and go to the park. Of course they want to play their DS's, computer games, and watch TV too...

[Cindy Andrews]

62.

Goodness, the kids are grown and long gone, but a few of the things they enjoyed during the summer was visiting the local park to play on the swings & slide, riding their bicycles! and walking up to the local library to cool off and find a good read.

[Asha]

63.

I've been conjuring this up in my head all day: for the 4th, I plan on doing a little treasure hunt. fill plain brown lunch bags with two items (one for each child) that are 4th themed (heading to party city in a moment). Each bag will include a message to where the next bag is to be found. Simple but fun. The final horrah will be balloons filled with confetti (from Martha Stewart Kids mag) that I will let them pop. Our days are getting longer here and I'm running out of ideas too!

[Claire A]

64.

We set down a huge plastic sheet in the the middle of the back garden and cover it with water so the kids can run and slide on it. It's free, it gives them exercise and fresh air but most of all it's heaps of FUN!

[Beth W]

65.

Wow what a fantastic collection and all the ideas listed to keep kids occupied are amazing. I think gardening is a great way to keep kids occupied and also introduce them to learning more about our environment and living green. Depending on their age, "adopting" a grandparent at a local nursing home can enrich everyone involved. You can contact the activities director at a nursing home for more ideas.

[Julie]

66.

Love this collection! Something fun to do in the summer is get your kids involved in your local librbay summer reading program...keeps them reading (which is good for them) and many programs have some great prizes for the readers!

[holly b]

67.

Oh, you've done it again! What a great summer line! My daughter loves to pretend play, so she keeps herself and her little brother busy by running a "breakfast cafe" (menu and all) in the morning, then "school" in the treehouse where they both do some workbook pages. She even includes PE. After lunch they either have a "movie theater" or "library" day. Throw in some swim lessons and/or sports camp, and you can pretty much call it a day.

[holly b]

68.

Oh, you've done it again! What a great summer line! My daughter loves to pretend play, so she keeps herself and her little brother busy by running a "breakfast cafe" (menu and all) in the morning, then "school" in the treehouse where they both do some workbook pages. She even includes PE. After lunch they either have a "movie theater" or "library" day. Throw in some swim lessons and/or sports camp, and you can pretty much call it a day.

[lynda p]

69.

well with only 1 income, anything free is good. we enjoy the library reading program, the community pool, our town has free movies,or we go to the $$$ movies and we enjoy the drive-in and taking in a minor league baseball game too.

[Lori]

70.

My 6 year dd is so very active! Things we do to keep busy are the pool(of course!), scooter and bikes on the bike trail, the playground @ our local park, walks on the bike trail and around the neighborhood and of course the number one thing is scrapbooking! She is totally getting into scrapbooking! We just bought her very 1st album and some pp and ribbon!

[KariLynn]

71.

I am having my two kids do a summer scrapbook to track what they do during the summer. So they are taking photos, drawing pictures and writing stories. I think it will be a great keepsake to have at the end of the summer and they love to do it. Nothing is better than getting kids to be creative.

[Jacqueline]

72.

When I was a kid I loved the summer reading programs at the local library. I also loved going outside with my friends and making up dances to our favorite summer songs. Last but not least, I enjoyed outdoor scavenger hunts.

[Margie Visnick]

73.

One of my favorite kid activities ( I have 4, 6 year old twins, an 8 year old, and a 10 year old) is coloring contests-they love it! The sprinkler is also getting alot of use! ;-)

[Cindy D]

74.

Big hits with my grand daughters:

Painting
Playdough
Finger Painting
The beach
Making Mini Pizzas

[Sherry G]

75.

Beat the heat with homemade popsicles, or shaved ice treats.

Plan some inside games or art activities for rainy days--homemade play dough is good too.

[sandra m.]

76.

I just found a big pkg of water balloons at the dollar store with nozzle included to put on the garden hoze! bought 4 pks since they were so cheap and the kids spent a few hours filling them up, then had friends over for water balloon games. We also put up a tent in the back yard for addl hours of pretend play.

[Wendy Crowe]

77.

We actually do lots of research during the winter and make lists of what we all want to do. Then we make sure we check something off of everyone's list every week. This way, everyone gets to do something they like, and everyone gets to do something different.
To me, everything is a photo op, so I'm willing to try anything once....lol
We visit the farm every couple of weeks so we can pick different fresh fruits.

Lots of pool time, water balloon fights, slip and slide and water parks.

Visit all the local zoos and farms.

Museums and conservatories.

And we visit family, family and more family! Great for quick out of town trips!

[Cindy Aschliman]

78.

Love this boardwalk line - they will make some fun summer pages! After swimming, my three kids could spend hours playing in "tents" that we'd make from sheets hung on the clothes line. They'd read stories in there, eat lunch, bring in their Barbie's or stuffed animals, and laugh and laugh all afternoon! Such fun!

[Denise T]

79.

To keep their minds working through the summer, we had a chart for reading and computer learning games that they were to do for 15 - 30 minutes each a day. I had rewards for them as they reached different goals on the chart but the rewards were for things that we could do together from ice cream out to a trip to the zoo.
You can schedule each week with a library day, a craft day, a park day, a cooking day and a day to "do something for someone else". On Monday mornings plan the week together and have a special bulletin board to post it on. (This could be your first craft project - decorate a bulletin board.)
On your "do something for someone else" day you could either deliver a meal or something you made, help someone with yard work or some kind of chore or just visit someone who may enjoy a visit.
When my kids were little I loved summer and all the time I could spend with my kids. Enjoy your summer!

[Deena]

80.

One of my favorite things to do as a kid on hot summer days was to make a wind tunnel. We would place books or other heavy objects on the edge of a light sheet and then put a big fan on the other end. We would play games in the tunnel, stay cool, and make funny voices singing into the fan!

[Joanne Spalla]

81.

Such a beautiful line. I think it is fun for kids to work on a project that stretches over several days like planning a kiddie carnival for the neighborhood.

[Joyce]

82.

I turned the sprinkler on while I was planting so the neighbor kids could play in the water while I planted. They had a blast!

[wendi r]

83.

plant a vegetable garden, my kids have LOVED being able to help water, see the growth and watch over our new plants
Reading- trips to the library are VERY helpful to get new books, and my kids each read for 1 hour a day to earn some Wii time.
Swim lessons, fun for the kids and fun for mom to get some sun!!!
mini trips- see what's availble in your area that you haven't seen before. I LOVE your city connect passes, where we get to see lots of activites for super cheap

[Angela Simonet]

84.

Keep the kids busy outside with nature. We planted seedlings and my little one is responsible for watering and taking care of the plants. However we also take nature walks, we try to teach him something new every day. He then repeats everything he learns to our retired neighbors. They love it!

[kathleen]

85.

beach,park,disneyland,sports,movies,hiking, family game night,crafts like scrapbooking!

[kathleen]

86.

beach,park,disneyland,sports,movies,hiking, family game night,crafts like scrapbooking!

[kathleen]

87.

beach,park,disneyland,sports,movies,hiking, family game night,crafts like scrapbooking!

[TraceyT]

88.

We make homemade popscicles and play in the sprinkler. :)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this line!

[Tona]

89.

Give the kids their own bags & take them on a nature walk letting them collect what interests them. Once you get back home they can make a collage with what they've collected.

[Sabine Nieuwenhuizen]

90.

Here in Holland mij two sons spend the summer on the trampoline. It is the most wanted item. You can jump on it, make salto's on it, jump and play with a ball on it, jump into the swimmingpool, just sit on it and talk with friends, and so on.

But the most important, I think is, that nothing is the same as the whole year.
They are FREE, no obligations, FREE to spend each day as a new beautiful summers day.

Kind regards, Sabine

[Hiroko]

91.

Summer is definitely the greatest time to take a Road Trip! This year we're planning on taking a road trip along the Pacific Coast Hwy (California State Route 1). We'll be visiting many beach cities. We also have a few other trips (short and long) planned as well.

[Anna S]

92.

We spend a lot of time at the local library. They have a summer reading program where the kids keep track of books they read or are read to. At the end of the summer, they give small prizes to those that turned their list in.

Some local movie theatres have summer movies, where they have older movies for either free or for $1.

[Kim M]

93.

I like to use summertime to get my kids outside. It runs off their energy and being outside in the sun is always fun. Pick up one of those cheap slip n slides at Walmart, I got one last week for 5.00. It is the best 5 bucks I ever spent. You don't have to worry about being outside supervising them. Summer reading programs from the library are also good ideas. We have different days during the week to do different things. One day...chilling at the house, another day...going to the pool, another day...hanging out with friends. It always give them something to look forward to.

[Monica Blain]

94.

My first thought, being a recent grad of Elementary Education, is about keeping their brains in shape! One of my favorite ideas is just to create a calendar with a different activity to do every day (related to education, of course!). For instance, list all the states of the U.S., go to the library, read a book (or chapter) to a friend, have a spelling bee at home, interview a grandparent about their life as a child, go to a historical monument, etc. There are sooo many things you can do so that they are ready for school to start again!

[Susan In Colorado]

95.

Swimming
more Swimming
and more swimming

reading
Wii
Camp
Grandparents
Friends grandparents..LOL

[Patricia Folchert]

96.

My challenge is that I have two children to entertain this summer, my daughter who is 15 and my son who is 1 1/2. My daughter I encouraged to volunteer a few days a week at a local kids day camp, she loves it and it helps her learn skills to prepare her for a job someday. My son's favorite activity is an evening bike ride in his bike trailer with both Mom and Dad with a stop at the playground of course.

[Gloria]

97.

I read through the comments just to get ideas for myself!! My kiddos and I take walks in the evenings sometimes through our downtown. I will have a list of things to find in the windows of the various shops we pass, sort of like a scavenger hunt!

Gloria

[Penny(scraps)]

98.

First of all, I have to say I LOVE THIS LINE!

When my boys were younger, I did this:
I assigned them stations. I divided TV/READING/VIDEO GAMES/COMPUTER TIME/LUNCH TIME/SNACK TIME/BROTHER TIME/LEGO TIME/OUTSIDE TIME/ROOM TIME into different time segments.

In other words, I moved them through different play zones in the house, and they had a time limit and could only do THAT particular event during that time frame. They had together play time, they had be by myself in my room time (mom's fave), and separate play times for different things. They picked their TV time based on a show they wanted to watch.

No arguing or squabbles over unshared stuff. No gray areas. They looked forward to being together when they were. We were all together during snacks and lunches. I would join them in their zones, too, breaking up the day and "surprising" them. One or two days a week we'd take a "field trip" to break up the monotony. But if we were home, we lived in the zones.

[KathScraps]

99.

My granddaughter is currently loving making paper dolls, and it keeps her inside in the cool! She also likes to help cook anything - just let her help make it and she'll even eat it. And a gold old sprinkler never loses its favor with the kiddos. Hope these help!

[Keesha]

100.

With the kids out of school it's been a great time to get in the kitchen with the kiddos. We have so much fun creating recipes and selecting what we want to try together. It is such a good experience to follow the recipe and to taste the end result of all that hard work. I can't wait to see what my little chefs come up with next!