Summer may be about half over, but there is still some time left before school starts up again. Are the kids driving you nuts? Need to get out of the house and have some fun before you lose your sanity? Here are 5 great summer activities for kids (and you) to enjoy this summer:
1. Have a marble race
You can build a track for racing marbles by cutting a pool noodle in half lengthwise. This can then be made into a ramp with a bucket at the bottom and the kids can race marbles down the track. You can get even more creative and make a longer track with more than one pool noodle and a little tape.
2. Build balloon rockets
Balloons are great fun and you can connect a string between two objects in your house and put a straw on the string. If you tape a balloon to the straw, then the balloon will move along the string like a rocket when you let it go. Check it out here.
3. Make homemade bird feeders
Making homemade bird feeders is fun and it brings wildlife to your backyard. Have the kids collect pine cones and then tie a string around one end. You can then add peanut butter to the outside and roll them in sunflower or other seeds. Hang them in the backyard and wait for the birds to come.
4. Make Homemade Ice Cream
All kids love ice cream, and now you can make your own at home without an ice cream making machine. You will need:
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup milk, cream, or half and half
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (or other flavoring)
- 6 tablespoons salt
- Enough ice to fill the gallon-sized bag halfway
- 1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag
- 1 pint-sized Ziploc bag
You can mix the sugar, milk or cream and vanilla in the pint bag, shaking it to mix the ingredients together. Then you will cool it by putting ice and rock salt in the gallon bag and shaking again. For a how-to guide with pictures you can check out this site.
5. Play Sponge bulls-eye
You can create a really easy game with a few large sponges, a bucket of water and some chalk on the driveway. Create a bulls-eye with different point values on the driveway and then let the kids toss the wet sponges onto the target. It will keep them competing for hours!
Try out these great summer activities for kids and get the kids off the X-Box and outside having a blast!
