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Foods of Summer:
Sample fresh produce at the Farmer’s Market. Host a BBQ potluck. Everyone brings their own meat and a side dish to pass. Enjoy curly fries, a corndog, and freshly squeezed lemonade at the County Fair. Invite the neighborhood kids to participate in a watermelon eating contest. Make your own snow cones with Kool Aid and shaved ice. Go to a U-pick farm for fresh-off-the vine delights. Roast hotdogs over the fire for dinner and make s’mores for dessert.
Craft time:
Fold paper airplanes and test the best designs. Make colorful candles with leftover crayons. Enhance your wardrobe with custom-made tie-dye shirts. Design your own fireworks T-shirts with glue lines and glitter. Show off your artistic skills by wearing DIY face painting designs.
Night-time fun:
Go to a drive-in movie—Check out www.driveintheater.com for one in your area. Catch fireflies in a jar, but let them get back to their families when the night is over. Sit on the porch and watch the sun set. Play glow-in-the-dark Twister using glow necklaces placed on the ground as the circles. Write your name in the dark with sparklers.
Enjoy the outdoors:
Rent a canoe and have a picnic on the shore. Hunt for nearby treasures by geocaching in your hometown. Play classic backyard games like Sharks and Minnows, or Kick the Can. Go camping in a yurt. Race rubber ducks down a flowing stream or small river.
Rainy-day fun:
Set up a photo scavenger hunt at the mall. Go roller-skating or head to the arcade. Make a maze or fort using cardboard boxes. Start a summer fun journal or scrapbook.
Give back to others:
Support childhood cancer research and set up a lemonade stand for Alexslemonade.org. Make a meal for families at Ronald McDonald House. Spend the day performing random acts of kindness. Help find a forever home for animals by fostering kittens or puppies.
Get silly:
Take forced perspective photos to make objects appear larger or smaller than normal. Have a shaving cream war with goggles and cans of shaving cream. Check out what really happens when you mix Coke and Mentos (with supervision).
Beyond the backyard:
Cheer for the home team at a ball game. Ride the Ferris wheel at the carnival. Milk a cow at the State Fair. Feed the goats at the petting zoo. Win a prize at the fishing derby. v
Day Enjoy Eachr Children Enjoy You ummer! rS Enjoy You Pam Molnar is a freelance writer and mother of three. She and her family hope to cherish these small moments together this summer.
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