By Heidi Hess
It’s the dog days of summer. Let’s face it – our summers are the Great North’s winter. We don’t go out unless it’s necessary. A trip outside, even first thing in the morning, you come back drenched in sweat. Not only is this uncomfortable but it’s dangerous. It’s estimated that 90% of people walk around dehydrated and kids become dehydrated easily simply because they are little.
At least that’s what I tell myself when I curl up on the couch during the day and watch movies with the kids. Yessss… we’re staying hydrated and cool AND we’re spending time together. All wins.
Then the guilt kicks in…all you are doing is sitting in front of the mind zapper. Le sigh…so now we have to get creative. Here are some fun things to do with the kids that will have you interacting, having fun and making memories.
- Have a real tea party in the living room a la picnic style. Put down a large blanket, bust out the china, and make mint tea, cucumber sandwiches and such. Kids of all ages will get a real charge out of this.
- Make your kids architects for a day. Give them sheets, clothes pins and tell them to build a fort. Move all of the breakable things to a safe place and let the kids design and create their own kingdom. And it’s not enough to sit back and let them do it… you can help or at the very least crawl into the space they created and marvel at their ingenuity.
- Halloween is just around the corner. Buy some balloons, blow them up and cover them with paper mache. Place rubber bands on the balloons to create those distinctive pumpkin grooves. You might also want to incorporate a cardboard circle for the base so it will sit on its own. Wait for them to dry and then paint them. Will they last very long outside? No. But it’ll keep the littles busy and in Fall… can we have too many pumpkins??
- Indoor Nerf gun fight. Yes I said it. And I’m giving you permission. Again, put your breakable things away. We used to do this a lot in my house. I’m still finding random Nerf darts. Channel your inner Helen Mirin from the movie Red. Those kids aren’t going to take you out!
5. When all else fails, and you just really need to get out of the house, don’t forget – kids bowl free at Greenacres Bowl. All you have to do is get the kids signed up. They send you passes. You could go every day!
Whatever you decide to do, here’s hoping you enjoy the summer with your kids. They’re only little for so long. Which translates into “they’ll only like you for so long.” Enjoy! I know I did.