Fun Summer Activities For ALL Ages!

It's another slow day "at the office." I'm surfing the Web, bought some cute curtains for Shelby's room at Pottery Barn Kids and checked out Babble.com. Babble is this cool site for "urban parents." Very hip. Very fun.

Anyway, there is a post on there today titled "50 Low-Tech Things Your Kids Can Do this Summer." It's worth checking out and is linked to the original article which appeared in London's Daily Telegraph.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Put on a play. Or a musical or a skit. An older child or adult can sketch out a plot, but leave plenty of room for improvisation, and remember to recharge the battery on the video recorder as the results are invariably priceless.

2. Collect a nature picture. Get a 6'x6' piece of cardboard, cover one side with double-sided sticky tape or plastic. Encourage the children to collect anything from outside and stick it to the picture.

3. Fly a kite. Far more fun than it sounds, mostly because the children do all the running around.

4. Keep a scrapbook (Very much something I like and would do) . Now here's a blast from the past, but children love them. Anything goes; bus tickets, cinema stubs and sweet wrappers. Encourage younger children to write a few words about what they have stuck on each page - it's a painless way to improve literacy.

5. Cooking. It's a rare child who doesn't like cooking. Beginners will love home-made pizza using pitta bread, tomato paste, sweetcorn and cheese baked in the oven. Get teenagers to choose something from a recipe book, although preferably not hash cookies.

6. Reading. Turn off the television and sit together reading.

7. Fashion show. (This is a favorite of Shelby) Girls love the opportunity to get dressed up. Make it into a proper event by putting on loud music and creating a catwalk using rugs. Ideally an older child should give the commentary; models get huffy if they suspect a grown-up is making fun of their ensembles.

8. Treasure hunt. Always a winner. The website www.partypieces.co.uk features a fantastic bounty hunt game, complete with gold coins and booty bags - or hide household treasures round the garden.

9. Make lemonade. All you need are lemons, sugar, water and www.deliaonline.com.

10. Make fudge. Every child should know how to make fudge, even though it's a bit sweet for modern palates, as it always makes for a thoughtful gift.

11. Do experiments. Kitchen table science experiments are educational as well as entertaining. Baking soda, vinegar and food colouring are the key ingredients to create a foaming lava for a worktop volcano. For full details and more experiments see www.funology.com or check out Roger Highfield's Home Experiments.

12. Make a book. Fold several sheets of paper, staple them in booklet form and put on a cover made from coloured card. Get the children to write and illustrate a story, and design a cover for their magnum opus. The book can be read aloud when finished to add to the sense of achievement. Date it for posterity and squirrel it away for safekeeping. It's bound to bring a tear to the eye in years to come.