Fun for little ones during the summer
CATHY KAFRVE Bullard Banner News

With the thermometer pushing 100 degrees here in East Texas, it seems the little ones are gravitating back indoors to the air-conditioning.

Longer daylight hours are keeping little ones awake and ready for action until well after dinner time.

What's a parent to do? Summertime can mean a house full of your children's cousins or visits from grandchildren.

If summer at your house brings with it the laughter and energy of little ones, here's a handy list to keep taped inside your pantry door for summertime boredom emergencies.

! Even with all the rain we've had this summer, it is still a great time to pick blueberries at one of the near-by farms.

Buy extra, so your little ones can share them with your neighbors.

Ringing the neighbors' doorbells with a surprise is the perfect way to entertain children and bless the neighbors at the same time!

! Pull that old typewriter off the top shelf of the closet and explain that before computers, people actually used these antique machines. Then set the kiddoes to work with lots of typing paper.

! Make cardboard box cottages out of big corrugated boxes.

Add spool door knobs, paper rolls for gutters, and construction paper or magazine pages for tile roofs.

Make a garage, a barn for the stuffed animals, and a store next door until you have a whole village.

Turn the children lose and let them be creative.

Your biggest problem will be how to tell them that their masterpiece probably won't be permanent.

Getting rid of this cottage collection will be the perfect excuse to make another one next time they visit.

! Let them "paint" your house with a paint brush and a bucket of water.

! Tell stories into a tape recorder, so they can play them again and again.

Tell family stories about when their parents were little or make up fictional stories with important truths included.

If the kids are just visiting, send them home with a walkman and the tapes you made just for them.

! Every small child loves a picnic and the heat is a good excuse to make things even more interesting by changing up your routine.

For example, plan an indoors picnic in a neighbor's garden room or plan a breakfast picnic outside in the cool of the day.

Let the children help you grocery shop and prepare the easy food, like peanut butter on celery or fresh fruit.

Buy store bought cookies and let them decorate with store bought icing and sprinkles.

! Visit a nursing home. Take some of your fresh blueberries, your decorator cookies, or plan ahead with a song that your little ones enjoy singing.

Yes, it is hard work to tow little ones to the nursing home, but it reaps lots of rewards for everybody.

! Play "Full Contact Spoons."

This is a version of the old card game, Spoons, with the added benefit of being a perfect excuse to tickle, hug, wrestle, and giggle a bunch.

Also, try "Full Body Ping Pong" which requires no table or paddles, just ping pong balls and a lot of energy.

! Give them each a dollar and take them to a dollar store, one of those stores where everything in the store costs one dollar only.

Let them buy whatever catches their fancy; you may find you are as entertained as they are.

This will only work when they are very small because children soon discover that they would rather have more money, but isn't it fun while it lasts?

! Be a swinger. Don't let the lack of a tree branch keep you from enjoying those plastic swings for little ones.

Put large eye hooks in every doorway, in the garage, or on the porch, so that little ones can swing wherever you are working.

Buy a swing for each child and hang as many eye hooks as it takes to keep everyone moving.

Finally, plan ahead by filling a basket with the following items and keeping it on a shelf near this list.

Here's what to collect around your house or at the store for your kid-friendly basket:

! Indoor table stuff- Include a box of 64 crayons, a pad of construction paper, washable markers, and stickers.

! Indoor game stuff- Include plastic spoons, new decks of cards, ping pong balls, and a new easy puzzle.

! Creative stuff- Include empty thread spools, scraps of elastic and ribbon,

! Outdoor stuff- Include paint brushes, tennis balls for throwing against a wall, and toy trucks.

! Stuff for you- Post this list. Toss in new cassette tapes and coupons for ice cream cones. Buy one of those "World's Best…" medals because if you can entertain children and love every minute of it, then you deserve a medal!

With little ones, every minute feels like an hour and every year feels like a minute.

Summer is absolutely the best thing ever invented because it allows you a few unscheduled minutes to enjoy them, that is, IF you can keep them busy and happy.

A few minutes of planning ahead can make those unstructured treasures of time perfectly delightful.

If you are interested in another list of ideas for small children or if you have a good idea you would like to share, please let us know at my email address, features@Bullard news.com or call us here at the Banner.

If you have older kiddoes, check back with us in this column because that list is on its

way, too.

!

Cathy Primer Krafve, AKA Checklist Charlie, lives in East Texas with her children who are growing up too fast and the future grandfather of her future grandchildren.