We’ve been having a great time at Summer Fun Days with 4-H and non-4-H kids from all over Bosque County.  We have one Summer Fun Day remaining, so there’s still time to register your third to sixth grader.  On Tuesday, July 23^rd we’ll have Wildlife Habitat Evaluation with  Dayton Issac and Kyle Melton with at the Meridian State Park.  Call the Bosque County Extension office at (254) 435-2331 for more information. 

When I was a kid, it was usually during this part of the summer that I started to get a little bored.  We attended camp earlier in the summer, and the long summer days seemed to last a long time.  I quickly learned not to tell my mom I was bored because she always found something for me to do, and it was usually related to cleaning the bathroom or sweeping the floor!

Entertaining kids in the summer can be tough, especially if you have a limited budget.  Here are some low-cost ideas you might try out to stave off the boredom and have some fun.  And even better, these ideas will give kids a chance to be creative and maybe even learn something new during summer vacation!

1. Let kids write a play or screenplay, design the set and costumes, and then act it out.  You could invite their friends over to watch it, or maybe even participate.  You can record the play for a fun home video.
2. Give the kids a few ingredients and let them create their own lunch dish.  Kids enjoy creating their own meals, and they might even eat some veggies if they get to prepare them.  You can add a learning component to this activity by talking about the nutritional value of the food they made.
3. Create your own board game.  Let kids make up the rules and design the board.  This would be a craft they could reuse many times.
4. Start a summer reading contest.  Visit the local library to let the kids pick out their own books, and you can assign points according to the number of pages per book.
5. Build a waterpark in your yard.  You can use trash bags to make a Slip ‘n Slide, and a sprinkler makes a great fountain to keep everyone cool.
6. Create a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt.  You can hide treasure around the house, or maybe even the whole neighborhood.  Write clues or make a map to direct your kids to the treasure.
7. Host a family sundae night.  Everyone can get in on the fun of an ice cream sundae.  For a twist, let the kids pick out whatever toppings they want.  Pickles and ice cream might make a good combo after all!
8. Make a fort or castle from cardboard boxes and blankets.  You can let the kids decorate the cardboard boxes with markers or paint to make a neat castle.
9.  Cook personalized pizzas.  Use canned biscuits or English muffins for the crust and let the kids add their favorite toppings.
10. Volunteer for a community service project.  This is a great chance to teach your kids about giving back to the community, and they might meet some really neat people in the process.

Don’t forget that we have great resources in the community also.  We have two great State Parks nearby that you can visit for a nature walk or swimming, and there are some neat museums in the local communities.  Just be creative and have fun!