Summer Crafts & Activities

Here are some ideas for sharing with your children this summer:

1. Try a yellow meat watermelon!  Kids are surprised to find it tastes just like the red ones.

2. Go on a family picnic somewhere quiet. If you live in the city, explore a park you never visited before. Leave your cell phone at home; you can always tell the boss it was an accident.

3. Visit a historical place in your own area. You may be able to find a new one through the internet. Talk to your children about the history of where you live. In our area, the native Americans wore robes of Spanish moss. We picked some of the moss and felt of it, and the children decided those robes must have been darned uncomfortable.

4. Cook something together. Here's an easy recipe for Fire-Crackers that even the youngest child can make. They love the "tossing" part.

Fire-Crackers

You will need:

1 pkg. powdered ranch dressing mix
1 1/3 c. canola oil
2 tsp. crushed red pepper (or three of those little packets from the Pizza place)
1 tsp. salt
2 pkg. (12 oz. each) oyster crackers

Mix first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl with a lid or a large zip lock bag. Pour in the crackers. Toss several times. Let rest. Toss every 15 minutes for an hour. Let rest for several hours and store in glass jars. Let the children make decorative labels for the jars and share some with a neighbor.

5. Make something together. Children love to make things. Remember that for the youngest children, it is the process, not the product, that is the important part. Austin and I made festive potpourri sea shells with our friend John. We had fun in the process and our product turned out, in Austin's words, "pretty cool!"

Potpourri Shells

You will need:

a large scallop shaped seashell 
plaster of Paris
play dough or non-hardening clay
small shells
essential or potpouri oils
a few small glass rocks
throw-away cup
throw-away spoon
water
rolling pin
waxed paper to protect the counter
water color paints (optional)
tube of pearl fabric paint (optional)

If you don't live near the seashore, you can find shells at a local dollar store or sometimes in a seafood shop. We got our large ones from Shoney's. Friday night is their fish buffet and the shells are filled with delicious stuffed crab. We asked the manager and he was happy to let us have the leftover shells. We picked up our small shells at the beach. If you can't find a large shell, try to find a shell shaped glass or ceramic dish. Even a small glass or ceramic dish will do to hold your potpourri shells. If you are using a real shell, you may choose to outline the shell with the pearl fabric paint for a finished edge.

Cover your work surface with waxed paper. Take a ball of clay and roll it out like pie dough until it is about half an inch thick. Carefully press the back of a small shell into the clay and remove the shell. Continue until you have several shell shaped depressions.

Mix a small amount of the plaster with water using disposable cup and spoon and according to package directions. Pour it into the shell moulds you have made in the clay. Let it set and harden for an hour or so. Carefully remove the clay from your plaster shells. Play dough will peel right off and you can wash or scrape off any leftover clay from the plaster shells; if you are using non-hardening oil based clay you may want to lightly coat your moulds with cooking oil before pouring the shells.

If you like, at this point you can paint the shells with a light coat of water color. Let them dry thoroughly overnight on the waxed paper.

In the large seashell, arrange a few colored glass rocks and place your plaster shells on top of them. Carefully put a few drops of potpourri or essential oil on your shells. Add a small plastic sea "critter" to your arrangement and one or two real shells if you like. Display your dish on the bathroom counter. Looks and smells great!

6. End the day with a shared "chapter book." Pick a book the entire family will enjoy. Set aside time each night to read a chapter with parents and children taking turns doing the reading. A children's Bible might be a good choice. Our Austin is having fun this summer being the "junior editor" for my next project, a child's Catholic Encyclopedia. He reads the text to me and if it is too hard, I have to revise it.

7. Use your imagination to plan mini-activities that will fit in a tight schedule so you can spend some time with each of your children every day. No time for a real picnic today? Just take your supper plates in hand and go and eat in the back yard. Little children love to camp out -- under blanket tents in the living room!

Its summertime!  Make the livin' easy and enjoy yourself and your family.