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Wednesday, June 4, 2008

And we'll have fun, fun, fun...till daddy takes our cameras away...



Summer is officially here. How do I know this? Besides me having the overwhelming urge to make up my own Beach Boys songs, it's because my homeschooled kids have no desire to be outside in the heat. (Unless they're swimming.)

But they do know better than to ever tell me they are bored. My mama always said that "only boring people are bored" and then she'd give me the option to either find something to do on my own or she'd find something to do for me. And you know what that means...that dreaded chores list. So I learned, as have my children. {insert evil cackle here}

How do we beat the heat and the boredom at the same time? I have two new things I'm going to share with you that we are doing this summer, and if you happen to have a digital camera and printer, then you are in business. If you don't, well, you might have to get a tad bit more creative, but you can still do these cheap and easy ideas:

For 3-8 years old: (just a guideline, obviously)

Remember paper dolls? We have a newer version in our house. I am taking head-to-toe photo shots of each family member, printing them out on 4 x 6 photo paper and affixing them to a thin magnet sheet. (or you could just use a magnet strip, but I find that by using the whole sheet, the "doll" is sturdier for little hands) They will live on the front of our refrigerator for the summer and the kids will make paper doll clothing fashions for them. My kids are so looking forward to creating some uber-cool fashions for their little dolls and I imagine they'll come up with some pretty interesting things for dad and I to wear. I did this for my youngest daughter when she was three (just of her) and she spent literally HOURS playing with her mini-me.

For 8-up:

I was recently given a much nicer digital camera than the one I was previously using (which is why you're seeing more photos on my blawg) and so my oldest daughter inherited my old digital camera with all of its personality.

One thing I plan on doing with her is a PHOTO scavenger hunt. I'll make a list of 40 things or so that she has to photograph (in order) within a certain time frame (it has to be relatively short - no more than an hour or they lose interest). It can be a specific list like: 1. books, 2. paper clip, etc (you get the idea). Or, my favorite is to make a list of things she has to find that affect the 5 senses (since she is a kinesthetic learner) - 1. something that smells sweet, 2. something hot, etc.

When we get back together after the hour, I will upload all of her photos and let her pick her favorite "art shot" to print out for her bulletin board on her wall. She absolutely loves scavenger hunts, and this one is sure to be a hit with her.

I am a list-maker extraordinaire, so we have list upon lists of things to do this summer...but these are a couple of my favorites. What about you? If you're here from Shannon's, be sure to leave me a link to your favorite summer activity, because I want to know what you do to beat summer boredom!

If you haven't been over to Rocks in My Dryer today, go see what other moms are doing to keep their kids occupied. There's always some really good ones!



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7 comments:

Natalie Witcher said...

Great ideas! My girls love the digital camera!

Joyful Days said...

These are both great ideas. I'm thinking my boys would pass on the paper doll idea--but the scavenger hunt--pure genius!

Blessings!

Anonymous said...

Love the scavenger hunt idea...


Thanks for posting.

robin@heartofwisdom
http://www.heartofwisdom.com/heartathome/

Anonymous said...

Will you post the scavenger hunt list? My 9 yo daughter got a digital camera a few months ago and loves to take pictures. She'd love to do a photo scavenger hunt like this.

Flea said...

I LOVE the magnet doll idea!!!

Anonymous said...

What wonderful ideas! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Excellent article.

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