10 Fun Things To Do With the Kids This Summer

Summer is half over already but there is still time to do some fun activities with the kids (they won't even know they are learning survival skills this way!).

1. Make a small campfire/bonfire in the back yard/local park and roast some hotdogs/marshmallows.
2. Set up the tent in the back yard/nearby park and camp outside overnight.
3. Take the kids geocaching/letterboxing.  It's fun to find hidden prizes and teaches orienteering at the same time.
4. Conduct science experiments with the kids.  They can start with simple stuff like making clay and slime then move on to chemicals that erupt.
5. If you don't have a farm or ranch of your own, take the kids to u-pick farms, petting zoos, county fairs, and other places where they can get out in nature and learn where their food comes from.
6. Have a garage sale and let the kids do the set up, pricing, advertising, and haggling with customers; this will teach them an umber of useful skills and help them earn a little money as well.
7. Set up an age-appropriate scavenger hunt (around the yard for small kids, around the entire city for teens).
8. Play old fashioned games and invite the neighborhood kids--water balloon fight, hide and seek, sandlot baseball, croquet, etc.
9. Work on a big project as a family--putting together a big jigsaw puzzle, making a quilt, completing a home improvement/building project, etc.
10. Have the kids/entire family contribute to the community--volunteer at an event, do a trash pick up project, feed the homeless, etc.