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1. Make YOUR OWN list—what do you want to do this summer? Go camping? Swim weekly? Learn to ride a horse? Now share your list with your parents. Our list is great–but your list might be even better!
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2. Buy several pairs of inexpensive sunglasses (think the Dollar Store) and decorate them.
http://www.bhg.com/crafts/kids/outdoor-projects/kids-summer-sunglasses/
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3. Carve a watermelon! Parental assistance may be necessary. There are certainly some cute ideas—and your watermelon will be the stand out at any picnic!
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4. Now, with those watermelon insides, make Watermelon Ice. Google to find more watermelon recipes. They can sure be yummy—and they taste so much like summer!
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5. Learn to play an instrument. Many music teachers are reaching out to homeschoolers on our Local Homeschooling pages. Piano, violin, guitar, voice and more! And yes—your voice is a beautiful instrument!
https://www.homeschool.com/supportgroups/
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6. Have a Silly String fight, a water balloon fight or a pillow fight. Have some raucous fun! Make sure you get permission first.
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7. Lie outside at night and watch the sky for shooting stars. Find out why shooting stars aren’t really stars at all. http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question12.html
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8. While you’re out there, check out the moon! Learn about a full moon, as well as the different phases of the moon.
http://earthsky.org/moon-phases/full-moon
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9. Decorate your bike… spruce it up… and ride with friends. http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/howtodecoratebikebicyclescraftskids.html
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10. Make your own sidewalk chalk! Then make a work of art in your driveway!
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11. Make (and eat) some butterflies! Yes, you read that correctly! Learn why a good breakfast benefits you the rest of the day.
http://www.snackpicks.com/en_US/recipes/details/waffle-butterflies.html
http://greenhalloween.org/blog/?p=3821
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/most-important-meal
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12. Turn into an expert. Pick a topic you’re interested in and take a summer workshop or class. Or, you can research the topics online.
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13. Spend one afternoon of quality time with each individual in your family. Go exploring with your sister, play a game with you brother, and hang out with your Dad. Enjoy spending time with those that love you.
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14. Go camping—even if it’s in your backyard! If you happen to have a trampoline–trampolines make great sleeping surfaces.
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15. Make summer themed bandana pillows for your bedroom. They don’t have to be pink—they can be camouflaged!
http://www.makingfriends.com/gifts/bandana_tie_pillow.htm
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16. Have a pinata party. But first, make your own pinata. Or for a wet twist, make a water pinata!
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17. Play hide-and-go-seek–in the DARK! Turn off all the lights in the house… and play for hours. Warning–this can get a bit raucous. Parental permission is required.
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18. Get up at dawn and appreciate the coolness and peaceful feeling of the early morning. Compare it to the sweltering afternoon. Write about the differences–maybe a short story or a poem–it’s your choice! You can check out Time4Writing for some helpful hints.
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19. With your family, float down a river on an inner tube. Tubing is a blast!
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20. Play badminton. It’s a fun game. Compare it to ping pong and tennis. Just because you’re good at one doesn’t mean you’re good at the others. Why is that? Google it and find out!
http://www.badminton.org/badminton-rules.html
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21. Learn about bats–why they are important and why they are beneficial. Did you know that a bat can eat as many as 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour? Try building a bat house.
http://www.bats4kids.org/
http://www.batcon.org/
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22. Read a book a week! Or more! Choose topics that really interest you. This isn’t academic reading—it’s FUN reading! But the plus is—you won’t lose reading skills during the summer.
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23. Interview your grandparents. They’re interesting people! Find out what toys they played with when they were young, what their parents were like (your great-grandparents), what kind of clothes they wore, etc. If you can, record the interview. You’ll be glad you did.
http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm
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24. Have a Cannon Ball competition with your friends. Read the following link and you just might win!
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/physics/physics-of-cannonball-splash
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25. Figure out new and fun uses for pool noodles.
http://quiverfullofblessings.com/2012/05/22/10-fun-uses-for-pool-noodles/
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26. Learn about compound interest and start a savings account. Check out What Happens When You Double a Penny Everyday for 30 Days .
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27. Do something especially nice for Father’s Day (June 15th). Show your Dad how much he means to you. Write him a letter expressing your love. It’s a gift he’ll keep forever.
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28. Improve your vocabulary–take the Word DynamoChallenge. Then, every day, look up and learn 2 new words from the dictionary. At the end of the summer, take the Challenge again–and see how you’ve improved!
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29. Discover what it takes to swim like a champion!
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/physics/how-to-swim-like-a-champion-according-to-science-10152645
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30. Make S’mores. If you can’t roast the marshmallows over a fire, make BroilerS’Mores. OR, better yet, make Solar S’Mores! Be sure to get parental permission.
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31. Decorate your flip flops.
http://spoonful.com/crafts/fluffy-flip-flops
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32. Google the 11 Rule of Multiplication and practice it until you can do it in your head.
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33. Spoil your pet for a day. Give your dog a bath, play ball with him, and take him for a walk. Likewise, cuddle your cat, pet your hamster, talk to your bird, etc. Spoil your pet several times over the summer. Turn it into a habit!
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34. Lounge on a hammock. Better yet, make one first!
http://www.ehow.com/how_2180458_improvise-a-hammock.html
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35. Have a neighborhood outdoor game day. Revisit 4-square; Red Rover, Red Rover; Duck, Duck, Goose; and Mother May I. Or better yet, learn some new games!
http://spoonful.com/family-fun/driveway-backyard-games-gallery
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36. Choose a day–or two–and perform random acts of kindness. See how others respond. Browse Kindness Ideas, and share your stories as well.
http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/
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37. Tour a college campus. There are pros and cons to touring during the summer months and you can read some of these at the following link,
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/62655-college-tours-summer.html
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38. Master a cartwheel and learn the physics of tumbling.
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39. Visit a lighthouse! You don’t have to live on the ocean! Where else might you find a lighthouse? There are 680 lighthouses in the United States!
www.US-lighthouses.com
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40. Make FUN snacks for your siblings.
http://www.snackpicks.com/en_US/for-kids/puppy-snack-slideshow.html
http://spoonful.com/recipes/after-school-snacks-gallery
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41. Learn to skip stones. There’s a science behind it.
http://www.wikihow.com/Skip-Rocks
http://discovermagazine.com/2003/aug/featscienceof
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42. Make friendship bracelets for all of your friends–and your siblings too!
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43. Learn about cotton candy. There’s not nearly as much sugar in cotton candy as you might think.
http://www.cottoncandy.net/
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44. Do some fun science experiments (with your parent’s permission). Here are 101 Effective Earth Science Demonstrations Using Only One or Two Items!
http://www.colorado.edu/GeolSci/courses/DEMOS/seicontribution/101_lowtech_earth_science%20demos.pdf
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45. Have an old fashioned weenie roast– and make your own mustard. There are over 100 recipes for mustard on the following link.
http://www.melborponsti.com/inxmtd.html
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46. It’s summer-learn about the sun
http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/do_science_now/diy_sun_science (this is a free app)
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47. Master a few jump rope tricks. Find jump rope videos on the Internet to give you inspiration. It’s AMAZING what people can do with a jump rope!
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/jump-rope-tricks.html
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48. Learn how to take a good photograph. There’s more to it than pointing and clicking.
http://www.betterphoto.com/photography-for-kids.asp
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49. Check out these new, fun water games.
http://parentingteens.about.com/od/games/a/watergames.htm
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