It's summer! Keep the jam jar filled and buy an extra supply of peanut butter! Don't worry about the alarm clock and the school bells! Time to let the kids sleep late and enjoy the no-deadline schedule.
In reality, that will last about a week! Then come the moans and groans of "what is there to do?" or
"I'm bored!"
That's the time to sweep the moaning under the rug and find a book with lots of ideas to fill those dog days of summer. There are lots to suggest.
Here are a few of my recent favorites (books that will be on Grandma's shelf when I have young ones come to visit):
"Kids and Grandparents: An Activity Book" by Ann Love and Jane Drake (Kids Can Press), with dozens of ideas including crafts, games and problem-solving. I particularly like the idea of making and hanging a bird feeder or ideas for a special picnic.
"The Anti-Boredom Book" (Firefly Books Ltd.) is a sure way to provide days full of fun. Have you thought about having a pizza toss or building a volcano? These and more than 130 more ideas are well-illustrated here.
"Zoom Fun Outside" (Little Brown) will make all kids "zoomers" when they make a permanent sand castle or a worm farm. Dozens of suggestions that will take the blahs away.
"The Naturalists Handbook: Activities for Young Explorers" (Gibbs Smith). Lynn Kuntz suggests outside fun for all ages when they follow tracks in the sand, build a rain gauge or much much more.
Summer wouldn't be nearly as fun without a study of the stars. Pamela Hickman's "The Night Book" (Kids Can Press) is just the ticket for activities, experiments and information about the night sky.
"Kids' London" and "Kids' New York" (DK Inc.) are the ultimate guides for young travelers. These are similar to the heavy adult guides with photographs, historical and contemporary sites with suggestions for things to do and see. What I like about these is that even if you are not going to London or New York, you can adapt the format to make a travel guide for the place that you are going to visit.
I love games, and "The Amazing Game Board Book" (Innovative Kids) has more than 50 games and activities in one package. Not only is this concise collection sturdy and "wipeable" for use around a camp fire or in a car, but all parts are included such as marking pens, playing pieces and clear directions. This is a great travel collection.
A must for summer are the National Audubon Society's "First Field Guides" (Scholastic). There are more than a dozen topics like birds, flowers, mammals, rocks, reptiles and fish. Most recent is shells and amphibians. The full-color pictures with hundreds of ideas for identifying, classifying and comparing are the best. They are just the right size to tuck in a backpack.
Those are eight of my favorites. Now let's look at more:
Things to do
There are many books with directions to construct things; for example, "Kites" by Demi (Crown), goes one step further than just making a kite by outlining a historical background and suggestions for wishes that can be attached.
There are dozens of books with ready-cut kits for youngsters to put together. Whether it's firefly traps, jewelry or bird feeders, there are kits to make them. One of my favorites is "The Hummingbird Book and Feeder" (Somerville House), which assures a collection of birds on your patio by summer.
Scientific Explorer Inc. offers kits for rockets (Rocket Car and Meteor Rocket) and a 5-foot-tall hot air balloon. The kits for taste, scent and sound provide exploration of the senses.
Not all projects need kits. "Hiding in a Fort" by Lawson Drinkard (Gibbs Smith) demonstrates dozens of ideas for backyard retreats that may be solitary or for a special friend.
"Simple Machines" (Kids Can Press) are ideas for beginning science buffs, and "Going, Going Gone!: This Book Disappears!" (Dexter Press) will amaze the more sophisticated.
Getting a head start on a more permanent project might be just the thing, and "Solar System: Mind-Boggling Experiments You Can Turn Into Science Fair Projects" by Janice Van Cleave (Wiley) will be a big hit.
"Head to Toe Science: Over 40 Eye-Popping, Spine-Tingling, Heart-Pounding Activities That Teach Kids About the Human Body" by Jim Wiese (Wiley) describes experiments that require only household materials but will satisfy all ages.
Inspired by TV, "Bill Nye the Science Guy's Big Blue Ocean" (Hyperion) is flooded with facts and ideas about fish, tides and more. Twelve activities are humorously written and detailed.
That waiting time between ordering and being served a meal could be filled by "While You're Waiting for the Food to Come: A Tabletop Science Activity Book" by Eric Muller (Orchard). Won't it be fun to charge a straw with static electricity or create a lava lamp with water, oil and salt. (Better be sure that you choose the right restaurant when you do these!)
Get up and go
"Let's Go Visiting" by Sue Williams and Julie Vivas (Gulliver Books) and "Wish You Were Here (and I Wasn't): Poems and Pictures for Globe Trotters" by Colin McNaughton (Candlewick) set the tone for books about making trips and excursions.
In "Mr. Bear's Vacation" by Debi Gliori (Orchard), the bear family discovers that not all adventures are vacations. "I think we all need another vacation to recover from our vacation" is a common expression.
Going somewhere on an airplane? "Take Off" by Ryan Hunter (Holiday House) will be a nice read-aloud for those who are flying for the first time.
When Delores enters a good-looking cat contest and knows she'll win first prize, she learns to say "Aloha!" but alas! it isn't to be. "Aloha Dolores" by Barbara Samuels (DK Inc.) is a funny story about a vacation and trip that doesn't come about.
"Louie's Goose" by H.M. Ehrlich (Houghton) takes the young reader to the beach, and Emily Arnold McCully's "Monk Camps Out" (Scholastic) will delight the first-time camper.
Other camping books are "There's a Frog in My Sleeping Bag" by Susan Clymer (Scholastic), "Sleep Out" by Carol Carrick (Seabury) and "You're a Scaredycat" by Mercer Mayer (Parents). "Sleeping in a Sack" by Linda White (Gibbs Smith) provides all kinds of camping ideas for kids.
"The Bag I'm Taking to Grandma's" by S. Neilzel (Morrow) is how a child might see a trip to a grandparent's house. "My First Farm Book" (DK Inc.) will be a good introduction for the youngest traveler to the country.
If the trip is only in the city maybe "Yard Sale!" by Mitra Modarressi (DK Inc.) or "Market Day" by Lois Ehlert (Harcourt) will be great connections.
Dig it! t-->
What does a Venus flytrap eat? What do bees carry from one flower to another?
These and other questions come together in a backyard quiz in "Dig and Sow: How Do Plants Grow?" (Kingfisher). This will get even the youngest gardener eager to plant some seeds and watch their summer products.
"Dinner From Dirt: Ten Meals Kids Can Grow and Cook" (Gibbs Smith) not only encourages the planting but the cooking of the produce.
Although there aren't recipes, "Jody's Beans" by Malachy Doyle (Candlewick) is a growing season of beans and even saving the seeds for next year. A lovely book for sharing throughout the whole summer.
Everything the beginning gardener needs to know about organic gardens in the backyard, the playground or the classroom is in "The Kids Can Press Jumbo Book of Gardening" by Karyn Morris and Jane Kurisu. If you have to decide on only one book about gardening, this one is it!
"Grow a Butterfly Garden" by Liz Primeau (Somerville House) includes approximately 100 seeds for plants that are sure to bring butterflies to the garden. In simple details it shows how to plant, water and build a butterfly garden (butterfly puddle and stones).
"Tiny Green Thumbs," by C.Z. Guest (Hyperion) is a how-to book disguised as a fantasy story. "If you care for your garden right, by the end of July, you'll be able to play hide-and-seek among the cornstalks." That's a great invitation, isn't it?
Eve Bunting's "Flower Garden" (Harcourt) tells about a girl and her father who make a window box as a surprise for mother. This would be a good idea for a family home evening.
Go where the action is
Numerous reading contests, programs and incentives are available. Check these out:
Deseret Book and Captain Hook-a-Book reading program. Contact Kathie Terry, 517-3139 or see Web site, www.deseretbook.com.
King's English Bookstore Summer Reading Program. Contact Janet Lund, 484-1595.
Salt Lake City Library Systems Web site, www.slcpl.lib.ut.us
Salt Lake County Library Systems "Cosmic Connections"; call 942-4636 or view Web site www.slco.lib.ut.us/cosmic.htm .