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Tools and Issues -
Parenting Skills
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It’s a beautiful summer day and you are wondering what to do with your kids? Here are ten suggestions for outdoor summer fun activities for kids that can be done in your own backyard or driveway.
- Playing Hopscotch
This isn’t just a game of hopping around, it is a game of strategy too. A little competition can be healthy among kids. Hopscotch will teach children to learn lower body coordination, about rules, dealing with disappointment when you step out of the lines and how to win or lose gracefully. Learn how to play hopscotch here.
- Slip and Slide Or Sprinklers
Running, jumping and water. What’s not to love? When you give children some sprinklers and other water fun toys, you’ll bring out their creativity. Soon you’ll have an outdoor water park in your own backyard.
- Scavenger Hunt
Hunting anything is an adventure for kids. You can set these up in many different ways, include a map or not. One hunt could be for things that are already present, like a nature hunt or you could hide things on a trail and have the children hunt for them. Either way, have a small prize that fits the theme of the hunt.
- Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest
Messy food fun in the summer is great when you can just hose the kids down to clean them up. Make a line where all have to stand while spitting their seeds. Take turns, or spread each player down the starting line. Give everyone the same size piece of watermelon and let the game begin. Whoever spits the farthest, gets the prize. Or, if you have a large group, give out first, second and third place prizes.
- Gardening
Gardening is such a rewarding experience for kids. They love watching each step of a seed's journey to becoming a plant. Then you can eat it or smell it. It is also an on-going summer activity for the whole family to enjoy. Even when you are shelling peas, you can have some great talks. See our children's gardening books.
- Tree Bark or Leaf Rubbings
Using paper against a tree and the side of a crayon, your kids can come up with some beautiful texture artwork. Use these pages as the front of a journal so your kids can keep some ramblings of favorite summer memories.
- Jumping Rope
This is a fun physical activity that can be done with or without a friend. It takes a lot of coordination to jump rope, the benefits for growing kids are tremendous. The experienced rope jumper can always learn new tricks like crossing their arms and jumping on one foot.
- Building a Fort
Parents can help kids make this project a simple one, with old table cloths, duct tape and some trees or a complicated fort where you use a hammer, nails and wood to make it. Either way you will be building the best fort in the universe. A very fun activity that can be used the whole summer.
- Backyard Bowling
While Wii bowling is a blast, there is something to be said for knocking down empty soda bottles with a ball in the fresh air of your backyard. Giggles abound when you set up two lanes and do some synchronized bowling.
- Start a Pebble Collection
Kids who collect things learn to see the beauty and distinction in objects and how to take care of them. A pebble collection is easy to take care of, simply wash, and costs very little, if anything. Glue pebbles to a piece of cardboard and have your child label it as to what it reminds him of and where he obtained his treasure.
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Parenting Skills 
