SuMmER vaCAtiOn

When I was in elementary school, in those days just before summer break started, it was hard to keep from daydreaming about all the fantastic things I would do when summer break finally arrived. And boy, when school was finished there was no better feeling in the world! That is, for about 2 weeks. At which time I'd always declare my boredom and sheer displeasure with life as I knew it in a small town.

But happily, I managed to survive, largely by tapping into my imagination and creating something fun and useful from basic raw and scrap materials. Today, there's really no reason to ever complain of boredom - not when you can take those same raw materials and combine them with new technologies to produce wildly creative summer theme projects.

Here's some SuMmER CrEatIviTY IdEaS to get you started...

• Work with teens to craft a handmade product and sell it on etsy


• Make scrap quilts and frame them


• Build a tree fort (my favorite)


• Visit the museum or the library for inspiration


• Document your summer projects with a digital camera. At the end of the summer create a photo collage for their room


• Grow a sunflower house using giant sunflowers for the "walls"


• Make a mural on the wall


• Plant a terrace garden, or tomatoes in a pot


• Make stepping stones for the garden


• Paint rocks


• Send handmade postcards from your vacation spot


• Make your own monsters


• Make a creative space
  

Start your own list now to keep both you and the kids busy, creative and active over the summer.

We would love to share your creative summer projects with our readers, so be sure to send pictures!