Summer Fun 2013: A Week to Go

With about a week of summer to go, I've been reviewing and updating my list of summer activities.  We haven't done as many as I expected, probably because of the trips--Philly, Texas, NYC, camp if that counts--and, more than that, reading five Harry Potter books in July.  Still, it's been a good summer and they've had a lot of fun doing whatever they liked, which oftentimes was not on my list!

1. Activity-kit-a day:  Make a snow globe  Well, not exactly, but Sculpey came to the rescue and the kiddos made bunny and penguin snow globes.  
2. Activity-kit-a day:  Make your own birdhouse.
3. Activity-kit-a day:  spin art
4. Activity-kit-a day:  My first Chemistry set
5. Activity-kit-a day:  Magic Science kit  What a mess mixing water, oil, citric acid, baking soda, and red cabbage dye!
6. Activity-kit-a day:  Make a stepping stone
7. Activity-kit-a day:  Etch a tag engraver set
8. Activity-kit-a day:  Pottery kit  No way a kid can make the pots pictured on the box.  Kinda discouraging.
9. Activity-kit-a day:  Potato Clock  Bud is really excited about this one.  I just have to remember to buy the potatoes.
10. Activity-kit-a day:  Mandala maker
11. Activity-kit-a day:  Lava Volcano kit  The mold of the volcano worked, but the explosion didn't.  All the blood red liquid just leaked out the bottom no matter what we did.  The instructions needed pictures.
12. Activity-kit-a day:  Disgusting Science kit
13. Activity-kit-a day:  tie-dye kit   We haven't done our kit, but we did tie dye at the family picnic and at camp.  Love to tie dye!
14. Activity-kit-a day:  Eco crafts kit  When we opened this again, we realized Sis had done all the interesting parts.
15. Activity-kit-a day:  Sound studio kit Some kits just aren't what you think they'll be.
16. Activity-kit-a day:  drawing kit  Ditto.
17. Activity-kit-a day:  light kit
18. Activity-kit-a day:  Sun prints kit  This is the one I've been waiting to do.  
19. Activity-kit-a day:  friendship bracelets  Sis has done some at camp, but we still have the kit.
20. Activity-kit-a-day:  thread art
21. Activity-kit-a-day:  pom pon bunny
22. Host a sleepover with friends.  I'm going to count the sleepovers with Gommie and Pop and Ma and Gong.
23. Join swimming pool.  Well, more like we've been mooching off friends, like Mrs. S and Miss K!
24. Start Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  Yep, started on June 30.  Finished July 1.  And now they're reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
25. Make ice cream in a roly ball.
26. Have a no-electricity day.
27. Have a backwards day.
28. Have a pajama day.  We've done this a lot now, but I'm not sure it gets old.
29. Paint like Jackson Pollock.
30. Help at historic house.  They helped prep for a program and even posed for publicity shots!  Then Sis helped out at the event.
31. Work on woven placemats on loom.  Does weaving potholders count??
32. Learn how to clean bathrooms.
33. Learn how to weed garden.  Well, Sis has, anyway.
34. Practice scooping litter boxes.  Yep, they don't like it.  And with stuff I've recently read about certain bacteria in some cat feces causing schizophrenia, I think I'll be doing the litter boxes.
35. Play putt-putt golf.
36. Sort and donate books.  We gave 6 bags and boxes away to Read to Grow.  And that's just the kids' books.
37. Go strawberry picking.  Nope
38. Go blueberry picking.  Nope
39. Make jam.  Nope
40. Purge and donate toys in basement.  It's a process.  But we've started.
41. Visit Miss S.
42. Write to a pen pal.
43. Organize school papers.
44. Go see a movie in a theater.  With Gommie, Monsters U.
45. Go to one library event.
46. Make popsicles.
47. Have an astronomy night.  We tried.  Meteors didn't cooperate.
48. Have a lemonade stand.
49. Host a Luau/Hawaii party.
50. Build fairy houses.
51. Scrapbook.   
52. Make brandied fruit a la Bloodroot.  I started this before our summer, technically.  But we've added to it and also stirred it everyday.
53. Go on a sketching outing.  At Aunt Sis's!
54. Celebrate July 4th.  With fireworks and a crawfish boil!
55. Celebrate Solstice.  The kids celebrated Solstice on their last day of school by staying up as late as they could; they even put on a performance of Grease for us at 9 p.m.!
56. Celebrate Mama's birthday.  We ate rainbow cake and played a Lego game.
57. Make ice cube candles.
58. Host a culture night.   Hogwarts culture?  We made Butterbeer!
59. Make fudge.
60. Go to concert in the park.
61. Visit a new museum.
62. Hang pictures.
63. Make treats for animal shelter.

Bonus:  

• make soap
• go to a local festival
• do 1000 piece puzzle
• have a backyard weenie/s'mores roast  Well, sorta.  We had a playdate with a friend and hosted a hot-dog supper.  And we made s'mores at the family picnic.
• make a family songbook  I'm working on a GS one..
• have a kids-in-charge day
• have a no-cooking day.  Otherwise known as, "pie for dinner" when it's too hot out.  We shared a small apple and a small cherry.
• have an all-outside day  Would camp count?
• and did I mention go to Texas?!  Yep!

Go fishing.  At the bay!

Fly a kite.  With Gommie and Pop!

Learn a new game.  Gommie introduced them to Mah Jongg.
Make Gimp with plastic strings.  Also at camp, but we also have a book for making animals with the gimp strings.
Catch fireflies.  Yes, indeed.
Make suncatchers.  Sis painted a cat and a rainbow; Bud did a turtle and a sun.  I did a dolphin.