There are a lot of things for you to do with your kids that you may have overlooked in this hurry-up world of ours, and it's only natural that after you read this you will wonder why you didn't think of it yourself.



So, just chalk this up to a re-learning experience and revisiting your youth!!

Do you remember those summer nights when you and a bunch of your friends would play kick-the-can, red light-green light, or ghost tag (with the flashlight).

Do your kids (or the neighborhood kids) know how to play these games?

How about a hike through a woods or a park and just for fun, pack a picnic lunch and stop near an old tree and rest awhile.

Go swimming at an inland lake or Lake Michigan.

Build sand castles.

Have a neighborhood fry-out and everyone bring enough for their own family and a dish to pass.

Have a bon-fire in the back yard and tell ghost stories.

Set up the camping tent in the back yard and rough-it at home.

Have a scavenger hunt with all of the neighborhood kids, but make sure that they only go to the houses of people they know. Or you can have them only look for things at home and around the yard.

Go to the park and play baseball, Frisbee, volleyball or tennis.

Enjoy a day at the museum and learn about your County.

Do you remember when you used to enjoy going horseback riding? I bet you never took the kids!

Go Roller Blading, bike riding or for a long walk. How about going to one of the inland lakes and renting a boat and riding around the lake.

Do your kids enjoy NASCAR? Then take them to the stock car races and let them guess which car is going to win!

Go to rummage sales or flea markets and look for treasures.

Have a family rummage sale and get rid of all of the clutter around the house and let everyone make some money.

Check with your local library for summer programs.

Use this free time to teach your children skills you don't have time for during the school year such as sewing, knitting, cooking, and other homemaking skills. Boys and girls can learn to repair things around the home, as well as carpentry skills.

Visit the local police station, fire department, post office or dairy farm (make sure to call ahead to set up an appointment.

Keep a summer scrapbook and or journal.

Make a dress-up box for little ones with some of your throw away clothes, don't forget to add jewelry, hats and shoes, then let them put on a fashion show for you and their friends. You can try this with older kids to, just hang up some sheets, give them a camera to use and a box of old clothes and let them make a photo album of their fashions.

Teach the kids how to tie-dye a shirt or hat.

Start a Childs garden, let them pick out what they want in their garden, dig it up and plant it.

Kids love to see watermelons and pumpkins grow, then have a contest and see who will have the biggest.

You might also have a flower garden with each child having a different color of flower.

Kids enjoy things they can do with adults, do alone or show off to their friends, expense isn't always a factor in ways of having a good time, it's the simple things in life that we forget the easiest. Have a great summer doing things the fun way!!