The Keep-Cool, Have-Fun Guide to Summer

Outdoor Fun

Please remember to protect everyone when playing in the sun (get out the sunscreen, hats, umbrellas ... whatever works best for the activity you choose.)

• One of my favorite childhood games was The Garden Hose Limbo. One person holds the garden hose, pointing the stream of water straight ahead and forming a liquid limbo pole. The others try to limbo underneath it. The water gets lowered each time everyone has passed through once. The real fun is walking straight through and getting soaked!

• The regular oscillating lawn sprinklers do their job for cooling kids, and there are also some really neat sprinklers especially for children's play. Check your local hardware store, supermarket, drug store, or toy store for the latest in children's water toys and sprinkler fittings.

• Don't forget the Slip and Slide for backyard fun! It's a long plastic mat that you hook up to a garden hose. Water sprays down the entire mat and forms a small pool of water at the end. The child runs, slides down it on his belly, then splashes into the puddle at the end.

• Dunk your clothes in water and get cool while playing a fun game. Place T-shirts and shorts in a bucket filled with cold water. Divide into teams and race to see which team can put on the most clothes in two minutes.

• Enjoy a game of water tag. Wet a sponge or use "water bombs" (soft balls that soak up a ton of water) and throw them to tag players.

• Play Hide and Squirt. One person is "It," and players have anywhere from ten to thirty seconds to hide. "It" searches for the players with a squirt bottle. When "It" finds someone, that person gets wet.

• Play the Ice-in-Toes game! Fill a bucket with ice and give each person a bowl. See who can transfer the most ice cubes to his/her bowl in one minute using only their toes!
• Try your hand at Squirt the Bottle. Set up five to ten empty plastic soda bottles. Blindfold a player and have her stand about three feet away from the bottles. Hand her a squirt bottle to use to spray the bottles down. See who can make the most bottles tumble in thirty seconds!
• Visit the local water park. Who doesn't like a trip down a water slide?
• If you live near the coast, don't forget the beach! It has a warm (not hot) ocean breeze, cool (sometimes cold) water, ice cream, lemonade, even air-conditioned arcades!

No matter which activities you choose remember to be safe, keep cool, and have fun!