The BiG Story # i t Up, Up And Away Balloons are one of the best toys in the world -- just be sure to keep them far away from smaller children. Here are some fun ideas: * On a tiny piece of paper, write a secret message (some- thing nice) and stuff it into a balloon. Blow up and release. --Eventually it will pop, or settle to the ground, and the message 'will escape. Whoever finds it • will have his.day brightened. Place a tiny toy inside a bal- '1oon, then fill with water (not too full), tie shut and place in freezer overnight. In the morn- ing, when the water. is frozen, remove. balloon' and let the chil dren play with the ice ball in the pool. You'll be turprised - at how quickly the ice melts, so make several. Let each child keep one of the toys that remains. * Fill balloons with water, tie shut, and affix with clothespin to a laundry line. Give.each child a pushpin and let her see if she can pop a balloon without get- ting covered with water. * Use markers (permanent work best, but be sure to watch those little hands) on un-blown bal- loons to create a family of pup- pets, perfect for tiny fingers. When the show is done, blow up the balloons for some exotic, and odd, faces. * Fill balloons with water and dump them in the pool. How long can you bounce on them before they break? Free And Easy Summer! Ten fun, easy and almost no-cost-involved p help you and your children enjoy summe Elizabeth Applebaum AppleTree Editor #1 Turn Your Back Yard Into A Waterpark Search your basement, garage and kitchen for non-breakable containers. Buckets, large bowls, pitchers, old shampoo bottles will all work. Next, be on the lookout for such items as an old sheet, a garden hose, a toy slide. Take everything in the back yard and start building. Here are some ideas: * Turn on the hose and hang it over a tree branch, running into a kiddie pool, to create your own waterfall. * Tie the old sheet between two strong posts for a cool hammock, or ask your child to sit inside and pull him around the back yard for a fun ride, or hang the sheet from a clothesline and paint it with watercolors (which wash out — generally — but don't use an expensive sheet just in case). 3* Fill cups with water and stack until they fall down. Make buckets into tiny oceans. (For a great realistic effect, add blue food coloring. But note: this may stain hands and toys.) Create whirlpools, and fill with tiny boats and creepy fake sea creatures. .0 Have a wet shoot-out at the O-K Corral by squirting water from some of those ubiquitous plastic bottles that once con- tained Evian. * Fill bowls to the brim with water and see who can dance or hop or jump and spill the least while holding his bowl. I If you've got even a small patch of dirt, add lots of water and make mud pies. -- 7/17 1998 72 e-o Flower Power Go on a nature walk and gather unusual finds. Items should be small and of as many various shapes as possible. When you return home, glue your treasures down on paper plates and make faces. Some I ideas: Daisies make beautiful eyes 0 Abandoned birds' nests or dried 1 weeds create lovely hairstyles, the envy or Jose Eber himself .0 Old pistachio seeds or tiny white stones make for fine teeth 0. Rose petals can be used for I cheeks #3 I If you're tired of seeing your chil- i dren in front of the computer or the television, try introducing them to I favorite toys from the Victorian era. I Among the most popular of these • was a hoop and stick, which you can make yourself with an old broom handle and a hula hoop. Boys loved marbles and toy sol- Biers, girls had dolls, and one of i the most popular toys in every home was called Noah's Ark, which consisted of an ark and ani- mal dolls. You can easily create your own using a shoe box which your child can paint, and plastic animals, which cost little more than a song (for an entire ark-full!) at dis- I count stores. Or you could even do something royal: Prince Albert of England believed strongly in teach- ing his children early on about the importance of working hard, so his little ones spent their summers hoe- ing and digging in the garden. Of ;—' course, Prince Albert had miniature gardening tools made especially for his children; you may want to go the more convenient (not to mention inexpensive) route and buy yours.