ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Specia/ to the Jewish News

or children, summer is
paradise. It means
sleep-over camp and
swimming lessons and trips to
see grandparents and staying up
late to watch movies. It seems to
happen as if by magic! One day
you're in algebra, the next you're
jumping off a diving board.
Yet most parents spend
months (looking at catalogs, call-
ing friends, requesting brochures)
just coordinating all this fun.
But no matter how orga-
nized a parent is, not every
single day can be planned.
Sometimes, you'll find yourself
wondering, "Isn't there some-
thing new and different I can
do with my child today?" Of
course. Just take a look.

.

Great ideas for entertaining children
on a long summer a fternoon.

d
5/26
2000

S.12

See How They Grow While
it may seem that most chil-
dren don't have an astonish-
ing amount of patience,
there is something calming and
peaceful about nature that does keep
their interest longer than usual. Give
them a camera and a journal and
you'll be even more amazed by how
long they will be intrigued by a
flower, a bud, a vine.
All you have to do is ask your chil-
dren to chart the growth of one little
treasure in nature throughout the sum-
mer. If you have a garden, you might
want to encourage them to watch
tomatoes or cucumbers, which tend to
grow fast and furious. Otherwise, pick
a dandelion, a rose, a tree.
COOL FUN on page S14