13) Learn something new about your child.
Ask your child, "If you were going to live with any
one of your friends for one month, who would it be
and why?"
Through his answer, you'll learn a great deal about
your child, his friends and his friends' parents.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

AppleTree Editor

D

uring the school year, kids have to endure
listening to their parents talk about walk-
ing 10 miles to school in 30 feet of snow
(without shoes) — and loving every
moment of it.
In summer, these same tortured youth have to sit
through the routine of how their parents never went to
camp, but made their own fun instead, entertaining
themselves for hours on end with just a.bottle cap —
and loving every moment of it.
Well, maybe.
It's summer, when the days are long and the heat is
intense. And despite all the planning and organizing
people do, there can be afternoons that just get plain
dull. So here are a few ideas for quick, easy, inexpensive
family fun to fill your boring moments — one for each
day of June, July and August (and in honor of
Independence Day next week, look for 10 special ideas
right at the start).

1) Have a scavenger hunt for red, white and blue stuff.
For this, you may want to enlist, in advance, the assis-
tance of neighbors.
With their help, you can have children go to homes to
search for more challenging items, like a blue string or a
red shoe, rather than just finding the colored stuff out-
doors. (Of course, always make certain you know exactly
where your children are headed.)

2) Make an American flag.
Dig out an old white sheet from your linen closet, or
buy one at a resale shop. Allow children to use markers
and paint to decorate their own huge flag.

3) Treat your child to a "patriotic" breakfast in bed.
Serve just red, white and blue dishes, like strawber-
ries and whipped cream or blueberry pancakes.

4) Teach your child all the words to "The Star-
Spangled Banner" or "Yankee Doodle Dandy"

5) Combine food coloring and regular sand to make
the colors of the day.
The red, white and blue sand will be a great staple
for outdoor art projects.

6) Decorate cars and windows with July 4 messages.
Use Glass Chalk, a temporary paint that washes off
with water. You probably can find Glass Chalk at your
favorite discount store. For locations, call 1-888-99-
AXIUS or visit the Web site wvvw.axius

7) Make your own patriotic preserves or jelly.
Use strawberries (for the red) and blueberries (for the
blue, of course). You can make separate jars, or try lay-
ering the two different fruits.

14) Share books and stories with your child.
Go the library and check out a classic tale or one of
your own childhood favorites. Start reading to your
child before he goes to bed and continue every night
until the story is done.

1 I

Have A
Great Day!

Try something fun and easy

for every day of the summer.

8) Make a picnic dinner for friends with a very
American menu.
You can cook your own version of popular restaurant
favorites. Visit the Web site
www.topsecretrecipes.com or check out Poppy
Cannon's The Presidents' Cookbook, which lists favorite
foods of presidents throughout history (did you know
FDR loved peach cobbler?). Or, try coming up with
your own ideas, like Yankee Doodle Kugel or
American-As-Apple-Pie Apple Pie.

9) Take your children to a museum they've never vis-
ited.
Let it be one that highlights some aspect of
American history or culture.

15) Find as many dandelions as you can.
Pick both the flower ancl\s long a stem as possible,
then separate them. Challenge younger children to
make these into Jewish designs in your backyard.

16) Make a Jewish light-catches.
Take a large piece of foil and ,91d into thirds. Use a
marker to draw a design, such as\a. Magen David, on
the foil. Place foil on an old, folded towel. Carefully
use a pencil to poke through the foil, following the
design. (Holes should be about the size of a pea.) Hang
the light-catcher against a window.

17) Buy a joke book.
Spend an afternoon reading jokes to your children.

18) Plant an herb in your garden or in a pot to grow
indoors.

19) Make a kazoo.
Find an empty paper-towel roll. Place wax paper on
one end, then hold in place with a rubber band. Hum
into the opposite end.

20) Identify animals from the Tanach (Hebrew
Bible).
With your child, come up with all the animals you
can remember being mentioned in the Tanach. If any-
one gets stuck, consult the Encyclopedia Judaica. Then,
go looking for those animals at the zoo.

11) Start saving for your dream vacation.
Set aside a little money every day. It may take years,
but eventually you'll have enough.

21) Make jars with the colors of the rainbow that
came after the flood.
Place drops of food coloring into small jars filled
with water. (Younger children will enjoy adding a drop
at a time, to see how the color changes). When you're
done, mix all the colors together for a fun mess.
Remember: food coloring can stain so wear old clothes
for this project.
Also, try adding a few drops of liquid soap to water
jars before using food coloring. This helps tremendous-
ly with clean up).

12) Make flavored lemonade.
Just add crushed blueberries, raspberries or strawber-
ries.

22) Create your own bubbles.
Use a pan filled with about 1 /2-inch water and 1 /4-
inch liquid soap. See what kitchen tools you can use to

10) Play a game at the dinner table.
Have everyone answer the following question: "If I
could meet anyone in American history it would be ..."

"IN

6/28
2002

57

