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Home › Articles › Activities › Sunny Day Surprises

Sunny Day Surprises

5 Tips for a Connected Family Summer

By Mimi Doe

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Summer is here! Here are some tips to help you enjoy it with your family.

1. The Living is Easy
Make plans to downshift your rhythm into a slower pace this summer. Can you work fewer days a week rather than taking one long vacation? When you think of summer, what comes to mind? Catching minnows at the local pond? Licking an ice cream cone with your dad? Take time out for activities reminiscent of your childhood and create some new summer rituals with your kids. The child in you will squeal with glee, and the child who lives with you will squeal right along.

2. Kitchen Memories
Let your kids loose in the kitchen to invent their own concoctions. Maybe they could create a portable summer menu using fruit on a stick, sandwiches, crackers and peanut butter – then pack it all up for an evening picnic dinner. One mother waits all year for summertime cooking with her kids: "My four kids and I plan summer feasts in the cold winter months. We don't go away on a fancy vacation but we pretend we're at the shore with our lobster bakes and in a Parisian cafe sipping iced tea. My kids are young but they know how to peel ginger and giggle over kitchen adventures."

3. Neighborhood Games
Set up a game table on your porch, deck or under a shady tree – a simple card table will do. Buy a large plastic, waterproof bin with a snug top to store puzzles, games and a deck of cards. Maybe your house will be known as the "place to stop for a good game of chess or checkers."

4. Butterfly Adventures

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