Take inspiration from the Summer Olympics to get your family moving around: Teach young children to do a flip, handstand, or a cartwheel like gymnasts or place a piece of painter’s tape on the floor to mimic a balance beam or tightrope and let them try to walk from one end to the other without ‘falling off’. Tie lengths of ribbon or crepe paper tied to a stick to mimic the artistic swirls of rhythmic Read more
Have your family make a Message in a Bottle today. Grab an empty plastic water bottle and have each person write out a secret message to put inside. They can write it in code, such as using a simple number substitution of 1=A, 2=B, and so on. It is also very easy to make your own invisible ink. You can find several simple recipes online that use baking soda mixtures and liquids such as milk, Read more
Play Sink or Float with your family today. Grab anything that holds water, such as a bucket, a large bowl, or a large pot. If you do the activity inside, you can also just use your kitchen sink or bathtub. If you want to do the activity outdoors, you can take your water vessel outside or use a small kid’s pool. After your container is filled with water, grab a variety of waterproof objects, and Read more
Have some family fun experimenting with tie-dye today. All you need are pieces of clothing, such as a t-shirt, and some tie dye solution. Ritz is the most popular and can be found at most discount stores in a variety of colors for just a few dollars. Some solutions require you to submerge the item in the dye, so you’ll need a large bucket or plastic container if you purchase that kind. Other types are Read more
Several national ice cream days are celebrated this month, including National Vanilla Ice Cream Day on July 23 and National Hot Fudge Sundae Day on July 25. Celebrate this fabulous treat by creating a picture of the tallest scoop of ice cream you can using pom poms or various sized circles in different colors to represent the ice cream flavors. Draw or cut out from brown paper a larger triangle and then flip it with Read more
Today is National Pet Fire Safety Day – a great time to talk with your family about ways to keep your pets safe during an emergency. Some tips include never leaving open flames unattended, storing your pets’ leashes and collars near an exit to your home, and replacing outside water and food bowls with plastic containers. For more tips, check out https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-pet-fire-safety-day-july-15.
Summer is the best month to try out a new veggie! Head out to your garden, a Farmer’s Market, or the grocery store and have your family look at all the colors of vegetables. Pick out something interesting and then work together to look up recipes. If children are more involved in the process of preparing food, they are often more inclined to try it.
Disc golf is a fun family activity to do outside. All you need to start the fun is a disc (a special disc golf one or just a frisbee) and a course to play on. Some city parks departments have started incorporating disc golf courses within their parks and along walking trails. City parks in our area that have courses include ones in Corinth, Booneville, New Albany, and Tupelo. Nearby courses in Tennessee include ones Read more
Each year for the Fourth of July, PBS hosts “A Capitol Fourth”, a concert featuring live musical performances. This year’s concert will be hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and will contain a lineup of performers from pop, country, R&B, classical, and Broadway. Expect to see Fantasia, Smokey Robinson, Fitz and Noelle from Fitz and the Tantrums, Chloe Flower, Sheila E., Darren Criss, and more! The National Symphony Orchestra will accompany many of the artists. The United Read more
Can’t wait for July 4 to see fireworks? Make your own painted version with just a few supplies. You’ll need scissors, paper, paint, a plate (a disposable paper plate works great!), and several inner carboard tubes from a roll of toilet paper. You can also use the inner cardboard roll from paper towels or even wrapping paper, but you will probably want to cut it in half to make the size more manageable. Use scissors Read more
