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Simple summertime pleasures
Categories: Fun & Activities, Places To Go, Development
Summer has just started and the kids have already started their relentless begging to watch television or play video games. Before succumbing to their electronic addictions, how about making a list of forgotten summertime pleasures to enjoy? Most are free and will provide memories that will be cherished long after the Wii has been relegated to the trash pile.
Summertime activities kids should experience at least once before growing up:
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running through a sprinkler
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spending a rainy afternoon at the library
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making mud pies with real mud
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walking barefoot in the grass and splashing in a puddle
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picking berries
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watching a small town parade
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catching an interesting bug (fireflies, preferably)
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constructing a fort or hide-out (indoors or out)
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playing in the rain
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eating an entire meal outside without using silverware
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staying up late and look at the stars on a clear night
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learning the rules to a real card game and playing it with adults
What do you remember doing as a kid you'd like your own child to experience?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cathy 7-03-2007 @ 10:16AM
Watermelons need to be on that list. Eating contests, seed spitting or just leisurely snacking.
Reply
Maria 7-03-2007 @ 10:37AM
I remember doing everything on your list, and I hope to do them with my daughter as well. I would add staying up late to tell ghost stories after dark. This is something I always looked forward to doing with my grandma. She could scare the pants off me, and I loved it!
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Uly 7-03-2007 @ 11:07AM
Let's review the list of how I spent *my* summers as kids - bit more citified than your list :)
1. Opening a fire hydrant, or just jumping in front of one somebody else has opened.
2. Burning their legs on a slide - that's classic :)
3. Sitting on our roof (flat roof) watching the fireworks. (I also sat on our roof and tossed paper down at people, but I shouldn't have done that :P)
4. Buying ices and scrunching up the cups - that's another classic, especially as back then, the italian ices didn't go on sale until summer at all.
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karen 7-03-2007 @ 11:21AM
how about climbing a tree?
hosting a lemonade stand?
going to the park for a walk?
a scavenger hunt?
playing a game of tag? kick-the-can? king of the castle? red rover/red rover?
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Ginny 7-03-2007 @ 11:31AM
I fondly remember roller skating on the sidewalks. :)
(Back in the day when you had to hook them to your shoes with a skate key.)
Reply
LS 7-03-2007 @ 8:02PM
camping - in a tent, or without one (sleeping under the stars), complete with campfire, silly songs, and hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire.
playing in a lake, diving off the dock
fishing with Dad (or mom...), then having a fish fry
sucking ice cream out the bottom of the sugar cone
washing the rest of the ice cream off your face, hands, chest, arms, legs, etc. with the hose
bike riding to the Forest Preserves and drinking out of the well - the water was always like ice
bare feet in grass
lazing a day away in the shade of your favorite tree with your favorite books and a big pitcher of lemonade
cicadas. Yeah, they're bugs, but they're still pretty cool
boy-watching at the local pool (or girl-watching, if that's your thing)
The Dunes (I'm a Midwestern Girl, and always went to Lake Michigan... http://www.nps.gov/indu/ )
Hopscotch and other games drawn on the sidewalk with chalk, using stones for place-markers
falling in love, getting your first kiss.... ok, maybe parents can't arrange that for their kids, but they can let it happen, within reason.
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