How to Make Summer Reading More Fun Plus Bookmarks for Boys and Girls

Summer is the perfect time for the kids to catch up on their reading. There's nothing like a summer afternoon and a good book.  When I was a kid I had health problems and I wasn't that active physically but what was active was my IMAGINATION!  I loved reading and I would let my imagination run wild in choosing what the characters in my books looked like and everything else in the book.  I would sit for literally hours reading my favorite books. It didn't matter if I was inside or outside. I also LOVED, LOVED, LOVED going to my public library. The children's section was in the basement and it was such a fabulous place.  To me the idea of the library letting me go in and come out with as many books as I wanted was so great!

When my children got old enough we would hang out at the library together and bring home armfuls of books. Now that my children have children of their own they are keeping up the tradition of visiting the library. The love of reading is such a great family tradition.

Now how do we make summer reading fun for the kids? How do we get them to read?

Take the kids to the library and help them to discover what type of books speak to them. It may be mysteries (which was what I loved) or  books about sports, dinosaurs, flowers, coding, flower arranging, jewelry making and other fun things.  Make the trip to the library a reward for completing their chores etc. There's a place in the library for everyone in your family, even you.

Ask the librarian what books are popular with the kids in their age group and what their peers are checking out. Librarians can be sooooo helpful and they are there to assist you in any way.

Select a wide variety of reading material every time you go to the library to expose them to more things. Even magazines and comic books. Books about building, art and crafts, astronomy or cooking would definitely be a great way to go. They may have a hidden talent that could be developed this summer.

Find fun places for the kids to read. A designated reading corner with a pillow and blanket would work nicely. Reading to your preschoolers is the perfect way to develop a love for reading and it's great quality time together.  Your kids will always have a great memory of reading with you.

Reading Teepees are cool too. It defines a special place for the kids to read, whether it is inside or outside the house. Great reading memories can be made inside a fun reading teepee.   CLICK HERE TO GET THE DETAILS on making this  No Sew Teepee

Now that you have the kids reading and enjoying it, how about giving them a fun reading reward? We have bookmarks for girls (above) and for boys (below) Kids LOVE bookmarks and how else are they going to mark their place in the books?    

 CLICK HERE  for bookmarks for girls.

We designed these bookmarks in colors that the boys would like.  Who knows…..they might just make reading even more fun! 

CLICK HERE for bookmarks for boys

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50+ Homemade Popsicle Recipes-Treat for the Heat!

Here's to a summer full of Delicious Cold Treats....We're talking about POPSICLES!  And to celebrate that thought, below are just a few of the recipes from a list of 50+ Homemade Popsicles  (Look for the Link below) Photos and recipes are included with each one.  Make a new popsicle (recipe) each day..... Bring on the summer heat!

A. Orange-Banana Smoothie Popsicle

B. Strawberry PushUp

C. Watermeon-Mint Ice Pops

D. Chunky Peach Popsicle

E. Banana Dipped in Chocolate Popsicle

F. Root Beer Float Popsicle

G. Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Pops

H. Homemade Fudgsicles

I. Fresh Peach Ice Pops & Creamsicles
J. Healthy Popicles

This is your link to the list that will make summer delicious! 

50+ Homemade Popsicle Recipes

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Fun Ideas for Summer Vacation Activities Plus A Easy Way to Organize It

We're reissuing this blog post just in time for the kid's summer vacation!

I loved it when the kid's summer vacation came along.....no more homework, no deadlines....no getting up early.....just relaxation and fun!  Okay, so every minute isn't perfect and there may be times when the kids don't always get along....  So how do we make this summer one the kids will always remember?  One simple word: Organization. We've found a lot of really great and fun ideas to fill the summer hours. Things the kids will like and you too.  Things you can do on an individual basis or as a family.

So you're asking "How am I going to organize this summer vacation?" We've got the perfect answer.  Our Summertime Activity Jar  will make this task simple!

There are 18 different tags in each color.  (red, green and orange-54 tags in all in this printable) Write an activity on each card and put one colored tag in each jar and have the kids draw out a card from the appropriate jar. That way you will be able to plan your day by the time the activity takes. You may not need this large of a jar and you may not use all the cards but we've made sure that you do have a lot of cards in case you need them.  There are actually 4 different labels for the jars too.

Click HERE to get the printable for this Summer Activity Jar

Red cards are for an activity that takes less than an hour.  Green cards are for activities that take more than an hour and orange cards are for activities that take more than a day. Just write the activities on each card. You can put a round sticker on each card to close it to there's no peeking!

The sky's the limit on what fun activities you can put on these cards. Use your imagination, ask the kids what they want to do this summer and check our blog often for more fabulous activity ideas!

Quick activities can be fun too. They might be just the thing to get the kids out of the "I'm bored" frame of mind.  You can put this label on a box or any kind of container instead of a glass jar.

Learning to bake and cook is an excellent activity....Swimming and water balloon games are fun too. Check out some of the activities we found below.  We will be posting more ideas for summer activities in future posts.

Activities that take more than a day are perfect for the orange jar.  You may need the kids to draw out a specific card and you can do that by making the card or keeping track of what activity is on which design of card or picking it out of the jar yourself.  I'm sure this jar won't be loaded like the one in the photo. You could use a smaller jar.  We purchased these jars at IKEA for $2 or $3.

Click HERE to get the printable for this Summer Activity Jar

Below are some ideas to get you started filling out your activity cards.  Lots of great ideas with more to come!

Kids love scavenger hunts and its something you can do inside the house or in the backyard or even at a park.  Have fun looking at these ideas!  Click HERE

JUMBO BACKYARD KERPLUNK GAME

Now this Jumbo Backyard Kerplunk game looks like fun. Click HERE

TRIPLE BEAN BAG GAME

Kids love bean bag games plus it helps with their coordination!  Click HERE

 DIY DUNK BUCKET

All I can say about this game is FUN FUN FUN   Click HERE

BUILD A BIRDHOUSE

Time for the kids to be creative!  Click HERE

TIN CAN TOSS

Excellent outdoor game. (sorry but couldn't find the original link but It is pretty explanatory)

ICE BLOCK TREASURE HUNT

COOL and Fun Activity!   Click HERE

This sounds like an afternoon of fun.  Click HERE


Click HERE to see one of our Summer Activity Posts 
in our blog with a LOT of Fun Ideas


We have Soooooo Many Fun Activities and games for your kid's Summer Vacation that we can't post everything here.  Watch for other posts with Amazingly fun Ideas.  Your kid's SUMMER Vacation is going to ROCK THIS YEAR!!!!

Click HERE to get the printable for this Summer Activity Jar

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Our Camping Birthday Collection is Now Available--Party Favors, Food and Decorations!

It's the perfect time for an outdoor/camping themed birthday party! This type of party can be so much fun, especially using some of the ideas we show below. Our Camping Birthday Printable makes it even more special! A camp-out sleep-over would be great fun for the kids too

This party package is good for kids and adults. This is my son-in-laws birthday party. It was lots of fun with lots of treats and good food.

Click CLICK HERE to start planning a Camping Birthday Party (printable available now) 

During the summer The Dollar Store has lots of colorful plastic containers. Use them to hold party favors or add ice to a large bucket for your drinks etc. Cheap but so cute!

Chocolate Cupcakes are everyone's favorite!

You've already got a fabulous treat with these chocolate cupcakes but make them even more fun by topping them with these "Happy Birthday" round tags.

Orange and Root Beer Soda are fun w/wraps, tags and straws 

Stewart's Soda has a twist-off lid and are delicious! Our drink wraps can be used for bottled water.

Party Favors-Giant Bubbles

These over-sized bubbles bottles from The Dollar Store are a fun party favor. Use the dollar candy wraps, cut to fit the bubbles bottle and add a "Thanks for coming" tag.

Party Favors-Silly String

We also picked up some Silly String for a party favor and added a "Thanks for coming" tag.

Dollar Candy Wraps

Dollar candy comes in different sizes but we've made the candy wraps large enough that it will fit the largest all the way down to the smallest box. Just adjust to fit your favorite candy box.

Bag w/tag for Granola

Granola is a fun camping treat. Just use a plain paper bag for the guests to fill with granola. We used a edge puncher to make it a little more special, then added a "Thanks for coming" tag.

Earthbound Farms Granola Recipe

I love this Granola recipe and what's more perfect for a camping party the Granola? It is so yummy that I could have it for breakfast everyday!  Here it is

Wrap fits all sizes of Dollar Candy

The candy wraps for the dollar candy and the giant Hershey chocolate bars come in brown or orange. We added a contrasting bow on each box.

Add a tag to a bag of cookies for party favor

Whether it's homemade or store-bought cookies,  this 4" x6" clear bag is perfect with our tag on top!

Burlap and a cute tag make this drink FUN!

We bought a 4" roll of burlap at Zurchers to put on the front of these mason jars. They have a lot of different burlap items that you can use for a camping themed party.

A Pink Watermelon Lemonade Slushy drink is such a great summertime treat

This drink was isso  refreshing and delicious! People will be impressed!

Giant Hershey Bar 

The wraps for the dollar candy also fit the Hershey Giant chocolate bars. 

Here's the entire Birthday Party spread. It was so much fun putting it together.  My daughter and granddaughters helped to make it a great success.

Sixlets come in all kinds of colors

 The kids will also love these Sixlet candies. We found 2 lb bags at Winco Grocery stores for $6.35. You can buy 2 lb. bags at JoAnn's or Zuchers for about $9.85.

Hershey chocolate Nugget Candies are so delicious!

These "Going Wild" and "Wild Things" candy wraps make this party favor super fun! If you haven't tried the Hershey chocolate Nuggets you are missing out! 

Party Favor Treat Box

This party favor treat box can be used to hold literally any treat that you want. We put candy in a 4" x 6" clear bag and added our "Roughin' It" tag on top. The quick and simple tutorial is included within the printable. We used the straw flags to decorate the front of this box. 

Round Camping tags can be used in so many ways

Round tags that say "Happy Birthday" and "Thanks for coming" are included and can be utilized in many different ways for your party favors and food.

Such a fun way to serve Watermelon-Looks like a treat now

Cutting the watermelon up like this is soooooo Easy but look how fun it is now! First slice it into 1" to 1.5" slices, then turn it 90 degrees and slice again....And you're done! It's a really easy way to eat Our party guests loved eating watermelon this way.

Pink Watermelon Lemonade Slushy

We used the second half or the watermelon to make this Watermelon Slushy that was so yummy! Here's the recipe.

Smores are a MUST for a camping party

Yes Smores are a must and such a simple dessert that everyone loves.  You could get the Hershey candy bars at Walmart for $2.88 for 6 bars!

Outdoor Fire Pit Tutorials

My husband put this together one afternoon. Super simple and we love using it. Check out our "Ourdoors" Pinterest board for tutorial on building your own fire pit.  Click HERE

Our  SMORES Pinterest Board has 27 different Smores Recipes!  Click HERE

YUMMY!

Thanks for checking out our Camping Birthday Party. It was so much fun to put together. 

 This is where your FUN begins! CLICK HERE

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