Silly Saturday - Summertime Blues

We all know what summer means for our school age children -
BORED
ANNOYING
KIDS

And for those kids that haven't gone to camp or summer rec (like mine), it's even worse.
Sure they have video games and TV, but what happens when they wear out?
And it's not like they can go outside every day in this Texas summer heat (104 last week!!!!!)
And on top of THAT . . . Craft supplies can be PRICY.
So how in the WORLD do you keep bored kids entertained on a hot summer day??

One of my favorite activities to do with the kids involves a bit of recycling (sort of).
We take old newspapers and wad them up into (loose) balls, which we then put into two boxes.
Then we take chairs and blankets, move a bit of furniture around, and make two "forts".
Even numbers on each side of the room and then . . .
SNOWBALL FIGHT!

My kids can do this for hours.

Other newspaper activities:
Paper Mache (you can make homemade paste by following this recipe)
Paper boats (if you live close to a pond or creek, you can have a boat race!)
Paper hats

So what if you don't have newspaper?
Well there are a few other recyclables around your home I'm sure: Paper towel or toilet paper rolls, scratch paper, magazines, fliers, chip cans, applesauce/yogurt containers (washed) - these can all be used to make some amazing recycled crafts!

Okay, so the craft idea is out the window for some reason or another (I don't keep trash, I don't want to clean up the mess, kids to young, kids too old) . . .

Give your young ones a couple of sponges and spray bottles of water and let them clean your kitchen floor (hey, this works!! They have a BLAST!)

If it's not TOO hot out there, water guns, a small wading pool, and water balloons are all cheap as is running through the sprinkler.

While the summer heat can be unbearable for many of us (some more than others) there are ways to work around it and ensure that our kids aren't bored ALL the time (lets face it, they're going to bored at SOME point).

What are some of your favorite summertime activities?