better
FAMILY
M AKE A YEA R B O O K
Commemorate
sum m er-cam p-at-
home: Pick up an album and basic scrapbooking materials from
a craft store or bookstore, then add photos and mementos
(pressed leaves, Popsicle sticks, Band-Aids). If you’ve got techy
types, have them create the books digitally;
scrapbookflair.com
offers a range of free downloadable backgrounds, templates, and
embellishments. Assign older kids roles like page designer and
photographer. Don’t forget to leave time for new BFFs to write in
each other’s albums: “Stay cool, QT! C U @ school.”
GAM E M A SH-U P
Everyone wants to play something different?
New York City gym instructor John DeMatteo has a solution: Pull
out all your sports gear (balls, bats, goals, flags) and challenge kids
to invent their own game.
SUM M ER D ANCE
Remember the end-of-summer dance? Boys and girls
on opposite sides of the room, hesitantly merging into an awkward sway.
Today’s tweens have it much better. The hotly anticipated
C am pR ock2:
The F in a l Jam
debuts on the D isney Channel in August. Borrow a copy of
the original Jonas Brothers hit on DVD (trust us, someone you know owns
it), and review the special features, which include more songs, videos, and
karaoke, as well as dance moves. Then watch your Joe Jonas and Demi
Lovato wannabes hit the patio for a dance party, 21st-century style.
PICNIC AROUND TH E W ORLD
Eachweefetakeavirtual
field trip to a different foreign country. Let kids choose
their countries and do a little research to plan a menu
and learn a few native phrases. After lunch, play games
like “Down Down Down” ifyou’re goingto Australia, or
“Tiggy Off Ground” if you’re imagining a day at Windsor
Palace
(seegameskidsplay.net/games
for more international
games). Don’t forget music: Check out the playlists at National
Public Radio’s World Music online archives for great tunes.
ft
PEEP RO AST
Marshmallow roasts are less about the sugar rush
than the parent-approved opportunity to play with fire. Up the
excitement by serving Peeps, which, when heated, puff and
expand in unpredictable ways. The resulting menagerie embod-
ies two kids’ fascinations at once: the cute and the gross. (If your
local grocery or drugstore is all out of Peeps, order them at
justbomstore.com
.) (ffi
TIME: 2
HOURS
PERFECT FOR:
ALL AGES
Get camp-style artsy-craftsy at
home. Just biiy a plain, inexpensive
frame, commune with nature, get
creative—and have fun.
C U T -T W IG
FRAM E
Collect twigs,
pinecones, and
seed pods. Sand
and paint an
unfinished flat
frame. Using
handheld pruners,
have an adult cut
the twigs slightly longer than the
frame-face width. Glue the twigs
to the frame with all-purpose
crafts glue. Add pinecones or
pods to the corners. When glue
is dry, paint the decorations the
same color as the frame base.
LEA F
S T E N C IL
FRAM E
Collect
small
leaves to
use as
J
stencils.
I
Sand and
paint a flat
frame blue; let dry. Coat the backs
of the collected leaves with
repositionable spray adhesive
(follow directions on can). Adhere
the leaves to the frame. Spray-
paint the frame a different color
than the base. Immediately remove
the leaves. Add detail with
permanent marker.
— REBECCA FRENCH
ND GARDEN
