Divas on a Dime: Summertime boredom busters for kids

The kids get out of school this week, and I’m in denial about the whole thing.

Seriously, I’m still thinking “what happened to April”?

I’ve mentioned before, our family homeschools but we take a break in the summer. It doesn’t take long for the kiddies to walk up to mom and declare they’re bored. As if the woman standing in front of a sink full of dirty dishes holds the secret to having a good time. But turns out - she does! Here are clever, inexpensive ideas that will keep kids of all ages happily entertained for hours.

Make five-minute baggie ice cream! Start with one gallon-sized and one quart-sized zip-top bags. Place three cups of ice cubes and four tablespoons of salt in the gallon-sized bag. Set aside. Into the quart-sized bag, pour one-half cup of milk or half and half, one tablespoon sugar, and a quarter teaspoon of vanilla. Make sure the quart-sized bag is completely sealed and place it inside the gallon-sized bag. Seal the gallon-sized bag and shake, shake, shake! Shake the bags for five minutes. Your kiddies get a bit of a workout, too. Bonus! You can eat your miraculous ice cream right out of the baggie. Add toppings as desired.

Make a bird feeder from a toilet paper roll! You’ll need an empty toilet paper roll, peanut butter, bird seed and twine. Schmere the toilet roll with peanut butter and roll it in bird seed. Thread a piece of twine about two feet long through the roll and tie a knot. Hang the bird feeder in a tree where the birds can find it. Keep your eyes on it so you can watch the birds enjoying their feast.

Make Puffy Slime! Only three ingredients and hours of fun. You’ll need: 2/3 cup Sta-Flo liquid starch, 2-2/3 cups white school glue, 2 cups shaving cream. Put the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. The shaving cream makes it puffy; add more as desired. This makes quite a slew of slime. To make colored slime, add food coloring. Store it in zip-top baggies to keep it from drying out.

Join 4-H! Loads of fun summer activities for the grand sum of $1 a year. The program is available for kids ages 5 through 19. You can join clubs like Cloverbuds for the young ones, the Garden Club, the Paw Pack for kids interested in dogs, the Bug Club, Livestock Club, Shooting Sports, Sewing Club, Minecraft Club and more. At the Double Digit Club, for kids ages 10 and up, people from the community share their inspiring skills and interests. The kids learn cool things and have new experiences. They might develop a new hobby or even a career.

Soon 4-H will be starting FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) an international competitive robotics league where kids 12 to 18 work together to build robots. The kids learn programming, coding and building in a cooperative supportive environment. Call 775-727-5532,ext. 1 for information. Or go to the UNCE/4-H building at 1651 East Calvada Blvd.

Frugal Family Fun contributed by Patti Diamond from Divas On A Dime – Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! www.divasonadime.com Join us on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom