The young and the restless

It sounds so good: Lazy summer days with nothing to do. But, as anyone with active and antsy children in the house knows, nothing to do gets old fast.

Some new books and magazines come to the rescue, offering ideas for things to do before rest becomes restless.

The best part? Most can be done with items you likely have around the house:

* "FamilyFun: My Great Idea" (Disney) includes parents' tips for, well, family fun. A total of 350 submitted their ideas, including Cindy Gwozdz from Taunton, Mass.

Her daughters used oversized boxes to turn the back yard into a drive-in movie theater. They spent an entire afternoon decorating their boxes with windshields, rearview mirrors, wheels and license plates. Then, their Aunt Carol pulled a TV onto the deck to complete the experience. (She also loaded up on snack food and mosquito coils.)

Meanwhile, the Kittles family of Jupiter, Fla., has its own drive-in theater -- the garage. They drag their VCR (or maybe a DVD player) out to the garage and then climb into the family van. "There are no bugs," says mom Lynette, "and the food is more reasonably priced."

Tawni Ballinger of Germantown, Tenn., with help from and decorations by her twin daughters, turns the family van into an ice-cream truck all in an effort to help the hungry.

The Ballingers fill up a cooler with frozen treats and head out in their van with a cow bell to announce their arrival up and down the street. But instead of paying for their ice cream pops with money, neighbors donate canned goods.

The next day, they drive down to the local food bank to deliver the supplies they've gathered.

* Parenting magazine's July issue features a section called "backyard party," which needs no other occasion than a pleasant day for friends and families enjoying each other's company. Some games are "aqua pinata" and "dog chases tail."

For the pinata, fill a large plastic bucket halfway with water and hang it from a tree branch. Blindfold kids, spin them around, and then give them a shot -- one by one -- to try and tip the bucket with a broomstick or plastic baseball bat. Watch out for the downpour!

Dog chases tail requires no equipment other than a bandanna or scarf.

Line kids up, holding each other at the shoulders or waist, conga-line style. Tuck the scarf into the last child's back pocket. The first child in line tries to grab the "tail" from the last, leading the others on a zigzagging run in the process.

Let everyone have a turn as the tail or the head.

The August issue of Parenting suggests additions to your tote bag that can turn a day in the sandbox from ordinary to extraordinary.

Toss in a rubber glove and plastic spoon so children can fill the glove with sand, using the spoon. Then tie it off at the wrist and they'll have a squishy, flexible hand that's fun to play with.

Bring two dozen ice pop sticks (or regular sticks that are approximately the same length) and you can help children anchor and build their own houses in the sand.

A bag of shells, aluminum foil balls or pennies can be easily hidden -- and recovered -- in the sand during a treasure hunt.

* In the June-July issue of Nick Jr. Family Magazine, there are recipes for "15 minutes of fun," including games called "Will it float?" and "Rainbow ice."

Who said summer fun can't be educational, too? A collection of household items and a plastic pool or tub transforms the back yard into a science lab for "Will it float?"

Before you toss corks, balls, film canisters, wooden blocks, keys, rocks, coins and ice cubes into the filled tub, ask your youngster for a prediction whether the item will sink or swim.

"Rainbow ice" gets the creative juices flowing. Pull a bag of ice of out the freezer and place it in a pan outside on a table or the lawn. Don't worry about breaking up the ice, it actually works best as a solid chunk.

Blend several drops of food coloring and water in squeeze bottles and let kids drizzle colors onto the ice. They'll have a new palette each time the ice melts a bit.

* "Lithgow Party Paloozas: 52 Unexpected Ways to Make a Birthday, Holiday or Any Day a Celebration for Kids" (Fireside Original/Simon & Schuster) is by John Lithgow, who reminds playmates young and old that everyday is some sort of "palooza" -- defined as "something outstanding of its kind."

Lithgow says he's a fan of water parks but he doesn't like the long drives and crowded parking lots that usually come with them. He suggests setting up your own in the back yard with a "slip-i-dee-doo-dah" slide.

You'll need 40 feet of thick plastic sheeting available at home supply stores and a garden sprinkler. Set the plastic sheeting on a grassy hill that's free of rocks and sharp bumps. Secure the slide at the four corners and at intervals along the edges with small plastic garden stakes.

Set a sprinkler on low at the top of the slide to make it slippery. Take turns sliding on your belly or back, giving yourself plenty of room between sliders.

(As much fun as a slide like this is for people, lawns don't like it much. Remove the plastic and stakes as soon as you're done to keep grass green and happy.)

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From Lithgow Party Paloozas! by John Lithgow. Copyright 2005 by John Lithgow. Reprinted by permission of Fireside Books/Simon & Schuster Inc.

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Summer tips from moms

Local moms who are also educators call on a variety of activities to keep their own children happy and occupied over the summer.

Denise McDowell

Teaches: Second grade at North Elementary

Children: ages 12 to 24

Her advice: "I guess I'm goal-oriented. I try to make sure they have something to do each day. It doesn't make summer go by too fast, but it keeps them from being bored."

What her children do: participation in a 4-H club has McDowell's 12- and 16-year-olds involved in cooking, sewing and scrapbooking projects for upcoming fairs.

McDowell also recommends day trips to places such as the Conservation Department, Trail of Tears State Park or the Bootheel Youth Museum in Malden, Mo. She tries to encourage spending a lot of time outdoors, including camping and fishing. McDowell stresses the importance of reading and reviewing math skills, especially in late summer. "As a teacher, I know kids backslide. They need to read. It doesn't have to be a novel. Magazines for kids are also great."

Leslie Leimbach

Teaches: Fifth grade at West Lane Elementary

Children: ages 9 and 13

Her advice: "It never hurts to do flashcards, like add, subtract and multiply. If you can get them to start reading a few minutes at night, even 10 minutes to get those skills back, that's good."

What her children do: "One thing our kids enjoy is just playing in the neighborhood. They play wiffle ball or get a kickball game going. The parents bring lawn chairs and sit on the patio. I call it good old-fashioned neighborhood fun," said Leimbach. "Our family cherishes that time."