Creative

• Show children how to make tree bark rubbings with paper and crayons pressed sideways.
• Set recycled boxes aside for one week, then let children “build” box creations (car, train, house, instrument, etc.).
• Provide children with wide paint brushes, paint rollers or spray bottles,  and show them how they can “paint” the house or fence with a bucket of plain water.
• Give children sidewalk chalk and pavement limits to create beautiful murals.  Wait for the rain to wash them away, and start all over again.
• Let children put up stage sets outdoors, buy a couple of throw-away  cameras for a day of  “say cheese please”.  After photos are developed, let the children scrapbook them into an album or book.
• Collect old magazines, coloured flyers, scissors and glue for children to create collages.  This could be done outdoors as long as it is not too windy.
• Don’t wait for Christmas to build those gingerbread houses, buy some graham crackers for walls, shreddies for roof tiles, icing to hold it all together, and candies for decoration, and have your children build “summer cottages”.
• Have children join you in making playdough, and let them create a playdough zoo or bakery.
• Bake cookies with children.  They can make Peanut Butter Puppy cookies for the family pet by mixing 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 cup peanut butter with 1 cup milk.  Roll out dough to 1/4 ” .  Cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and bake until lightly brown (20 minutes) on a greased sheet at 375 F.