After many months of cold winter, the season of sunshine is finally here. When summer vacation begins, we all dream of making special and lasting memories with our children. Here are some affordable, educational, and exciting options for your family this summer.

Make!

• Make a kite and fly it outside your house or at a nearby park.
• Make a time capsule. Include photos, today’s newspaper, a toy, and letters from his/herself, mom, and dad.
• Make a small garden and plant vegetables and flowers. Help the children take care of it. Make a salad or cook together with what they harvest. Discuss what it takes to eat what we get from the grocery.
• Make homemade ice cream and popsicles. Spend time in the kitchen together. Make pizza or cookies. You get to spend fun time with children and eat yummy food all at once!

Volunteer!

• Visit local animal shelters or nursing homes. There are many nonprofit organizations in town where kids can volunteer. Another option would be to make cards at home and send them to troops or nursing home residents.

Take fun classes!

• Register for a summer reading program at the local library.  Attend free events too!
• Sign up for swimming classes and take the kid’s annual summer splash to the next level.
• Yoga/Zumba/Dance class. Have fun and be healthy at the same time!

Go! How many of these have your children been to?

• Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
• Hesston Steam Museum
• Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium
• Conner Prairie
• Black Pine Animal Sanctuary
• Clifty Falls State Park
• Turkey Run State Park
• Marengo Cave
• Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field
• Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari
• Shipshewana Flea Market
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
• The Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Oldfields Gardens