When I was young, LEGOs® were brightly colored rectangles that came in a box. Children lucky enough to have some could build anything they could imagine. Today, there are all manner of specialized LEGOs®: Star Wars LEGOs®, James Bond LEGOs®, even “LEGO Friends” targeted at girls (LEGO Friends Dolphin Cruise®, LEGO Friends Heartlake High®—yikes!). Each … Continue reading
It’s time again, for the Global Cardboard Challenge! The Imagination Foundation describes the Challenge: “The Global Cardboard Challenge is an annual challenge that invites kids around the world to design and build awesome creations using cardboard, recycled materials and imagination. The challenge culminates in a Global Day of Play on October 5th, marking the 2nd … Continue reading
Years ago, just as my husband and I were about to head for a Maine vacation, he had a scary encounter with a blood clot that kept us homebound. In the midst of that frightening time, a wonderful group of friends arrived at our doorstep with a large box. It was, they declared, a vacation-in-a-box. … Continue reading
Every summer has some days when it is too rainy, or too hot, to spend all day outside. For days like that, exploring ways to be an inventor can be just the ticket for creative summer fun. 1. Introduce your family to Rube Goldberg inventions. Rube Goldberg’s cartoons of amazing fantasy machines have inspired budding … Continue reading
This week’s family fun is a guest post from my friend Kaylynn, all about family activities with clouds . Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green? Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by? Is that what you do? … Continue reading
If you live far from the Salt Lake Valley, your first response to this post’s title may have been, “Pioneer what?” While students across the United States study westward expansion in school, only in Utah (as far as I know) do pioneers get their own holiday, July 24. Pioneer Day commemorates the day the Mormon … Continue reading
One of my favorite childhood memories is ice cream for dinner. Nothing else, just ice cream for dinner. One sweltering night during the un-air conditioned summer, my mother declared it was too hot to cook and we’d just have ice cream. I don’t know what got into my nutritionally-minded mother, but the ice cream dinner … Continue reading
Being married to an actor, I’ve had a lot of experience with costumes. Dressing up to transform into someone else is an experience that doesn’t fade much with time. So for this week, here are creative ways to explore “dress up,” good for children of all ages. Really. Let’s start with good old-fashioned dress up. … Continue reading
Now that summer is in full bloom in the U.S. and most children are out of school for a while, it is time to return to weekly “Family Fun” postings. For July and August I’ll post family- friendly activities on Mondays, with more varied posts later in the week. Of course these will include lesson … Continue reading
I love museums. I stand in awe of human creativity at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and of the innovations at the Henry Ford Museum. I delight in watching children’s explorations at our local Hands On Museum. And, of course, when I have the chance to travel, I find more museums to love—whether my traveling … Continue reading
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