Cheap Fun Is All Around You

August is often summer's most challenging month, as summer camps and extended school year programs end and school has not yet begun. If you're in need of some quick cheap fun, peek into the pantry or bathroom cabinet for some items that are just waiting around to be transformed into playthings. Make a mosaic with macaroni. Do finger-painting with shaving cream. Bury toys in rice and let little hands search for them. Play cotton-ball hockey with air blown through drinking straws. Try these and other ideas on my Fun 911 list, and you'll also strengthen speech and motor skills. (But you don't have to tell the kids that part.)

This post is my submission to the All About Parenting Blog Carnival for August.

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}