Ideas for simple family fun

My family likes to keep things simple. The times when we do have to race around town from one thing to the next never seem to go well, so as much as possible we try to do less instead of more.

In Spokane, this gets a lot easier when spring and summer roll around. Yesterday’s agenda involved “building” things out of scrap lumber in the backyard, planting more seeds in the garden and taking a tricycle ride around the neighborhood (which led to the discovery of a babysitter who lives a block away—you can never have enough!).

As if the day couldn’t have been more perfect, the ice cream man made his first visit of the season.

This weekend’s agenda: The Hutton Elementary School carnival tonight (we don’t live in that neighborhood, but we drive past the sign advertising the carnival on the way to preschool every day, so why not?) and the Lilac Festival Torchlight parade tomorrow, if the girls can stay awake that late.

As the weather continues to warm up, consider these ideas for simple summertime family fun:

-Lemonade stands

-Climbing trees

-Neighborhood parades

-Running through sprinklers

-Camping (backyard or otherwise)

-Picnics and day hikes

-Making ice cream

-Kite flying

-Fishing

-Drawing a map of your neighborhood or favorite park.

-Setting up a cinema under the stars in your backyard and inviting friends over. Serve popcorn.

-Teaching the kids traditional outdoor games , like capture the flag, kick the can and red light/green light.

-Decorating the driveway with sidewalk chalk

-Planning a scavenger hunt.

What ideas would you add to the list?

By the way, if you’re trying to raise your family at a slower pace than most, you might be interested in learning more about what’s being called the Slow Family Movement through this news story and this website . (Links found via Ohdeedoh .)