The Best Ways to Cool off with Kids Right Now

We’re taking a break from Camp Grandma to focus on the recording-breaking heat that’s putting a damper on kids’ activities this summer. So this week, I’ve gathered some great tips on ways to cool off with kids.

Expert Tips for Cooling Off with Kids

Take some smart advice from reliable sources:

• A Guide to Keeping Young Children Safe During Hot Summer Months–from Loma Linda University
• Heat Wave Safety Tips–from Unicef
• How to Stay Cool and Safe in a Heat Wave–from The New York Times
• Extreme Heat: Tips to Keep Kids Safe when Temperatures Soar–from the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Extreme Heat Safety–from the Red Cross
• Keeping your Kids Happy and Healthy even During a Heat Wave–from Montreal Children’s Hospital

Indoor Games to Keep Kids Having Fun

Experts agree that during a heat wave, kids should be indoors during the hottest hours. But unless you plan for some activities, they’ll end up vegging out in front of the tube. Try these ways to entertain:

• A fishing game—kids make the fish from origami paper and attach a paper clip to each; then they hook the fish with a magnet on a stick.
• Four easy recipes for grandma fun–make ice cream in a bag as a science project or try out recipes for slime, giant bubbles, and play dough.
• Bean bag games–sew bean bags by hand or machine (I show you how) and use them to play the games featured in this post.
• Treasure hunt–hide cryptic clues all around the house to find a small treasure surprise.
• Scavenger hunt–make a list of items for kids to find. We did this outdoors in the neighborhood, but this game can be played easily indoors.
• The restaurant game—serve food cut out from magazines.
• Make story cards–turn magazine cutouts or web printouts into cards; tell stories with them.
• For more ideas, here are 20 indoor games from Today’s Parent.

Crafts to Keep Kids Entertained Indoors

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends activities like crafting when it’s too hot to be outdoors. Here are some projects to try:

• Fashion a fairy lantern from a mason jar, or make an adaptation such as a Paw Patrol version.
• Make clothespin dolls and then a dollhouse from shoe boxes.
• Turn recycle trash into puppets–use imagination to create and animate.
• Handcraft simple books to tell stories.
• Make a diorama. Ours was for Halloween, but you could make one for dinosaurs or underwater fishes. You can even cut out photos of the kids and incorporate them into the scene.

Shelter at the Library

If you don’t have home air conditioning, the best place to get relief is the public library, where kids can read, learn, and entertain themselves while keeping cool. Many libraries have free activities like story time, reading programs, science workshops, and craft classes.

If kids don’t want to sit and read, check out 10 Quiet Games to Play at the Library by BookShark. Of the 10, I especially liked “Random Acts of Kindness,” where kids write sweet, affirming notes and tuck them into favorite books for the next reader to find.

Cool Treats for Kids

Here are some easy and healthy frozen treats we like to make:

• Paletas–simple, delicious Mexican Fruit Pops (recipe below).
• Banana Pops–just freeze bananas and enjoy as is, or coat in melted chocolate.
• Super-Easy Avocado Sherbet–sweet, tart, creamy and luscious; no ice cream freezer is needed for this easy treat.
• Canned Fruit Sorbet–a frozen can of fruit, a food processor, and 5 minutes–that’s all it takes to make this velvety sorbet.

My Favorite Cold Meals for the Family

• Cold Noodle Bowl—Japanese somen noodles cooks in just 1 or 2 minutes; rinse under cool water with a few ice cubes to chill.
• Sunny’s Salad–this easy, mouthwatering, Thai-inspired main dish salad boasts bright, fresh flavors.
• Salade Niçoise–my all-time favorite salad takes a bit more effort since you have to boil a few eggs and make a simple French potato salad. But the taste will transport you to the French Riviera.

Paletas, Mexican Fruit Pops

This fruity summer treat is the ultimate in icy-cold deliciousness.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups prepared fresh fruit (see notes below)
• About 1/2 cup sugar, depending on sweetness of fruit
• 1/4 cup liquid, such as heavy cream, coconut milk, or water
• About 3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice, or to taste

Method:

Put fruit and a little more than half the sugar into a blender or food processor, along with the liquid of your choice. Purée smooth or leave it a little chunky. Taste and add as much remaining sugar, as needed; pulse to blend. Stir in lemon or lime juice, a little at a time, and taste until the desired tartness is reached.

Fill popsicle containers or ice cube trays, leaving 1/4-inch of space at the top because the purée will expand as it freezes; freeze until firm, about 5 to 6 hours. Makes about 2 1/2 cups (20 fluid ounces) purée.

Notes:

• Prepare fruits like peaches or nectarines by peeling and pitting. Cut fruit into chunks. Strawberries can go into the blender whole, after hulling.
• I have a powerful VitaMix blender; for blenders of very low power, you may need to cut up fruits, including strawberries, into smaller pieces.
• Liquids with fat, such as heavy cream and coconut milk, will make less-hard, easier-to-eat paletas; those made with water will freeze harder.
• We made ours with strawberries and heavy cream; we used less than 1/2 cup sugar and about 1 tablespoon lime juice.

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