creative !

by Kelsi Shelton for The Bulletin Special Projects

photos by Kari Mauser

Remember all those fun activities you did as a child? Making play dough, creating art with potato stamps and neighborhood scavenger hunts might come to mind.

As the final school days pass, tapping into those memories from your own childhood, as well as beefing up that arsenal of fun, time-tested projects, can ease the panic that rises up when facing the reality of your kids being footloose and fancy-free during the long, hot summer months.

One of the best ways to find creative inspiration is to utilize natural resources, said Christine Oden, owner and program director of Mama Bear Oden’s Eco Kidz Preschool in Bend.

“Think outside the box and gather things all around you such as rocks to paint, sticks and logs to create toadstools, or pine cones for making beautiful birds,” Oden suggested. “Using kids’ ideas is a great way to inspire children to get outdoors and be active.”

Another fun and practical activity Oden said kids love is to plant seeds and watch them grow. Letting the kids pick specific plants and flowers that attract beneficial insects adds another element of interest. Also, worm composting is both fun and educational and gives kids a way to nurture their gardens.

To take it even a step further, Oden suggested teaching kids about the different critters that visit the garden day and night. This is a wonderful opportunity for kids to witness the interconnectedness of maintaining a garden, a summer activity that can fill hours of otherwise idle time, she said.

Even simple activities such as leaf printing can delight kids of all ages, according to Caroline Nesbitt, Curator of Education at the High Desert Museum. Coloring or painting a sheet of paper laid on top of anything from a leaf or a pine needle to a blade of grass or piece of tree bark can turn into a fun art project.

Give kids an inch, and they’ll take a mile with their imagination.

“Duct tape is like a line item budget at our house,”said Bend Science Station’s Lisa Bermudez, who has two boys of her own. “I’ll give this to my kids, and they’ll make a sword out of it, which then leads them to asking for a stick and then a rope and then cardboard. … The key is to let them build it. Get a huge refrigerator box from Cash and Carry, or a dishwasher box and see what they do with it.”

Bermudez emphasized the importance of listening to your kids to find out what they are most interested in. Then, when looking for fun recipes online, you can narrow the search.

When everything in the recycle bin has already been transformed into something else and nature seems to have nothing left to give, some simple science might be the perfect solution.

When kids get to mix ingredients to create their own paint or play dough, not only is the process fun but being able to play with something they made themselves adds something magical to the experience, Oden explained. Mixtures that create unique substances are often kid favorites, such as Oobleck and Flubber.

Read on for some recipe favorites from Bend’s local experts (and a few outsiders) to try at home and keep the kids entertained throughout the summer.