Encourage health, fitness in summer

When kids are out of school, parents have an opportunity to promote fun, fitness and good health at home.

Physical fitness and good health go hand in hand with summer.

Consider these ideas to help fill the summer with fun:

• Have a camp out at home!

You don’t even have to haul out the suitcases or load up the car to have a fun summer vacation. Pick an evening when the whole family can take a break from the usual routine, then pitch a tent in the back yard. If you don’t have a tent, drape a tarp over a clothesline.

Families can build a safe campfire in a portable grill or hibachi for roasting marshmallows. Popular treats for the camping “trip” might include gorp or, good old raisins and peanuts, “birdseed” for humans, made of sunflower seeds, raisins, peanuts and dried dates, or some other variation of trail mix.

• Take a hike.

The family might pick a trail close to town or perhaps just take a long walk around the neighborhood. In addition to promoting family togetherness, a hike is good exercise.

Kids who are physically active have higher levels of self-esteem and they show lower levels of anxiety and stress.

For snacks, there are few rules, if any: It’s whatever you and the kids like. One way to get children on the health program is to involve them in the preparation of snacks. Children who are creatively involved with food may be more likely to taste and try new foods.

• Garden with children. Gardening helps kids learn how plants grow, how to harvest fruits and vegetables, how different part of the plants are eaten and how much fun it is to eat what you’ve grown. If room for gardening outside is not available, kids can plant a seed in a cup.

Inside activities

for hot days

Summer’s heat doesn’t have to spoil kids’ fun. A couple of indoor activities for parents and children include fingerpainting with pudding or baking a cake, inside an ice cream cone.

Here’s how:

• Finger painting. In a container with a tight-fitting lid, shake up a dry pudding mix and milk.

Make vanilla and chocolate pudding separately. Place a piece of parchment paper on the table and let the kids fingerpaint with the pudding. Add banana slices or M&Ms to decorate the pictures they create. Finger licking is allowed for this activity.

• Ice cream cone cakes. Prepare a cake mix according to directions, but spoon the batter into flat-bottomed ice cream cones until they are two-thirds full. Place the cones in muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. When the cake is cool, let the kids add decorations.

Parents also can help children find books that talk about food.

Read the book to your kids and them prepare a snack together. This can be a messy activity, but the kids learn so many different skills, including math, science, reading and following directions.

Help kids

make fun,

healthy snacks

National statistics indicate that approximately 70 percent of all kids and adults do not eat the recommended five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day for good health.

• Freeze fruits. Bananas are a popular choice. Parents can cut bananas in half, dip them in yogurt and roll in granola cereal before freezing. Frozen grapes are also becoming popular. They are cool like popsicles and sweet like candy, but they’ve got plenty of vitamins and fiber, too. To freeze grapes, wash and place individually on a cookie sheet before freezing. Later, transfer the grapes to a plastic bag ready for a cool summer snack anytime.

Whole frozen grapes should only be served to children age 3 or older; cut frozen grapes into smaller pieces for younger children as a precaution against choking.

• Make a fruit pop cup. Mix fruit and 100 percent juice in disposable small cups and freeze. Serve with a spoon.

• Use cold corn in salads and salsa. The next time you cook corn on the cob, make extra and refrigerate for another day. Then cut the corn off the cob and serve over a salad.

Other popular fruit snacks include blender shakes, sometimes also called smoothies or frosties, which include fresh fruit and yogurt or a banana split with yogurt, granola and cherries or blueberries.