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When school is out many parents struggle to find personalized fun activities for the kids to engage in during long, hot days. Fortunately there are plenty of activities that are easy to come up with that don't really cost a lot of money. Children, especially young children have short attention spans, and therefore require many different, short-lasting activities to hold their attention.

When its hot outside and you are struggling to come up with customized ideas for the kids, try a few of these to jump start your days.

' Consider setting up a home made slip and slide for the kids by using long pieces of plastic garbage bags (the heavy-duty kind you use for leaves) or any other plastic, flat material you have (like a tent top) that you can slick down and put a running hose over. Lay it on top of a hill so the kids can slip down it.

' Set up a baby pool for the kids and let the older and younger kids dip their toes in it while enjoying an all fruit popsicle. Spray each child down with a hose every now and again.

' Find a part with lots of shade and set up a corporate picnic brunch in the mornings for the kids BEFORE it gets too hot out.

' Have lots of fund making an indoor tent when its too hot to go out in the afternoons. Just put a few chairs together and throw an old sheet under them, or even better if you have the space use a small tent and set it up inside in the family room or basement. If it's cool outside at night, camp outside in the backyard rather than travel long distances. Have your kids invite the neighbors over and have a promotional outdoor slumber party for the kids during the summer months.

' After the sun goes down encourage your kids to go for a walk with you at the end of the day to tire them out. This will help them fall asleep faster especially when the sun tends to stay up later during the summer months.

' To encourage your children to get a good night's sleep during the summer, try getting some heavier light-blocking curtains, or have them help you cover their windows in tin foil for the summer so their rooms stay cool as well as nice and dark so they sleep better during the night. You can still put them to bed early when young even if the sun is out until 9:00 p.m.!

' Make customized orange juice ice cubes for the kids, just pour some OJ in your ice cube maker and cover with saran wrap. Poke a hole in the top and place a popsicle stick in there so when the OJ freezes and you pop the cubes out, they have a true popsicle to hold.

Remember, summer is a fun time for everyone. There's lots of fun activities you can do for the kids, and for you too!