As a parent, one thing I always tried to do when my kids were young was to create a sense of wonder and magic in their lives. I rarely heard them say, “I’m bored!”

Summer is the perfect season to make fun childhood memories. My mom was a master at creating memories for my sister and me. Thinking about why my summers as a kid were so special, I have renewed admiration for what my mother put into planning our summers.

She was a BOP (Born Organized Person). She always had a daily agenda for the summer months and it included household chores first and then fun. Attention moms, use fun activities you plan as a reward for getting the mundane household responsibilities accomplished every day.

Sometimes things can get a little hectic during the holidays, especially if the gathering is at your house.

Here's a great idea using children's imaginations to keep them busy for an hour or so before the feast is served. AND you'll end up with a festive holiday tablecloth that'll end up a valued keepsake.

All you need is a twin-size, flat, white sheet, some butcher paper (or newspapers) and marker pens. Then sit back and  watch what happens when you let your little artists take over.

Video is 1:32 in length.

1. See the sights

October in our state of Washington and its neighbor Oregon is stunningly beautiful now. Take a drive through the countryside and remember, it’s not too late to get one more picnic in.

What are some famous sights in your area? Go check them out. If you have already been to them, try to discover something new about them. If there aren’t any famous sights in your area, then go discover ones that aren’t famous.

In our writing career we spoke to thousands of groups and rarely did we have men in our audiences. We even thought about having a seminar just for men, but most wondered if we could have a television there with "the game" on in the background or better yet, conduct the workshop from a tavern or sports bar. Of course we never were able to pull off a How to Organize Your Home exclusively for men, so we did the next best thing. We put some thought into how to get husbands to help around the house. Here we are on television with Gary Collins talking about just that.

 The video has some really good ideas that will help.

As a parent, one thing I always tried to do when my kids were young was to create a sense of wonder and magic in their lives. I rarely heard them say, “I’m bored!”

Summer is the perfect season to make fun childhood memories. My mom was a master at creating memories for my sister and me. Thinking about why my summers as a kid were so special, I have renewed admiration for what my mother put into planning our summers.

She was a BOP (Born Organized Person). She always had a daily agenda for the summer months and it included household chores first and then fun. Attention moms, use fun activities you plan as a reward for getting the mundane household responsibilities accomplished every day.

In our writing career we spoke to thousands of groups and rarely did we have men in our audiences. We even thought about having a seminar just for men, but most wondered if we could have a television there with "the game" on in the background or better yet, throw the workshop from a tavern or sports bar. Of course we never were able to pull off a How to Organize Your Home exclusively for men. Here we are on television with Gary Collins talking about how to get husbands to help. 

10 Fun Summer Activities for Kids

As parents, one thing you can do while your kids are young, is to create a sense of wonder and magic in their lives. If you do that, you'll rarely hear them say, “I’m bored!”

Summer is the perfect season to make fun childhood memories. My mom was a master at creating memories for my sister and me. Thinking about why my summers as a kid were so special, I have renewed admiration for what my mother put into planning our summers.

She was a BO (Born Organized) mom. She always had a daily agenda for the summer months, and it included doing household chores first and then having fun out of the house.

Attention moms; plan fun activities and use them as a reward for getting the mundane household responsibilities accomplished every day. Your kids will have far more energy and desire to do their chores when they know they get to do something fun with they're done.

Sometimes things can get a little hectic during the holidays, especially if the gathering is at your house.

Here's a grand idea using children's imaginations to keep them busy for an hour or so before the feast is served. AND you'll end up with a festive holiday tablecloth that'll end up a valued keepsake.

All you need is a twin-size flat sheet, some butcher paper (or newspapers) and marker pens and you'll see what can happen in your home. Watch this short video and let your little artists take over.

Watch this DIY video and see how fun it is.

1. See the sights

October in our state of Washington and its neighbor Oregon is stunningly beautiful now. Take a drive through the countryside and remember, it’s not too late to get one more picnic in.

What are some famous sights in your area? Go check them out. If you have already been to them, try to discover something new about them. If there aren’t any famous sights in your area, then go discover ones that aren’t famous.

Family members don't pick up after themselves? This FREE game will stop that!