Great summer vacation ideas.

What is a vacation? The dictionary says it's a period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation. Vacation means freedom from everyday responsibilities and work. Hey, that sounds great, doesn't it? I bet you're ready for one.

But wait a minute. What about the children? You can't just fly off to Palm Beach like Mayzie the Lazy Bird and leave Horton the Elephant sitting on your nest. (Remember Dr. Seuss?)

So how can you have a vacation--and be a good parent, too? Here are some creative ideas.

Take a mini-vacation at home. Stretch a hammock in the shade of trees while the children play in the sprinklers. Sip lemonade. Read a good book. Just because you are home, you don't need to work all the time

* Pretend you are living in a motel and pay a teenager for maid service. And when the kids get hungry, take them out for some fun food. You can make healthy selections even in the fast-food department. Or purchase frozen entrees you can stick in the microwave. Remember, you're on vacation.

* Go camping in your own backyard. Set up the tent and let the kids sleep out in sleeping bags while you enjoy the comfort of your own bed. Build a small campfire and pop popcorn.

* Host a family slumber party. Put all the boys in one room and the girls in another, and their parents can either spend the night, or slip away after the kids are sleeping, get a good night's rest in their own beds, and reappear in time to help with breakfast.

Hire a baby-sitter. There's nothing wrong with hiring a baby-sitter to watch your kids while you escape to the bedroom with a great book, or enjoy a hobby that you've been wanting time for.

* If you go to the beach or some other interesting place where teenagers might like to go, invite them to go along if they will give you an hour or two of baby-sitting when you get there.

* And are you dreading that out-of-town vacation with motel living and keeping your children safe and content in a strange place? If so, take a baby-sitter along. Rent two motel rooms, and let the baby-sitter sleep with the kids. Go out on the town and enjoy your spouse--and let the children watch TV or play games in the hotel room. Many baby-sitters won't charge you for baby-sitting if you pay their way.

Plan creative activities. Children don't have to be entertained all summer. Put enough stimulating play equipment and materials in their environment, and they will entertain themselves. But children do look forward to creative activities.

* Soapsuds finger paint: Spread a plastic tablecloth on a picnic table or a hard surface. Put some Ivory Snow Hakes in a little warm water and beat until whipped cream consistency. Add a little food coloring if you choose, and let the kids "paint" their world.

* Wood creations: is there any construction going on near you? Ask permission to haul away some of the leftover pieces of oddly shaped lumber and pick up some dropped nails. Then all you need is a small hammer, glue, and perhaps some string, and your children can make boats, airplanes, birdhouses, and interesting wood sculptures.

* Homemade play dough: Mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, food coloring, a tablespoon of oil, and enough water to mix well, and your children can make their own play dough. Now add a rolling pin and cookie cutters. Or they can use the dough as they would clay, making animals, snowmen, and other shapes. When they decide to keep the shapes, let them get hard in the sun, or bake them slowly at a low temperature in the oven.

Water sports. Here are some water sports your children might find fun.

* Invest in a wading pool and let them splash and play or float boats. (Remember that pools, including wading pools, can be dangerous without supervision and safety rules.)

* Spray bottles make great squirt guns.

* If you have a sandbox or a digging area, add small shovels and the garden hose, and let them make rivers and dams.

* Get a large piece of thick plastic, hose it down, and let the kids slip and slide. This works great on a slight decline.

Field trips.

* Borrow a microscope and head down to the local pond or puddle. Your kids will never again think of water as "clean."

* What kind of manufacturing plants are in your area? Give them a call and ask if it would be possible to have a tour.

* Have you ever gone behind the scenes of a supermarket? Or watched a mechanic hoist a car on the rack to change tires? Or maybe you could watch through studio windows as the local disc jockey or radio announcer goes on the air.

* Where is the closest cow, pig, goat, chicken, or sheep? You might not get to pet one, but your children could take their cameras and get some interesting pictures, or they could take their pencils and crayons and draw them.

* Visit mom's or dad's place of work. Prepare for your trip by giving your children special things to look for while they're visiting, or telling them about some of the workers they might meet. If possible, give them a task they can do while they visit. A hands-on experience is always more meaningful than merely looking.

Books and things. Your local library is a gold mine for the summer months.

* Attend the weekly story hour. Let your children browse without rushing. Look through picture books, children's magazines, travel books. Check out a book on tape for the children to listen to in the car or while they do the dishes. Most libraries also have videos, and some have reproductions of famous paintings that can be checked out to give a child's bedroom a new look for the summer.

* Read to your children each day. Choose a routine time, such as right after lunch, before nap time, or as they do the supper dishes. Read in fun places--on a blanket under the tree, lying in a hammock, or as the children put together a 1,000-piece puzzle.

* Challenge your children to read a certain number of books for prizes.

* Encourage them to write their own books that record their summer activities.

Plan family time together. A family means being together, and often the only extended time that families spend together is when they're on vacation. So plan some fun family activities.

* Go on a picnic and attend the church socials.

* Visit your neighbors who have kids the same age, or plan a block party.

* Make Little League a family affair.

* Have a weekly date night. The whole family can either do something together, or dad takes the boys one week and the girls the next while room takes the opposite.

* Celebrate everything--holidays, birthdays, and achievements.

Home organization and house rules.

Summer is not the time to lighten up on the rules of the house. But you might want to change a few, since schedules are different.

Children need meaningful work. Instead of assigning tasks, let each child decide what he or she would like to tackle.

Maintain some routine. Kids should not be allowed to sleep the morning hours away and then stay up most of the night unless you're on the same schedule. Eat meals regularly--but make them simple.

Start a summer SOMA Club.

SOMA stands for Stressed-out Mothers Association. Get together once a week with four or five stressed-out moms for fun and crazy family activities. Take the kids to the park, go to the zoo, or fly kites in a vacant lot. Plan surprise parties for each other to celebrate whatever you want to celebrate. Just remember to abide by the one basic rule of SOMA: No talking about husbands, children, or problems. What else is there to talk about? You'll find interesting things when you're forced to! Remember, it's summer VACATION!

Kay Kuzma, Ed.D. is president of Family Matters, a radio, TV, and seminar ministry in Cleveland, Tennessee.