Keeping Kids Entertained Junior Whirl

KIDS &FAMILY

Eight Activities to Keep Kids Entertained

What parent hasn’t heard their child utter the familiar phrase “I’m bored” at some point? Despite a seemingly vast array of toys, electronics and other items at their disposal, children can be quick to sulk and say there’s nothing to do.

Parents can counter “I’m bored” with these eight boredom-busting activities that are certain to help pass the time in entertaining and sometimes educational ways. Craft ime Pick a theme and gather the materials for the project. For example, kids can evoke a trip to the ocean by creating handmade sea creatures. Paint a paper plate and hang brightly colored yarn underneath it to create the “tentacles” of a jellyfish. Kids can use salt dough clay to fashion seashells, sea snails or crustaceans. Painting Shaving cream is a great sensory material that is relatively easy to clean up. Kids can whip up a batch of shaving cream paint and use it to finger paint on a table or even in the bathtub. Simply mix shaving cream with food coloring in a bowl, or use a muffin tin to separate the colors. Build a Birdhouse Birdhouses or bird feeders can be made from scraps of material found around the house. Scavenge for spare lumber or other supplies in the shed or garage. An adult or older sibling can help cut the wood into pieces. Young children may enjoy painting the house. Wood adhesive or screws can be used to assemble the project. Plan a Garden Kids can help to design a garden the entire family will maintain and even be responsible for a special parcel that’s all their own. Gardens can grow food, flowers and more. Add a touch of whimsy with figurines for a fairy garden or even small superhero figures for a spot for boys to tend. Box Makeovers Tissue boxes or cereal boxes can be made into many different creations with paint or construction paper. Use a few craft supplies like pom-poms or wiggly eyes to turn boxes into “monsters.” Boat Races Build a small sailboat for each member of the family. Fill up a long, shallow container and take turns racing the boats by blowing on the sails. Leaf Art Gather leaves and twigs from around the yard and then combine pieces to make them look like various animals. Spray Park Create an at-home spray park with a garden hose and a pool noodle. Poke several small holes into the pool noodle on all sides. Stick a garden hose into the end of the pool noodle and hot-glue a wine cork into the hole at the other end. Turn on the water and let kids run through.

Head off kids’ boredom by having plenty of ideas at the ready. (MC) 

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22 · SUNDAYSIGNAL

PUZZLES

OCTOBER 16, 2022 CROSSWORD TIME

SOLUTIONS

Opinion Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Signal.

READER LETTERS

An Easy Decision for Voters

Local voters have an easy decision to make on Nov. 8. If you are satisfied with:

The highest increase in food prices, 13%, since 2002.

The highest mortgage rates since 2008.

A 9.1% increase in the Consumer Price Index, the highest in 40 years.

The highest number of illegal border crossings (1.7 million), since at least 1960.

The highest inflation in 30 years.

Record-high gas prices.

The worst September close for the stock market since 2002.

An explosion in the nationwide crime rate (Christy Smith marched to defund the police).

Then vote for Christy Smith and give Joe Biden another vote in the House of Representatives.

Max Morgan Valencia

Consider Gun Control

As you consider how you will vote in November for the person who will represent you in the House of Representatives, I ask you to consider the issue of gun control. Everytown Research indicates that 110 Americans are killed with guns every day. U.S. gun homicide is 26 times higher than that of other high-income countries.

Firearms are the leading cause of death for American children. Guns are killing us. Yet Rep. Mike Garcia voted against the Kids Act that would raise the age to purchase semiautomatic weapons from 18 to 21, ban the sale of large-capacity magazines, and outlaw ghost guns — the kind used in the Saugus High School shooting.

In 2021 he also voted against enhanced background checks for those applying for gun ownership. On the other hand, Christy Smith supports uniform background checks, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and supports “red line” laws that take guns away from domestic abusers and those who pose danger to themselves and others.

If you value your life and the lives of those you love, vote for Democrat Christy Smith in November. She is not funded by the NRA, and through her service to this community she has demonstrated that she cares about us. Diane Duarte Babko Valencia

Win Some, Lose Some

Your opinion may differ from mine or we may agree on how the state of California is governed. We are pretty much a one-party-run outfit. I suspect that if Gov. Gavin Newsom runs for president, California will elect another Democrat and nothing much will change. So, you win some and you lose Newsom. Michael Dempsey Newhall

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Include name, address & phone; Anonymous letters aren’t printed; email: letters@ signalscv.com. Mail to: Letters to the Editor, The Signal, 25060 Avenue Stanford, Suite 141, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.

ETHICALLY SPEAKING

What Are You For?

Have you noticed that it is increasingly easy to become a negative person? Is it just me or has criticism and disdain become our national pastime here in America? What is it about us that longs to both recognize and report all the things we see or experience that are bad or broken, at least in our opinion?

Long ago I made the decision that I didn’t want to be known for what I was against. And that’s not easy given that I live in the world of theology and religious practice. It is fair to say that a large percentage of Americans consider religion nothing more than the fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun. We religious types have too often lived down to the myth that we exist to make sure all the “don’ts” are scrupulously monitored. Of course I would argue long that a life spent loving and serving the God of the Bible is actually one of freedom from bondage to selfishness and sin, but my arguments would only hold water if my life demonstrated it, even in the hard times.

There are many things that we should be against, and I don’t have the mind or the time to go into that list here. What I want to consider is how easy it is to become infatuated with what we’re against, and to find a kind of life energy flowing out of finding more and more things to oppose. In short, we’re becoming a nation that loves to pick on things, on people, on products, on ideas, and on whatever there is that we might find lacking.

This is particularly evident during election season. As I watch and listen to the statements of politicians and pundits I have personally gone through the stages of interest and shock all the way to fatigue and incredulity. The constant tide of negative pronouncements that flows from the candidates and commentators on both sides of the aisle is nothing short of nauseating. But much worse is the pervasive critical spirit that is spreading through our offices, homes and relationships. We are becoming a nation of gripes and groans and Facebook rants. We actually like to get in groups with our friends to run down this and wag our tongues at that, belittling this person and ridiculing that idea. For too many of us, if we don’t have something negative and biting to say about someone or thing, we end up speechless.

Remember when Mom told us, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all?” The value of that advice didn’t just pertain to what you said. It also spoke to the fact that when you engage in negativity, you become negative. Now don’t hear me suggesting that we jump on the positive thinking train. That’s not my aim. What I am saying is that an intentional preoccupation with ridicule, disdain and contempt can stain the soul, making it intrinsically bitter.

It is far better to be known for what you support, what you believe is right and good. And it is even better to be a billboard for your values by the way you live your life. The proof of a worldview is the way it allows you to live with joy in the midst of trials and uncertainty. What our friends, relatives, neighbors and colleagues need isn’t one more gripe session.

We’re well-stocked in that area. What we all need is to focus on solutions, on light rather than darkness, and work together to put confidence, love and joy back into the center of our lives. And for me, that means looking at life through the lens of an eternity that is, and has always been, in the hands of Almighty God.

Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking” appears Sundays. 