On a hot summer day, sometimes its hard to keep up with new ways of staying cool. One may not have access to a pool, beach, or local swimming hole. Popsicles and trips down the slip ‘n slide seem to help. Luckily, Mother Nature can help too.

Rain showers have a way of passing through in the summer and give hope of temperatures dropping a degree or two on the hottest days. The wind picks up and feels great. If there is no thunder and lightening, the rain may give way to a whole host of activities: race sticks in a stream, use the slip ‘n slide without hooking up the hose, and of course, splash in puddles.

We caught our recent rain adventure on video. Watch it here!

One recent evening after a rain shower, my two sons found the tiniest of puddles and got to work. They hopped on their bikes and started a circuit through the puddle. Then, they discovered that with my younger son’s training wheels on either side of the puddle, they could still spin the back wheel. There was much delight at this discovery, and they proceeded to splash all of the muddy water to the backs of their shirts and shorts.

With it approaching bath time anyway, I led them on an adventure to find more puddles. It was a full tactile experience, jumping in the muddy water and even dancing. We found frogs, noticed bugs, and the boys even tiptoed quietly through tall grass to see what else they could find.

As long as you keep some towels by the door and in the car, you are ready for a wet or muddy outdoor adventure. If you’re lucky, you may even get stuck in passing shower and have no choice but to have a ton of fun. And as I discovered, a hair dryer works pretty well to dry the inside soles of any sneakers that aren’t quite dry before you need to head out the door the next morning.

Rebecca P. Cohen is Founder and President of Rebecca Plants LLC, a gardening and outdoor lifestyle company that inspires families to be outside and improve their well being. For her weekly online series, “Get Out of the House” as well as Rebecca Plants’ Curiosity Cards, a set of 50 portable and no-cost activity cards for families, visit http://www.rebeccaplants.com.

Rebecca P. Cohen is Founder and President of Rebecca Plants LLC, is a gardening and outdoor lifestyle company that inspires families to be outside and improve their well being. For her weekly online video series, “Get Out of the House” as well as Starla J. King’s guest blog series “Savoring Summer,” visit http://www.rebeccaplants.com.

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Published: August 6, 2009