By Emily Shwake

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of the summer! Whether inside the house or out, one of the first Mondays of the summer is a "fAuntastic" time for patriotic - and everyday - family fun.

1. Baking! Cake, cupcakes, cookies, all look good in red, white, and blue. Plus, the math and science learning is literally baked in!

2. Make these adorable pinwheels to show off your talented nieces and nephews to rest of the family and friends. You can use these easy printables or have the kids design and color their own for something extra special.

3. Go to the zoo: Learning about animals by seeing them live is important for all children. Plus, there are always great Auntie / niece and nephew photo opps, don't you think?

4. Try out something new with glow-in-the-dark baseball! String some glow necklaces or bracelets through Wiffle balls, put a glow stick on every base plate, and you can play all night long! There are a lot of life lessons in baseball playing.

5. Cool off with some water blaster fun! If there are a few nieces and nephews and other family and friends, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone - well, unless you don't want to get your hair wet. 

6. Check out if the town has a parade for Memorial Day or other upcoming celebrations and make a date with the kids now!

7. If none of those ideas appeal to you, check out these 100 patriotic ideas! July 4th is around the corner!

Photo: Wavebreak Media Ltd
Published: May 25, 2016