Looking for something to do when the summer heat's got you beat? Looking to take a break from video games? Here are some journal prompts to keep the old brain stimulated while school's out!

By the way, don't worry about word count or anything like that -- express yourself how you want, as much as you want. And there are no real rules here -- you can do as many or as few of these as you like.

1.Describe your perfect summer day, from start to finish. It doesn't have to be a real day, just something that sounds perfect to you.

2. Describe how you feel now that school's ending. Do you feel happy? Sad? A little bit of both?

3. If you had the magical ability to make it one season forever, which season would you pick, and why?

4. Write a haiku about a memory from a past summer.

5. Who are you most excited to spend time with this summer?

6. Are you an indoors person or an outdoors person? Or both? Why do you think that is?

7. List three things you'd like to accomplish this summer.

8. What's your favorite summertime treat? Ice cream? Watermelon? Something else?

9. Do you like to stay up late during the summer? If so, what to you do? If you don't like to stay up, describe why!

10. Take a little walk outside -- make sure it's safe first! -- and describe the world around you, focusing on your five senses. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Taste? Feel?

11. If you could have a picnic with any person, alive or dead, who would it be, and why? What would you take with you on your picnic?

12. Take some lyrics from five of your favorite songs and use them to write a poem.

13. Imagine you're a tour guide for your town or community. What sights do you point out? Why are they important to the community? Why are they important to you?

14. Write a short story about an exciting event that gets interrupted by a sudden rainstorm. How do things change? How do people react?

15. If you could go on vacation to any fictional location, where would it be and why? What kinds of things would you need to pack?

16. Next time you're out in nature, take a photo of something that interests or excites you -- a cocoon, an old tree, a fish, etc. Now write a story based on the picture you just took.

17. Write an acrostic poem about your favorite ice cream flavor. If you don't eat ice cream, use candy. If you don't eat candy, use fruit or another snack!

18. Write a review for the movie you most enjoyed watching this summer.

19. Now write a review for the movie you least enjoyed.

20. As summer draws to a close, reflect on the time you had. Are you sad to see summer end, to go back to school? Or are you excited? Maybe a little bit of both?

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  Youth Services Librarian Chris