IYF presents a brand-new, student-written, comprehensive guide to creatively entertaining yourself during downtimes this summer or whenever you need to have a little fun.

Morning:
1. Act out "Romeo and Juliet" in the shower. Make all the Capulets shampoos and soaps. The Montagues can be conditioners. Mercutio can be the shampoo bottle. Stabbing it to death will produce hilarious and soapy results.

2. Experiment with breakfast. Try different toppings on pancakes: fruit, peanut butter, yogurt, etc. You can even experiment with what you put into pancakes and omelets. What creations can you come up with? (Note: Broccoli Pancakes don't work so well.)

3. Get creative. Write poetry or a short story, sketch in your backyard, start a novel, or compose a song. Take a stroll through your neighborhood, local park or nearby forest. Listen to nature music (preferably not the "Angry Grizzly Bears" version) for inspiration. For writing prompts to spark your creativity, check out the Imagination Prompt Generator (www.creativity-portal.com). Another good creativity exercise is to find a quiet place, close your eyes, and let your mind relax (you can use YouTube or iTunes to find relaxing music). See what comes to your mind.

4. Send "Just Because" cards to everyone you know. And don't sign them.

Noon:
5. Make lemonade, sandwiches and desert for a picnic at the park with friends. Or have a Summer Dance Party (even by yourself) in your front yard and blast the stereo. Your neighbors may not like hearing your entire 'N sync collection, but their bad taste is their problem.

6. Convince your friends to draw chalk masterpieces on the driveway and play outdoor games like you're seven again. Play hopscotch, capture the flag, and hide and go seek. Go crazy. Give out prizes.

Afternoon:
7. Use your free time to help others. Get your friends together and organize a food drive in your neighborhood, volunteer at a food pantry, volunteer for UNICEF (www.unicefusa.org), or plan a Great American Bake Sale to fight hunger in America (GreatAmericanBakeSale.org).

8. Race beetles on your driveway.

9. Dig out the sports equipment, get a bunch of friends together, and get active. Play basketball, go biking, or have a huge water balloon fight and spray each other with water guns.

10. Stop by your bookstore or library and pick up a new book to read. There's nothing like sitting outside on a warm summer day with a book in hand, relaxing in the soothing sunlight and inhaling the fresh air. Knowing you're getting eaten alive by dozens of blood-sucking mosquitoes will hopefully not ruin the fun. Hopefully.

11. Invite friends to a surprise birthday party for your dog or cat.

Night:
12. Challenge your neighbor to fight to the death. Explain that by "fight" you mean "thumb wrestle," and by "death" you mean "until one of your thumbs is pinned."

13. Get out the video camera and re-make your favorite movie (or shoot a sequel) using either old action figures or your friends. Or rewrite an Ignite Your Faith article into a YouTube video and let us know about it.

14. Listen to "the llama song." The song is looped, so you could theoretically watch it forever—or at least until you're driven insane, which does not take long.

A version of this article first appeared in Teen Ink's Extra Ink newsletter.

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