You know that summer is just around the corner when your mailbox is piled high with camp brochures, your children have grown out of every short sleeved onesie, shirt or dress they own, and you're in the mood to be outdoors in flip flops with your kids.

The pace of life feels just a little bit freer in summertime. Constructing the perfect sandcastle or chasing bubbles becomes the learning method of choice. Eating meals al fresco keeps clean up a breeze. Who doesn't like the convenience of using a garden hose to wash away all of the kid's food spills?

If you and your kids crave the fresh delicious tastes of summer fruits, here are a couple of our favorite family recipes:

Frozen Fruit Shapes

This recipe is fun for you and the kids to do together and the littlest ones get to practice learning shapes, too!

Cut one organic watermelon or other type of melon into 1-inch thick rounds. Let your children pick out their favorite cookie cutter shapes and practice telling you its shape name. My kids are partial to stars. Help your kids to stamp out shapes with the cookie cutters from the pre-cut rounds and place on a sheet pan. Lining the pan will make for easy clean up.

If I have Popsicle sticks in the house, we insert them into the bottom of the fruit shape (if we are out of Popsicle sticks, I don't bother - eating with fingers is a right of passage in the summer) and put the pan into the freezer for a few hours. This is a nice morning activity, so by the time the afternoon heat hits and the kids start complaining, you're ready with an icy cold treat. The kids get to pick their favorite shape and delightfully devour their healthy frozen fruit creations.

The rest of the fruit shapes can be put in a freezer bag and saved for another day. This is a fun summer activity for kids to share with their friends and then discuss the science of liquids and solids (a little science during the summer can't hurt). I love that they can eat it outside and get as messy as they want. Remember the garden hose? Homemade treats are fun. You control the ingredients, and it's much healthier than ordinary store bought popsicles.

Nutrition Facts: Melons have high water content and can help to keep you and the kids hydrated.

Frosty Fruit Salad

Transform delicious summer fruits into an icy, healthy snack. Simply spread an even layer of berries, grapes and small chunks of melons on a lined sheet pan. Put into the freezer and in no time you have a healthy snack ready for kids to pop into their mouths! For the littlest campers, cut their frozen portions into smaller pieces for safety.

Nutrition Facts: Blackberries are high in vitamin C and fiber. Blueberries rank number one in antioxidants. They also contain good amounts of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C and folic acid. Please buy organic as all of the fruit grown conventionally are heavily sprayed multiple times. And in the case of the berries, the chemicals cannot be peeled or washed away.

Whichever way you try your fruits, you are sure to add good nutrition and fun to your summertime tradition!

For more information or to ask Theresa your questions, you can contact her by email at theresakiene@familymagazinegroup.com.