"Mom, I'm booooored!"

Parents all dread those words, and they are sure to come in the long, lazy days of summer, when school is no longer keeping them busy and friends are often away.

My first suggestion (of course) is to head to the library! Consider this - you can join the TD Summer Reading Club to give your kids incentive to spend some time with their noses in books and pick up some great reading material for that pursuit while you're here. We also have loads of programmes going on all summer long at branches across the city!

Maybe there are only so many times you want to come and visit the library in a week? Fair enough. We do also have great resoures for activities to do at home, too!

Our children's non-fiction section is not only your go-to source for school projects, but full of books to fuel your kids' passions. If they love science, we have books of experiments. Young gardeners can find out more about how to nurture their green thumbs, while budding chefs can find cookbooks aimed at their level. Books on drawing, painting, origami, beadwork, and a whole range of other crafts are a perfect way to help your young artist find inspiration or learn new techniques. Musicians can learn more about instruments or music styles, and sports fans can learn more about their favourite athletic activities. Even better, from a reading standpoint, is that reading instructions and following them is an important literacy skill - and they won't even know they are learning about that!

If you are looking for places to go, things to see, and events going on around the city, there are plenty of online sites aimed at parents, as well. These three local sites are packed with plenty of event and attraction listings: Help, We've Got Kids!; Toronto.com; and Toronto4kids.  They should give you some ideas for outings, if you're looking to see some things around the city.

But my favourite thing this summer? I'm keeping this list of 100 things to do this summer on my fridge, for those moments when I need a little inspiration. (Click for full-size version.) While some of them require planning, there are plenty of things on here that are just simple, classic fun things to do together - just the thing to perk up an unstructured afternoon!