History Lesson 
Indulge Yourself This Summer
A grabbag of things to do that can take the heat off your summer.
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FOR THE CHILDREN
What to Do with the Kids
Unless they've vegetated in air conditioned T.V. dens too many years, children don't need much encouragement to celebrate summer. If they haven't tuned you out entirely, rediscover it with them.
Plant an herb garden together. Parsley and mint are easy and make for memorable summer smells. (Read William Saroyan's poignant story "The Parsley Garden" when the tiny garden is at its peak.)
Find a recipe book for mudpies (Mudpies and Other Recipes by Marjorie Winslow) or write your own to occupy the sandpile set.
Read or let them read Hailstones and Halibut Bones, a particularly vivid book of color imagery. Assign everyone a color for the day. Then have them write their own book at rest time.
Try a similar activity with A Riot of Quiet by Virginia Sicotte and Edward Ardizonne when the noise level makes you wish school would open July 1st.
Take them to a real live baseball game, rodeo, or other spectator sport. Then check out a collection of contemporary poetry called Some Haystacks Don't Even Have Any Needle and forbid your teenagers to read it. Boys will be aghast to see that poetry can be written about baseball pitchers, double plays, ex-basketball players and football passes.
Classes Without Tears
Dallas
Dallas parents should posthaste find "Imagination's Growing Place," S.M.U.'s Experimental Arts Program for children ages 4-15. Classes named "Both Feet First," "Look Through Any Bagel," and "The Hats People Play" suggest that this is no traditional summer school. Eight-year-olds may find a dog named Bagel teaching them to make toothpick giants and tie-dyed pillow monsters, while a giant mouse, purporting to have known Picasso, Van Gogh and even Rembrandt, squeaks Art History to an eager audience.
Now in its sixth year under the direction of Ann McGee, this program combines master teachers, imaginative S.M.U. students, and naturally spontaneous children in a creative environment where everyone learns. Parents are invited to attend any two sessions. Two short summer terms: June 4-15 and June 18-29. For further information, call 692-2068.
C'mon, Let's Go to the Park
Dallas
Caruth Park in University Park has the most creative play area, but recreation leaders are on hand in all of the Dallas parks to lead games, teach sports, arts, crafts and dramatics. Register Monday, June 4, at the park nearest you. Additional information is available from the program consultants:
Area 1 (South Dallas, South Oak Cliff): 375-1407
Area 2 (South and West Oak Cliff): 337-9593
Area 3 (North and East Dallas): 341-5830
Take a Day Trip
Dallas
The Children's Guide to Dallas (yellow paperback at most Dallas book stores), compiled by the Montessori Academy Mother's Club, devotes an entire chapter to short trips such as the Canton Antique Fair, Dinosaur Valley Park, Old Fort Parker, etc. This guide not only tells you what, where and when: it also gives suggested activities and books to read before and after. Notes for mother give safety tips, dress of the day, and what attention span can be anticipated.
Santa Fe Depot
Fort Worth
Drop by Fort Worth's picturesque Santa Fe depot just before noon any day and watch Amtrak arrive from Chicago. The train will be at the station only 15 minutes, but there's plenty of excitement, with passengers, baggage, and blocks of ice going by. There won't be time to walk onto the train, but you and your child will find someone to wave goodbye to. You may even pick up a schedule and plan your own trip to prove to your child that tracks are back. To check on arrivals, call Amtrak at 332-5141.
Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow
Fort Worth
See trains put together at the switching yard of the Missouri-Pacific Texas & Pacific Railroad Company in Fort Worth. Take I-20's Montgomery exit south to Vickery and you're in railroad territory. You might even want to drop in at the Round House Cafe, where railroad men gather for homestyle meals at reasonable prices. Because of all the activity at the switching yard, visits are by appointment only, and for groups only. Call Larry Teems at 332-3201.
Better than a Richard Scarry Book
Fort Worth
Not every American child is lucky enough to ride on one of London's red double decker buses. Leonards Department Store runs five of them downtown from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday free of charge. Show your child downtown Fort Worth: park at Leonard's parking lot on the Trinity River and ride the free subway to Leonard's where you can pick up a double decker every ten minutes. Make stops and walk up the long steps to the County Courthouse where you may even peek into a courtroom, explore the new Municipal Building with its indoor fountain, check out a book at the Central Library, and walk over Houston Street on the Continental National Bank's sixth floor sky tunnel, have a picnic in Burnet Park. It's all free.
The Stockyards
Fort Worth
The best days to explore Fort Worth's historic stockyards are Mondays and Tuesdays, when typical West Texas cattle auctions begin at 9 a.m. in the Livestock Exchange. There are plenty of places to poke your nose into around East Exchange and North Main, but be sure to drive north to Ryon's Saddle and Ranch Supply. Your child will love the orange horse on the house, and inside you can see hats creased and learn what creases are all about. For special attention at Ryon's, call 624-2197.
A Day at the Airports
Dallas-Fort Worth
Now that construction at the new Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport is less dangerous, there will be weekday as well as weekend tours of the airport. The hour-long tour leaves by bus from Greater Southwest Regional Airport and costs $1 for anyone older than five. Before or after your tour take a close look at Greater Southwest, which is the closest thing Fort Worth has to a ghost town. For tour information call Surtran at 263-4313.
Skip This If Your Name Is Nader
Fort Worth
A tour of General Motors provides many interesting angles for a child hip to pollution, mass transit, auto safety. See how precocious (or indoctrinated) your child really is. Arrive at Gate C of the East Parking Lot off Hwy. 360 at 9 or 1 for an hour tour. It's free.
Weatherford Farmers Market
Dallas-Fort Worth
Involve your child in some home baking or canning by first taking a trip west on Hwy. 80 to Weatherford to the marvelous farmers market there. It's about an hour each way and is especially nice on the way home with a bag-full of cherries or something else irresistible.
Glen Rose Dinosaur Park
Dallas-Fort Worth
Before driving 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth to Glen Rose, you may want to heighten your child's dinosaur appreciation by stopping first at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, where a new exhibit features full size skeletons and mammoth tusks. Then on to Glen Rose and its authentic, full size footprints. It's a lovely drive, southwest on Hwy. 377 to Granbury, south on 144 to Glen Rose, then west on 67 to Park Road 59. The park never closes. Admission is $l/vehicle unless you have a State Park Annual Permit. For information call 817-897-4588.
Kids' Art
San Antonio
At Southwest Craft Center, San Antonio—the same place adults can satisfy that urge to throw a pot—there are two programs for youngsters, ages eight thru nine and ten thru 13. Working in ceramics, painting, drawing, sculpture, macrame, crochet, batik, tie-dye and weaving, the programs stress experimentation in creative growth rather than the finished product. Call 224-1848.
Ole!
San Antonio
The Mexican Cultural Institute is offering a variety of programs for children this summer, all with a Mexican flavor. Dance, art and Spanish-language theater will be among the activities. For details call the institute, located at HemisFair Plaza, at 227-0123.
In the Swim
San Antonio
Kids used to learn how to swim by being thrown in a river. This summer they can learn by attending classes at St. Philip's College, 2111 Nevada St., San Antonio, June 4 thru 30. If your child can stand in four feet of water, he's eligible for the program. Meets 10 a.m. Mon thru Fri. $2.50 a week. Call 532-4211 for details.
On Stage
San Antonio
For kids who are natural-born hams, here's their chance to be in the spotlight in the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department's Talent Show. Acts from jugglers to singers to flamenco dancers can try to break into the Medium-sized Time. Junior Division (ages five thru nine) tryouts will be held 2 p.m. June 18, Intermediate Divisions (ages 10 thru 13) audition 2 p.m. June 19, Senior Division (14 and up) at 7 p.m. June 25, all at the Arneson River Theater. Those who make it will perform June 27, July 11 and July 18. Call 826-6336 for details.
No Parking
San Antonio
When people take the kids on picnics in San Antonio, they always seem to crowd into Brackenridge Park or Olmos Park. The result is a lot of dead grass, noise and a lot of people in one place. Don't give up picnics. But take the kiddies to those parks on weekdays instead of the weekends when everyone else in South Texas goes there. Or, if you can't make it during the week, go to the Northeast Preserve or one of the smaller neighborhood parks around the city. The neighborhood parks aren't very big, but most of them have playground equipment, and you at least have a plot of ground to call your own.
Oldies But Goodies
San Antonio
Some of the places to take your children in San Antonio aren't likely to be surprising unless you're new to the city, but in case your kids have never seen them, here's a reminder list:
My Library
