Stay out of the direct sun and heat.
Spend as many hours as possible in a cool place. Minimize physical activity. Take cool baths or showers; use cool towels. Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Use air-conditioning if available.

Keep cool
Close your curtains and windows in the morning to keep the sun and heat out of your home. Open windows and doors at night to cool inside temperatures. Keep electric lights off or turned down. If you don’t have air-conditioning, leave your home and go to a cool, safe place. Senior centers, shopping malls, etc. are options. You can locate a cooling center by dialing 2-1-1 or www.211helps.org.

Drink plenty of water/natural juices
Cool drinks help to replenish fluid losses due to increased perspiration in high temperature. Drink at least 6-8 glasses of fluids every day. Avoid alcohol and caffeine as they cause your body to lose more water. Keep a few bottles of water in your freezer — if the power goes out, move them to your refrigerator and keep the doors shut. Eat light foods.

Know your neighbors
Develop a personal support network of people who will check in with you at least twice a day throughout warm weather periods, and plan how you will help each other in an emergency. Watch for signs of heat stroke and/or heat exhaustion. Call for help when needed. Please help to monitor seniors or people with functional needs (disabled) who are at greater risk during hot weather periods. Seniors or individuals with functional needs in the City of St. Louis may also sign up for their Functional Needs Registry by calling (314) 612-5918.

Plan ahead
Ask your doctor about any prescription medicine you keep refrigerated (most medicine will be fine to leave in a closed refrigerator for at least 3 hours). Make plans for any animals and pets. Keep a battery-operated radio on hand to hear news reports and a flashlight handy for lighting. Remember extra batteries. Do not use candles due to fire hazards. Cordless phones may not operate during power outages so keep a corded phone handy or plugged in to another jack.

Call 911 if you or anyone you know needs medical attention.
Warning signs of heat illness include heavy sweating, cramps, headache, nausea or vomiting, tiredness, weakness, dizziness and fainting.

For information on what to do during heat waves or find a cooling site, dial 2-1-1 or 800-427-4626. You can call 24 hours/7 days a week.

St. Louis County Cooling Sites     MO/Southwest IL Cooling Sites

Senior citizens and people with disabilities who are worried about not being able to pay for air-conditioning can call Heat Up St. Louis for electric bill assistance

Information is available by calling 314-241-7668 or go to www.heatupstlouis.org for a list of Partner Agency contacts

The post Keeping Cool This Summer first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

Yay, it’s summertime! This is what most school age children are yelling at the top of their lungs right about now.  This is exciting for parent as well, but also a little nerve wrecking.  Our children have learned so much throughout the school year, and we don’t want that to stop.  For some kids, a few months off in the summer can lead to loss of knowledge and lowered test scores.  While our kids are definitely in need of a break to recharge for the upcoming school year, we can also make sure they have fun & learn all summer long!  Here are 10 great ways to do just that!

1. Summer Reading Club Kick-off: Start off the summer by getting signed up for the summer reading club! This extravaganza event is fun for the whole family. There will be face painting, snow cones, a climbing wall, and more. It will be held at St. Louis County Library Headquarters, on Saturday, June 4^th from 1:00-4:00. If you can’t make that, be sure to stop into your local County Library to get your child signed up for a summer full of reading & prizes! We all love incentives! For more information: http://www.slcl.org/content/summer-reading-club-kick.
2. Visit the St. Louis Science Center! They have wonderful summer events for kids of all ages. From free weekly Story Times, to Dino Mysteries & the Teen Science Café, there is something for everyone! For more information: http://www.slsc.org/kid-family-activities.
3. Amazing Animal Encounters and the World Bird Sanctuary: Free, fun, family-friendly environmental education programs are presented by the naturalists using snakes, parrots, birds and mammals. You and your kids will learn about the amazing creatures that share our planet, and what we can do to help them survive. For more information: http://www.worldbirdsanctuary.org/events/amazing-animal-encounters/.
4. Planetarium Shows play daily at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium in Forest Park, including: The Little Star That Could, Live Sky Tonight/Mission Mars & The Constellations.  After the show, you can take a self-guided tour of the Boeing Space Station to learn about living and working in space. For more information: http://www.slsc.org/planetarium-show.
5. A-MAZE-ing Cockroaches: Kids ages 7-12 will replicate a famous study by zoologist Charles Henry Turner. Working in teams, kids will build a maze out of play dough and run live cockroaches through it. Part of the StArt@Your Library series at the St. Louis County Library. Free, but registration is required. Learn more and register at slcl.org.
6. Space Travel: Kids can race a balloon rocket and design their own car engine as they learn about space travel. They’ll see the principle of propulsion at work in a real rocket launch, and build their very own Shuttle Copter to fly to the skies!  Presented by Mad Science of St. Louis. For ages 6-11. Part of the StArt@Your Library series at the St. Louis County Library.  Free, but registration is required. Learn more and register at slcl.org.
7. Building the Arch: Kids will use their hands and brain to engineer their very own arch made out of everyday materials at this free workshop. Part of the StArt@Your Library series at the St. Louis County Library. For ages 7-11. Free, but registration is required. Learn more and register at slcl.org.
8. Stop Motion Animation: Learn how to create a stop motion film with an iPad app. iPads provided. Ages 10–14. Part of the StArt@Your Library series at the St. Louis County Library. Free, but registration is required. Learn more and register at slcl.org.
9. Family Days and the World Chess Hall of Fame: Explore the current exhibitions during a kid-friendly tour, take part in hands-on activities for kids, and play and learn about the game of chess at these special Saturday Family Days. These events are designed for families with children ages 5 to 12. Each day has a different theme.   Admission is $5 per child for non-members. For more information: http://www.worldchesshof.org/news-events/event-calendar/event/2016/06/04/family-day-/.
10. Faust Historic Village Open House: Experience St. Louis County as it was a century ago. Tour the 1850s Conway House, and its period herb garden and outdoor kitchen.   Also tour the circa 1848 log cabin of Ludwig and Salome Mertz, a dye and insect repellent garden, German vegetable garden, smokehouse, outhouse and woodshed and the Davis House. On occasion, visitors may see a blacksmith at work in the Yokel barn. Guides in period dress will be available to answer questions. This is a free event is at Faust Park in Chesterfield. For more information: http://www.stlouisco.com/Portals/8/docs/Document%20Library/parks/PDFs/Faust/CalendarofEvents.pdf

We hope you and your children have a blast learning together all summer long!

For additional activities across the St. Louis region, visit blueprint4summer.com. Create an account an plan your summer one activity at a time!

The post Keep Your Child Learning This Summer! first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.