What Do You Do in the Summer Months?!
I received quite a few emails from readers asking for tips/suggestions/ideas for keeping summertime boredom at bay. So I am asking all of you to share your thoughts on how to keep your kids entertained throughout the summer months without spending any money. Here is one of the recent emails that I have received…
I am the mom of 2 amazing kids, a boy, 4 and girl, 2. I am lost when it comes to keeping them busy during the summer months. I would love to know what other readers do to keep their kids busy or occupied during the day. We love to go outdoors, but can’t when raining or too hot. Any ideas/activities would be greatly appreciated.
In addition to combating boredom, I have received a few emails about how to provide healthy snacks on a budget that are car-friendly/travel-friendly…
With summer break right around the corner (tomorrow, YIKES) and the kiddos being home full time along with a busy activity schedule, I am starting to panic about our food costs going up along with finding cheap snack and take along food ideas! (I am going to set our goal to grabbing fast food once a week) I am fairly new to couponing and would love to hear the ideas of moms who have struggled with this before!
Please share your suggestions in the comment section below!! Thanks so much! 🙂
The public library in my area offers story time for small children in the summer. They also have special guests throughout the summer.
Our library has free passes to local events such as the zoo. You have to sign up for them so do it early.
My library has age restrictions, which she’s not old enough for.
We go to a bookstore that does multi-age storytime!
Join a playgroup! Most of them are free and you can find one near you on Meetup.com. The one in my city has about 20 activities every month, and it is all driven by the parents. I just hosted a easy “meetup” called tricycles and popsicles. Not expensive, but a great way to meet other people and wear out the kiddos.
Check out Red Cross swimming lessons at local pools. It cools them off and wears them out! We also like to do our library’s summer reading program. They generally have activities based on age level, and it’s all free. For treats, we use lots of home made popsicles. I stock up on 100% fruit juice when it’s on sale, and have a popsicle mold from the Dollar Tree. We also use chocolate or vanilla almond milk (found lots of organic almond milk on a manager special last week for 89 cents) to change out flavors.
Check to see if your public library has a story time. Ours offers three different time/day options. Also, watch for free kid-friendly movie showings. Our city shows one every Tuesday throughout the summer with popcorn and drinks available at a very reasonable cost. Also, if you have a Rave Motion Pictures nearby, see if they offer free children’s movies during the summer months–ours does!
I have a 4 year old little girl. When it is rainy we play movie theater. I pop a large amount of pop corn and watch any movies she wants we make a day of did. We sometimes go to walmart and check out the 5 dollar movies and or the redbox and she always has a good time.. tip: i put candies in the popcorn as a surprise and she also gets excited when she finds it…… I have also put dried fruit in the pop corn
We do the same thing minus the candy, it is also fun to do on a hot afternoon with friends over:)
A very healthy snack my daughter loves is apple chips. Peel an apple, slice thinly and evenly, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet (you can reuse this parchment paper several times before you have to toss it). Bake at 250 until done (usually about two hours). If you have several apples, all the better. Store in baggies or an airtight container. I have never had them last long enough to go bad.
Another great healthy snack is frozen yogurt/fruit pops. Most kids have a hard time finishing an entire piece of fruit, or maybe you have some fruit that is about to go bad. Slice it up, put it in the freezer until you want to make the yogurt pops.
When you are ready, blend the frozen fruit with some plain or leftover yogurt. Put in yogurt containers with a little foil on top, then poke a hole in it for a popsicle stick (I reuse these lots by just washing them in the dishwasher). When they are done, rinse the outside with a little warm water and they will pop out, or if travelling in the car, leave them in the containers so when kids take a break from eating them they can put them back in without making a mess. Much healthier than juice pops because it uses the whole fruit.
The apple chips are a great idea!! Thank you!!
I have 3 children: 5,4 and 15mo. During the summer months my library has a few different days/times for story time and activities. If the weather cooperates we walk there as well. We also have a local park that has a free splash pad that is open from 10am until 8pm 7 days a week so we pack a lunch and head over there as well. We fly kites, play in the sprinker, go for walks, bike rides. I also schedule play dates and get together with friends and go to the zoo and children’s museums.
As far as snacks go I stock up on graham crackers, animal crackers, raisins, Simply Go-gurts(which I freeze in summer), ritz crackers & the 100cal packs of kraft cheese. These are all easy to keep in a bag or grab from the fridge/freezer as I’m heading out the door. I also do buy lunchables when they go on sale for cheap because then they can have a whole meal on the go if need be.
Hope these ideas help! 🙂
Are you in Knoxville, cause we have all the same things and take advantage of them all:)
We do swiming lessons, the library reading program and any activities they offer (mine has a magician come, petting zoo etc). I also have a list of their school friends and we tried to organized some playdates. Hope that helps!
I also recommend the summer reading program at the library. They have a program for all age groups, from babies to teenagers. The activities are fun and always free. While you’re there, check out books and movies from the library to help keep them entertained at home.
Get a family membership to your local zoo, they usually come in a year long pass. Most zoos are fairly inexpensive, but if you buy the family membership up front you can probably get a year’s worth of visits for only that price. Take the kids to the zoo each week. (We have just done this for our kids: I have a 12 yr old and a 1 yr old and it is nearly impossible to find activities for both of them to do at the same time, but we got a year pass to the Audubon Zoo and now we have something we know we can do every week for just the cost of gas).
Car-friendly treats can be difficult. I always pack bananas; it is one food that both my girls will eat with no problem, very little cleanup and not a high likelyhood of choking in the car. Cheerios are also good for that; put half a cup into a sandwich bag, one for each child, and they have a great and somewhat healthy snack for down the road.
If you have a 2 person tent, which they aren’t very big, and it’s raining outside why not have an indoor campout. I know of a few moms that have did and the kids enjoyed it. Lowes does activities on Saturdays for the kids and I do believe that is free also. You could always explore your town, which is what we are doing this summer and have found certain parks have free days. And it is a great way to teach the kids about the town and fun!
What great ideas, thanks
Local churches have bible school. I have 3 young kids that love all the crafts and spending time with kids their ages. Check your newspaper or just call a few places near your home. The cost for Vacation Bible School is only $18 per family. Such a small investment when you can run errands and coupon shop while the kids are having fun.
A lot of churches do them for free, I know mine does 🙂
i know some churches do not charge for bible schools my kids go to two diff ones and neither one charge. but it is always good to check first.
A very healthy treat would be to take the juice you get at a cheap cost and freeze it in a popsicle tray to make your own frozen treats that are less expensive then buying them and your sure what’s in them.
A fun activity might be to have your kids grow there own little garden. They can plant/decorate with cute little crafts. It give them something to do and be proud of and it helps out with your grocery bill in the long run
If you are a member of Lifetime fitness or YMCA, i know they have some really cool activities for kids. Swimming, rock climbing. I also saw that Micheal’s had some summer classes advertisements.
Also, if you have Netflix, lots of online movies to watch.
I would love to see some suggestion for what to do with Tweens. I am spending some time in the summer in the Acworth area of GA and I really would like to keep the “I’m Bored’s” to a minimum : )
Scrapbooking is great for tweens.
Have your tween join the Leadership program at the YMCA. I am currently trying to sign my 13 year old son up as a camp counselor at the local parks and recreation.
I have 2 boys ages 12 & 13 and believe me it’s hard keeping them from being bored or on xbox all the time. This summer my 13 yr old is going to sell his mountain of legos on ebay under my supervision of course so that he can have pocket money as well as save for a school trip. We also do Wednesday movies where we catch the matinee so it’s not too expensive and it kind of breaks up the week. We also watch for 2 for 1s at our local wavepool and the free passes for museums etc at our local library. I have also taken them camping which they loved. I might also have them do some volunteer work. Hope that helps.
you should try to find free museums or parks to take your munchkins too. We live in the DC area, so we have TONS of free museums and zoos etc. Summer reading programs are great! And Free! Free movies at regal cinemas, and find a local community pool.
I try to find a good deal on special snacks and treats. Or find some brownie mixes for .50 or cheaper, and mix it up with peanut butter/ caramel
We do all sorts of things….readings at libraries, gardening, crafts. I also have a lot of activities that I picked up cheap at garage sales. We have a sandbox, a basketball hoop, water table, bikes, a ball pit, corn hole set, and a swimming pool plus various other water toys. I paid no more than $20 a piece for each. We also go to the park and for those rainy/hot days, we go to the museums in our area or to the aquarium. There are always coupons in the paper to keep everything low cost.
Checkout the movie theaters in your area. In the Chicago area, there are several that offer $1.00 movies in the morning each week. My kids absolutely love it! Also, if there is a sonic nearby, between the hours of 2-4pm on weekdays is half price happy hour. They have small slushes for $1, so for 50 cents you can a pretty cool treat.
Check with your local theater and see if they have any “free” dates. Our local theater has a 8 week series of kids movies they show. Also, call different local park districts to see if they offer any kids summer activities. Definitley do the library programs. We actually go to 3 different libraries. I also take my children to local blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry patches and we stock up at a really great price and have a lot of fun while doing it! My kids are already asking when we’re going to the blueberry patch (:
If you have Rave or Regal movie theatres in your area they do free movies on either Tuesdays or Wednesdays @10 am.
Go on line and look at craft ideas. There are all kinds out there, clean and messy 🙂 easy sock or paper bag puppets and then have a puppet show.
Also, when it’s raining or too hot, indoor party games…pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs…you could even throw one of your pets a Birthday party. The kiddos could make the decorations and play the games.
Indoor bowling is always a hit. Summer free movies. The internet is a wonderful resource.
we do kids bowl free, and pay the 25 dollars for adults to do it as well. 2 free games per day all summer long. we also do the free regal movies. we also purchase a zoo membership…100 a year and you can go unlimited times….our zoo has an aquarium, amazing animals, and a fun carosel. we can also take 3 friends in with us each time. A new thing we are doing this year is wild waves (water park) season passes. my husbands grandmother gave us 400$ for christmas…off season the passes cost 50 (it’s normally 40 to go 1 time) so i invested the 300 in season passes and all summer long we can go somewhere really fun whether we have money or not. Plan ahead during the winter in order to save during the summer. we too do the library and local parks.
My son is 4. He loves to play with water, and so do the neighborhood kids who usually find their way here. I give them old paintbrushes and a bucket of water and let them paint the driveway or the house or the picnic table. When it’s really hot, they prefer to splash in one of those little pools rather than swim in the regular swimming pool (and that requires less direct supervision from me!)
I enjoy playing with my kids because they don’t have the extra time during the school year. I just finished having an elaborate dinosaur birthday party (with her huge plastic dinosaur collection) with my 6 year old. My 16-year-old has enjoyed helping me get my coupons organized and my 12-year old son has been able to catch up with many of his friends. I have collected free movie vouchers for several months and we will be seeing several first-run movies. I sell on eBay so I can also finance a trip to the new Titanic museum here and a trip a couple of states away to see the cousins! We miss our extended family so much during the year, so it’s a treat to be with them, even if only for a couple of days!
I forgot to add that we do a lot of gardening as well! All my kids love to see things grow from seed, and while we don’t have a huge yard, we grow herbs, veggies and lots of sunflowers!
Water/sewer is expensive here, so I take them to get wet at local splash pads which are virtually all over town~each park has picnic areas and lots of permanent water playgrounds!
Before we know it, the whole summer will be gone!
homemade playdough! i have a 4 year old and 2 year old also. my 4 year old loves to make it, my two year old loves to play with it. store it in plastic baggies or any sealed container.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2cup water
tbsp oil
food coloring
we also do a lot of baking. finger painting. bubbles. you can find lots of recipes online for each of these.
noodle painted necklaces. the library. we like to have picnics in our backyard on a picnic blanket. sometimes we’ll each carry buckets and go on a walk while they find ‘treasures’. sticks, rocks, leaves…you know ‘treasures’. nickjr.com has some great games for 4 year olds. my 4 year old plays while my two year old watches because he loves the characters.
We do lots of stuff! Some is costly and some free. A Day Out With Thomas, its expensive…around 100 for a family of 5 but its an all day event and my boys are really into Thomas.
We go to the zoo..A LOT..ours if free though..
Picnic in the park..we choose a different park each time!
Beaches, if we have some decent ones in Wisconsin I imagine everyone has some
Berry picking, fishing and hiking. I guess we are really outdoorsy
And we also buy summer passes to a childrens amusement park..which again seems expensive..but 2 trips there covers the cost of a summer pass (so if you have one in the area..a great idea for spare cash it to invest in season passes..then you always have something to do)
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/ they have the strangest places to visit and usually they are free..sometimes a dollar. We find a place near by and go see it. They are always adding new places to see and things to do!
when stuck inside..we do nothing lol
Oh I left out free days at waterparks…there are some that pass out free tickets at the not so fancy water parks..which is fine by me because not as fancy =way cheaper in the long run and less lines!!
We have theme weeks at our house during the summer. I got the idea from another blog, so I can’t take credit for it. You can be as extravagant or as simple as you want. Themes can be: space, jungle, ocean, old west, farms, camping, dinosaurs etc. You do activities, visit places, read books, watch movies, and eat food that relates to the theme. There are tons of ideas out on the internet and you just do as much as you have time and energy for. But, I’ve found, having an idea and a rough plan really helps a lot.
We also incorporate our own festivals into our summer activities. There are so many fun festivals around the country that celebrate…well, pretty much everything. Think of something you love – food or activities – and I gurantee that there is a festival somewhere in the country for it. Look at their website and get ideas of things that you can do at home. As much as I wanted to jump right in and celebrate our own little mini festival each week, it was too much work. So, each year we find a new one to ad to our schedule. The first year we had a cherry festival, the next year we added a kite festival, and this year we’ll probably add a cheese festival of some sort (just for DH 🙂 ). We have a lot of fun and have a lot of wonderul memories from our own mini festivals. It’s not that much work to pull together and it is so worth it.
I LOVE the theme idea!!! I will be stealing that from your stolen idea 😉 hehe, j/k. But it gives you a good base plan to work off of, awesome!!
when the kids were young I was a member of several parent groups on yahoogroups.com
We always pack a lunch and go, go, go.
Check out the local cities park and recreations, I check out the 2 nearest cities and in May and mark our calender for fun events. We’ve done water days in the park hosted by the city, swim lessons, dance classes, a theater weekend, free movie nights, free concerts in the park. We have a few regional parks that have waterslides and kid beaches for inexpensive.
Most of the major movie theaters offer kid/family events during the summer. I know Regal, Cinemark and one other do.
Bowling, Brunswick and some others offer a punch card or low cost family days.
For the kids bday we combine a big gift and get year long passes to some local attraction. We’re in So. Cal so lots to do. Sea World, Zoo, Universal, Kids museums
See if there is a local “kids beach”
Lowes and Home Depot offer free kids events year round on Saturday. Check out their Webpages
Michaels Craft stores also have free kids events. (or low cost)
Joann’s Craft stores have “summer craft camps” for kids, tweens and teens
We sometimes do staycations were we use a family member or a good friends home as home base and go on day trips from there.
Kids museums, science museums, special events. We’ve did a “CSI” event last year at one of the local science museums. A murder mystery dinner train.
Cooking/Baking with kids. Make home made playdo or “goo”
Google science experiments and have fun. (coke and mentos is a blast)
When they were young and school age I always got them a workbook for the summer.
Libraries–besides kids days they have books you can take home; movies, and ***books on cd*** that you can plug in on longer trips. I really life/noise/bickering saver!
Several outdoor malls or nicer parks have fountains that spray out of the ground, designed specifically for children to run through and play in. Completely free, that’s one of our favorite summer activities. If you live in the Richmond area, the nearest one is at Stony Point Fashion Park.
One of our favorite indoor places to play is Barnes & Noble. We read books, look at the stuffed animals, and play at the train table. Several malls have decent indoor play areas too. Often on rainy days, we throw on the rain boots and swim suits and go outside anyway!
For a healthy snack, I like to pack dry cereal (even the sweetened ones are healthier and cheaper than candies) and homemade trail mix. If I know we’re going to be out around lunch, even just for errands, I pack sandwiches so that we’re not tempted to eat out.
In the late summer I like to visit our local apple orchard. It has many farm animals and baby goats and chicks that the kids can pick up. The kids also like to feed the goats. Feeding and touching the animals is all FREE and they have educational tractor rides around the orchard for $1 which includes some education about corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, gourds, etc. They also let the kids pick pop corn and their own gourd and give out various other “samples” of plant life. We like to eat the apples on the way home and bake pie. All this to say — check out your local apple orchard. 🙂
Painting with pudding – an outdoor activity and a snack all in one:)
I’m not cheap, but just don’t always have the money to blow on activities. I have friends who have no problem gambling away $200 or others buying shoes for the same. I just can’t do it. Same goes for family fun. We have a few seasons passes that we get during the discount time. Getting those, if you are lucky to have parks, zoos, amusement, near you can really cut the bill. Many of them will allow you to bring in snacks and lunch, but if not, plan around food (eat before or after!). We also like to check out our community’s fun lists. We actually have a free publication in San Diego called San Diego Family Fun Magazine. It gives a day by day breakdown of events (most free) for the month. Many include parades, library activities, fun runs, etc. We also try to have lots of play dates (these do eat up your snack reserve, but just limit and be reasonable. THere’s no need for kids to have 4 snacks each in 2 hrs).
For food, I am a drive-thru aholic. It is so much easier, but SO much more expensive. Limit that and make as much as you can. Making cookies, trailmix, rice krispie bars, fruit pops, etc can cut your costs way down. A simple frozen lemonade can often quench what ails them in the summer.
I completely understand. There are many products/services out there that are well worth the money, but I don’t buy them well, because I can’t.
Our Wegmans grocery store shows “G” rated movies once a month in their cafe. They have signs around the store to announce the movie/date. They just ask that you sign up in customer service so they know how many snacks to plan. They give free popcorn, juice and other snacks. Last month we saw Chicken Little. My son loved it! They also served free organic juice boxes and free organic apple slices. Wonderful! Tonight we are going to see Brother Bear. Can’t wait!
Food costs shouldn’t go up during the summer (or not much) because you can shift the money from school lunch over to the grocery budget. My son is in middle school and it is over $2 for lunch if they don’t get seconds. I can certainly feed him lunch and a snack for less than $2. Not to mention, there will actually be someone to eat dinner left overs instead of throwing most of them out.
On a rainy day, build a fort in the living room. Something as simple as a folding table covered with blankets works. Pop in a $1 movie from redbox and pop some of that free microwave popcorn and you have a cheap night. We just built a ladder golf set and have already gotten our money worth. You can buy them for around $20. The place I bought the golf balls on a string also had rubber golf balls if you have little ones or plastic fencing. They also sell a bean bag game. It provides hours of entertainment.
If my son has extra energy to burn I’ll send him to take the dog for a walk. He will just go a few blocks and come back but do it several times. Also, if the dog is restless, my son can throw a tennis ball for him in the back yard.
Yes, unless the kids go to boarding school, they must be fed year-round out of the normal household budget. Besides, if we are couponing, we have a closet full of extras!
I agree with the food costs not really going up for me as well. I don’t coupon much during summer. My daughter absolutely hates to shop and I really don’t like it much in Summer anyway. I am in AZ and it is just so HOT! I cook from stockpile and just have to buy fresh fruit and veggies, milk , meat and dairy. I save the $30 a week from sons lunches plus the gas it takes to drive 2 kids to 2 different schools and pick them up. I figure I break even money wise. As far as entertainment my youngest is 9 so I don’t really get the I’m bored thing anymore. She can craft, cook, scrapbook, video games, read, talk to friends etc. MY son will be in Football all summer plus Scout camp and he just likes chilling with friends(he is 13). The main thing is just to have fun and enjoy the time with your kids no matter what you are doing.
my food costs go up A LOT during the summer. my kids school district gives free breakfast to all children regardless of income, and so my children eat there. During the school year i sent peanut butter sandwhiches and snacks for lunch..during the summer they aren’t going to be happy with that and they want “real” food. Also they tend to have a few extra snacks during that time…and always always always want a lot of fresh produce, which no matter how you cut it is expensive. BBQ’s seem to add up to more than a normal pot of winter food.
Ha Ha at free breakfast here. We don’t qualify for a reduced price so only one of my kids actually buys the school lunch. The price is outrageous I believe because it subsidizes all the kids who are on free/reduced lunches.
Even a BBQ can be cheap. Buy some hot dogs on sale (Oscar Mayer this week .60 a pack) or some on sale ground chuck. Buy potatoes on sale and grill them. I have a coupon right now for B1G1 bag of Russets.
Aldi has some of the least expensive produce I have ever seen! Each week they feature different produce specials.
Our food prices go up a lot too! The kids are SO much more active in the summer months= so much more to eat. Our school has morning and afternoon snacks so our kiddos are used to eating then. We also have more play dates for longer amounts of time!
School lunch prices around here are actually pretty reasonable. And I have heard, although I can’t think of where to confirm it right now, that the government actually pays schools more for each free/reduced lunch than the school charges paying students. (I think I read this in a study that found higher quality lunch products in poorer neighborhoods, because the government pays more)
Each of my kids has a lunchbox. Then if I know we are going to be out and about over a meal I pack them each a lunch. They think it’s fun to eat out of their lunch box and I don’t have to fork over too much money for fast food.
I too like to pack my 3 kids’ lunchboxes if we are headed out to the park, library, movie theatre, zoo, etc during the summer. Sometimes instead of packing their lunchboxes, I will pack them each a brown paper bag lunch and put a cheap little toy in there and make it more fun like getting a Happy Meal from McD’s only cheaper!!!! You can save little trinkets to throw in the McMom meals- or small packs of crayons from restaurants, stickers, tiny bottles of bubbles (from weddings, etc), a toy car, toy figure, etc. It is fun for them and I save $$ instead of going thru the drive thru. I like to fill up our own sports bottles with water, juice, lemonade, etc (cheaper than buying single serve drinks or juice boxes I think) and pack things like PBJ, lunchables, string cheese sticks, yogurt, pudding, crackers, applesauce, fruit, fruit snacks, etc.
I love the McMom idea with the toy inside! So sweet! I’m going to try that one.
Learn to enjoy simple things..We do library programs, museums, and nature hikes. I think the main thing is to get them out before the day gets hot. We do movie marathons with themes ( Harry Potter, animation, musicals) and themed food. We plan to make a cake, play in sprinkler in the yard, shaving cream wars, make homemade ice cream, etc.. I think we try to make kids grow up too soon. Play some old music and let their friends come dance. Make some art, get a penpal, learn a new skill, teach them to wash the clothes. Tweens may object at some ideas but usually have fun once we get started. I am ready to resume scrapbooking! So much to look forward to doing.
Thanks everyone for the awesome ideas!! Keep them coming!!! 😀
so in Portland, OR. they have a zoo and the second Tuesday of every month it’s only $2 per person to get in and the first Friday after 5 you can go to the Children’s Museum for free and then our OMSI the first Sunday of every month it’s also only $2 to get in. woot for savings+ fun
and more things you can do if you just cant think of anything to do go to usborn.com and search for “50 things” it will bring up a slew of things to make and do, paint and draw, 50 things to do with your toddler, 50 science things to do and so forth the books are less then $10 and you get crafts and learning projects to do all year round’. I swear by these books they are amazing and worth the price check them out and let me know what you think Borders also sells them and if you have a coupon it even better
I used my points at RecycleBank to get coupons for discounted admission at a local aquarium. I can’t wait to take my son when he’s on vacation 🙂 I’ll also be taking him to see Toy Story 3, free, of course from the Toy Story DVD deal at Target a few months back 🙂
I know that Entertainment Book always has lots of coupons for local attractions too.
For snacks, I like to bring little ziploc bags of cereal, crackers, carrots, fruit snacks, GoGurt, those fruit slices in a bag from the produce section, string cheese.
This may already be here some where in the comments…but you mentioning RecycleBank points reminded me that the Tropicana Rewards program also has lots of great discounts to attractions and events. I haven’t looked at them extensively but I saw lots of BOGO’s for places in my area. Most of them don’t require very many points either. 🙂
Frozen grapes are delicious and you can stock up when on sale.
I plan out everyday of our summer to include something fun and cheap. A lot of days are picnics at the park and slushies afterwards with a B1G1 coupon. I have enough coupons stocked up to go once a week. We also do Sonic for slushies during the Happy Hour, 2-4. I take my kids to the library for storytime and participate in the summer reading program. We also do the cheap summer movies each week. We’ll be going to the zoo and their awesome park there probably twice a month, as well as a local water park. Some days, I just have scheduled Sidewalk Chalk, Bubble Play, or Sandbox play. By couponing and watching for specials, a whole month of activities and special times out for my children will only cost around $100. Well worth it to keep the boredom down. I’m a teacher, so I love to treasure every precious second with my two boys, ages 5 and 1. We also have a pool for days we want to stay home.
Aside from the normal swim lessons, bible school and library program, there are TONS of day camps in our area…..some are sports, nature, science, etc. My daughter is finishing first grade and is doing swimming and the library program but our school corp. is also offering many sports…..my daughter is doing a week of baseball camp and it is REALLY cheap…..like only $30 and a drama camp at the high school for only $25. My little one’s gymnastics school is doing a 5 week camp and there are programs at our county parks that are REALLY cheap so the oldest may do that too. In between we’re gonna hit the county fair and free splash pads and take in a minor league baseball game.
My kids love to play with old fashion having cream. They play with it on the picnic table, hide their little toys in it and at the end, cover each other with it. I just hose them down when we are done.
Of course use the kind that comes out white and puffy (cheap, 99 cents without coups).
Lots of us know people who live in another state (or city) and often knows someone (or someone who knows someone) with a child near your child’s age. We do, so we’ve set up for our daughter to have 2 separate pen pals. We’re going to send so much information to them about our state and summer activities and learn a lot about their states and activities. The kids don’t know each other really at all, so it’s a chance to form new friendships too. If you’re children are too young to write, have them dictate it to you and you write it. Very easy.
We walk to the park and then to Mcdonalds for a $.49 cone! Takes up most of the afternoon and costs less then $2.00! My kids love doing this! We also do the free zoo. I have started to teach my 7year old to help with my couponing we cut ocupons well the 2 year old sleeps He love filling out the online forms for me!!
My children are 7y, 2y, and 5mo., so I am starting a “Bored Bucket”. Everytime I see them acting bored or saying they are bored (or just plain gettin under my skin!) I’ll have them choose a piece of paper out of the bucket (no peeking!). So far my list includes things like: go to the library, bike ride, chalk in the driveway, wash the car, Simon says, walk to the park, drive to a different park, water balloons, fly kites, playdough, dance to music, bake/cook something, board games, I spy, puppet show, blow bubbles, various craft activities like waterpaint on paper towels, paper plate crafts, painted pasta necklace, make sticker cards, magazine collage (etc), put all the pillows in a pile on the floor, get the tent out, pick up litter on our street……. any more ideas?
That’s a really good idea!
We go to the park, splash pad, beach, have play dates with friends, and go to kiddy entertainment places. At home we have a play set, sandbox, pool and bikes for outdoors fun.
Our city hosts an event one afternoon a week in the summer on the square downtown. It is free. We bring a blanket and a picnic and watch live music, ballet, and local performers. It is very fun and educational. Plus…it’s free! We also hit the zoo (early in the morning so the animals are awake and it’s not too hot). The city has a few public pools that are very clean and cheap. Don’t forget to sign up for kids bowl free this summer too. 🙂
My biggest concert is how hard it is to find deals when you have to shlep the kids with you! 😉 Actually I’m not worried about boredom, I’m worried about exhaustion! We’ll be swimming and running around and going to activities and it’s going to be hard on mama – but fun of course. A good free activity is vacation bible school at churches in the community! They want people to come, and it’s great fun for the kids.
my daughter is really into art. I have her in art class (which is a little pricey but she loves it) We do a lot of art at home – you can get a lot of supplies at the dollar store or on sale at michaels for really cheap. Then we do play dates, and have an art party.
We have a Bank of America account. They offer free admition to different places on the 1st weekend of every month. That has been fun and we just have to pay for our kids. I do have coupons for them from the entertainment book so it is really cheap. We also go to the lake, hike, camping, to our local zoo and ride the train, go to parks, splashpads at the park, on a rainy day we have a picnic in the house, go to Burger King and the kids play in the play place, build a fort, do a puzzle, and play hide and seek (for older kids play in the dark w/ flashlights).
For snacks I bring a juice pack that you can get for cheap or free with coupons, granola bars, go-gurt, string cheese, fruit, fruit snacks, crackers, ect.
We are going to have summer this year? I think Utah must have missed the memo. we just got three inches of snow a few days ago. The library is a great place to go with all of their fun activities. It is even inside which is great if your state forgot that it was supposed to be summer.
HAHAHA! 😆 I’m in Utah too and, yes, we have had a bizzarely cold spring! But, Memorial Day looks promising *fingers crossed* 😀