Budget-Friendly Ways to Entertain Children in Summer
- Water Balloon Fights! Remember how fun those used to be? Get the kids to fill up a bunch of balloons with water and play toss, stepping back with each successful catch. Whoever loses gets soaked! For eco-conscious parents (and shouldn’t we all be?), plan this around the time your lawn needs watering and make the kids move around covering all the dry spots.
- Sidewalk Triathlon: Hopscotch, jump rope, and hula hoops are all easy, inexpensive physical activities you can challenge the kids to engage in some healthy competition with. No sore losers allowed. Grab-bags of inexpensive treats make things interesting.
- Bubble Painting: Everyone's tried bubbles, but what about bubble painting? You'll want to do this outside, because it’s apt to get messy. Cover a section of a wall and the floor underneath with butcher paper or old sheets you don't care about using as a drop "cloth." Tape up a white sheet of construction paper and put a drop or two of food coloring in bottles of bubbles. Let kids blow bubbles onto the paper, making one-of-a-kind works of art. Or, get white card stock and use the opportunity to have them make greeting cards.
- Sprinkler Water Park: Running the sprinklers on the lawn is a prime opportunity to get Wee Savvies out of your hair for a little while. Either let them run around free and easy or if you're feeling extra-savvy, get some plastic sheeting or a tarp from the hardware store and make a slip and slide.
- Holiday Craft Elves: Get out that Tub o' Dazzle and give the kids art projects you can use come holiday time. They can make holiday cards, paper mache decorations, gift tags or personalized gifts. The possibilities are endless and it's never too early to start prepping for the busiest time of the year!
- Photo Scavenger Hunt: Find 50 or so things/situations the kids can take digital photos of inside and outside the house. If they're old enough and you want to extend the activity, have them make online photo albums and write story narratives about the photos.
- Highway Patrol: Take the kids for walks around the neighborhood armed with plastic bags, rubber gloves and pick up loose litter. You can help them appreciate the value of being a conscientious neighbor and give them an ice cream treat at the end for their hard work.
- Bookworm Day: Make one day a week family library day where everyone gets to pick out a few things. Check your local branch’s listings for special kid-friendly readings and activities.
- Kite Flying: Good old fashioned kite flying is fun for kids of all ages and a great way to squeeze in some unexpected exercise that will pay off at bedtime.
- Mystery Park Picks: Put the name of every park/beach/playground within reasonable distance to your house on a piece of paper and drop them in a hat. Let kids alternate who gets to pick the park of the day/week to keep things spontaneous and fun and prevent boredom and whining from setting in.
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