Top Ten Cheap Summer Ideas for Kids
Top Ten Cheap Summer Ideas for Kids
I don't know about you, but I have an 8 year old boy at home who is off from school and needs to be entertained. It is tempting (and cheap) to let him sit and watch an iPad all day long; however, I need to find things for him to do. My friend Shannon Ryan's book, The Lemonade Stand, inspired me to share fun things to do with kids; so, here is a list of my top ten cheap summer ideas for kids that are not only affordable but fun.
1) Camping locally / in the backyard
Kids love sleeping outside, at least mine does, and for $25 you can get this tent for kids to have lots of fun in the backyard or for a little more you can invest in a tent to take outside the yard. Here is a great site to find campground locations.
2) Make a Lemonade Stand
My friend Shannon just wrote a book about this, and I think it is a great exercise in entrepreneurship and fun for kids. Shannon even includes a recipe for the lemonade in her book.
3) Visit the local public library
If you are in the middle of a rainstorm filled week like me, you need to find indoor activities for your kids who are home from school. I am a huge fan of the public library, and even in my little town, I am constantly surprised at the resources and fun activities they have for kids, and I always love finding ways to "trick" my son into reading.
4) Water balloon fights
We recently purchased this water balloon set to try out at home. The pump was not the greatest, but my son had such a great time playing with the balloons and throwing them at his parents and the trees that he didn’t notice.
5) Make Your Own Ice Cream
You don’t need a machine to make ice cream, there are lots of great sites on Pinterest that can help you make it with just a baggie and the ingredients.
6) Play with sidewalk chalk
We recently gave this set that is less than $10 to my niece as a gift. The kids were so excited about it, that they opened it right away and started drawing all over our walkway. I love any activity that allows kids to be creative and make a mess, yet it stays outside.
7) Set up a sprinkler
We were recently at a family party and despite the fact that there was a pool set up, most of the kids spent time running in an out of the sprinkler. For $12 you can water your lawn and give your kids a great work out.
8) Arts and Crafts
There are a ton of projects on Pinterest to help you entertain your kids when the weather is not so nice, this one shares 75 simple projects you can do with paper plates. Yet another reason why I love Pinterest.
9) Mini-Golf
We recently took my son to play mini-golf and we had a great time. In the summer it can be a little hot to try it during the day; however, it's nice to go at night before or after dinner when it cools off.
10) Pool, Lake, Beach
Most kids can have hours of fun playing in the pool, or the lake or the beach. If you live near one of these, you should take advantage of it. We use our neighborhood pool as much as possible, and we love packing lunch for the day and hanging out.Image Source: Free Digital Photos.Net Artur84