25 Free (or nearly free) things to do over Summer
1. Go to camp – Pitch a tent in your backyard and have a camp-out with the kids! Toast marshmallows, tell stories around the campfire (or torch) and lie on your back and count the stars!
2. Create your own water park – Pull out the kiddie pool (you’ll be surprised how much the grown kids like it!), poke holes in an old hose, break out the Slip and Slide, and create fun water games. Kids especially love the frozen t-shirt contest. Wet and freeze two t-shirts overnight and see who can thaw theirs first and put it on!
3. Visit the museum – You can spend ages at the Museum looking at all the local history and exhibitions they have on. Great to go in the middle of the day to escape the heat!
4. Explore - When is the last time you went beyond your own town or suburb! Pack up the car and head out on an adventure. Remember to tell the kids its not a trip in the car but a "Family Adventure", it always sounds way more exciting!
5. Volunteer – Pick a local nursing home a bring the kids once a week to read, play games with, or do crafts with elderly residents.
6. See a movie – Create your own drive-in theatre at home. Move a TV and DVD player outside for one night, or borrow a projector from a friend and hang up a sheet. Get a movie from the library for free (or chose one from your collection) and watch with some popcorn! The novelty of watching TV outside never fails to impress kids. and best of all, it’s free!
7. Go Berry Picking – Visit a local farm to pick your own fruit, strawberries, blueberries, boysenberries, what could be better in summer than fresh fruit. Some berry farms will even turn your berries into ice-cream for you!
8. Play sports – Get outside with the kids and have your own mini Olympics, sack races, 3 legged races and even swingball are great events. Get the kids to make medals for all participants and have a ceremony at the end of the day.
9. Write stories together.You can make up some fiction, or try topics such as: Cutest thing my pet did; What life was like when Grandma was my age; Places I would like to travel; etc.
10. Build paper air planes and have a flying contest. Find free patterns on the Internet or get out a book form the Library.
11. Create a fort - Turn your living room into a Jungle, a dessert or even a different Country. Drape sheets or blankets around furniture or cardboard boxes.
12. Pack up a picnic and have a sunset meal at a park or the beach, or why not at Grandma's house.
13. Check out a thrift shop. Its amazing what bargains can be picked up at your local store. From clothes to games and everything in between. The kids wont care that its not shiny and new, they will just love choosing something!
14. Create a scrapbook with programs for the kids' school plays and recitals, treasured show and sports game tickets, their artwork, photos, birth announcements, etc.
15. Who doesn't love finger painting? Just be sure to put down a cheap tarp (or do it on the back lawn) and wear clothes you don't care about.
16. Help the kids decorate their own rooms. They can hang their own art work and why not change the room around, have the bed by the wall instead of by the window. You'll be surprised how much kids will love a change. Also a great way to have a spring clean as you are re-arranging!
17. Try a treasure hunt -leave clues around the house or backyard.
18. Create a family memories book, with information and pictures. Or create a family website with photos and videos. There are lots of free websites now where you can build your own.
19. Garden with the family. Even younger ones can water flowers or pull weeds.
20. Go through old clothes and toys with the kids, and have them choose things to donate to charity. It's a good chance for them to learn that others are less fortunate.
21. Write and produce a play to perform before other family members. You can get really creative and do costumes and props too.
22. Do photography with the kids. Take pictures of pets, nature or whatever interests them.
23. Learn and tell each other jokes. Again, try the library for books of family-friendly humour.
24. Walk barefoot in the grass and pick wildflowers. It's a nice time to teach the kids to appreciate nature – just remember to tell them not to pick the neighbour's's flowers.
25. Learn to swim. Find a friend with a pool and why not teach the kids to swim, having lots of splashy fun along the way!