A reader asked for suggestions on how she could entertain her kids this summer on the cheap. I’m not a parent but I did spend many high school summers babysitting and tutoring my younger brothers and sisters. I’m afraid what we did is terribly old fashioned: swim at the local pool, tromp through neighborhood stream, design forts, etc.
So I need your help! What are low-budget or free activities you are planning for your child this summer? Are there online resources you are turning to for ideas? Please leave a comment!
Here are ideas to get your started, including a few from Jen’s List, a daily email for Los Angeles families.
- Check your local public library for free events
- Your hometown department of parks and recreation may have low budget summer camps or one-day programs
- Find out which days are free at your local museums
- Create a scavenger hunt for your kids of items they can find nearby. While they search you get a break!
- Help them set up a lemonade stand
- Check if local retailers are offering in-store “workshops” like the 3-hour sessions Apple offered to 8-12 year olds (they’re pretty much all booked, unfortunately)
- Subscribe to FamilyFun Magazine, which Jen says has great crafts and project ideas using supplies you already have in your home. Each month has fun facts and things to do around a holiday or event that month. A one-year subscription is $10 (10 issues). This month Jen’s boys made a Father’s Day calender using their hand prints to make animals.
- Buy a sprinkler to connect to your hose so kids can get wet and cool off. (Note: if you water use is restricted, opt for a wading pool instead.)
- Kids love bubble machines, a relatively cheap toy. Make your own bubbles with dishwasher soap and water.
- Chalk is cheap and kids are only limited by their imagination and sidewalk space. Hopscotch? Self-portraits? Tic-tac-toe?
- Create a schedule with other parents so each person has a day where they run a “camp” at their house. They plan the activities while other parents get a day off.
“If you think about it,” says Jen, “there is more than you could ever do.”
May 27th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
- go to the local paddling pool or spray park
– take a walk
- have lunch at the bbq pits in the park
- create theme days where neighbourhood kids do some research on a specific activity, nationality, holiday or any other theme, then have them make costumes, and serve food appropriate to the theme
- tie dye something. die can be bought for a couple of dollars, and elastic bands can be found at the dollar store, but the t-shirts, or pillow cases that are made are super fun, and great to look at
- go to the library for story time, or free weekday movies
- volunteer
- try letterboxing (if your kids are old enough, and will be respectful of the rules) http://www.atlasquest.com/
May 27th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Great suggestions Tamara, thanks much!
May 27th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
certain cities offers free lunch and snacks every weekday for about 2 months while kids are out of school. arts and crafts on certain days and on those other days there are board games to play with!
check with your city!
http://www.cityofalhambra.org
May 27th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
http://www.cityofalhambra.org/government/parks_recreation/ParksRec_Calendar.html
May 27th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
well if in ca i say travel town in griffic park its free you can picnic and jump on the train and take pic and talk about where you would go and you can take a train ride for 2 dollares a person or go to the beach cost gas and parking take a lunch and go make a sand castle hunt sea shells my kids love it and then use them to make picture frames of the trip a sea creature you can turn it into a day out and fun to make things to rember it
May 27th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Lots of towns have free concerts in the park and some are child oriented. Here is one in Pasadena:
http://www.levittpavilionpasadena.org/summer-calendar/?el_mcal_month=6&el_mcal_year=2009
I think Hollywood Bowl has them too-they are free.
Check out museums-most have a free day each month- Huntington Botanical Gardens & Library, The Arboretum, Norton Simon Museum.
Take a train ride to Olvera St.
May 27th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
We have picnics in the backyard, or on the living room floor if the weather is gross.
Plant something — my kids love working in our small garden.
Pick up trash around your neighborhood.
May 27th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Conejo Joe (my Twitter pal) says:
Here’s a list of 250+ events in Ventura County and surrounding areas http://www.conejovalleyguide.com/welcome/hundreds-of-free-free-free-or-nearly-free-summer-concerts-mo.html
Thanks, Joe!
May 27th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I have a 4-year-old boy. We just downloaded a list of all the local farms that have fruit picking open to the public. We’re going cherry picking this week.
Pick out a recipe that’s in-season; go the farmer’s market and let him choose the produce; go home and bake/cook it.
Make home movies of us or him and his friends being goofy and watch them together, unedited, straight from the video cam.
Scavenger hunts while hiking on nature trails that work up a sweat. I make an illustrated list of things to find: a rock this shape; a leaf this shape; something this color; etc. We bring a small backpack for his finds.
Educational computer games on PBSkids.org.
Art projects from the Big Messy Art Book by MaryAnn Kohl.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Los Angeles County Museum of Art offers free memberships to kids called NextGen. The California Science Center is always free, as is the Rose Garden in Exposition Park; there is a free public art exhibit there now called Cool Globes (www.coolglobes.com). The Ford Amphitheater has a summer program called Big World Fun (it’s all dance this year) on Saturday mornings at 10:00 that’s free for kids, adult tix are cheap and parking is $1 (www.fordamphitheater.org). The Pasadena Symphony has a free concert the 2nd Saturday morning of each month called Musical Circus. Farmers’ markets all over the city have free entertainment. 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica often has street performers. Contact Metro Art Council for free docent tours of the art in the subway stations at http://www.metro.net. And check out Susan Peterson’s book “Fun and Educational Places to Go With Kids” – find it at your local Auto Club office or at the library – lots of free and cheap activities.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
There’s wonderful park in Hollywood where I used to take my kids (moons ago!). It’s on the north side of Los Feliz, not too far east of Western Ave. Can’t recall the name of the park. There’s a creek that runs through the park, which sometimes has crawdads and other creatures in it. There are picnic tables and benches, and it’s shady, which is great on really hot days. We used to give the kids tiny bit of hot dogs attached to strings so they could troll the waters for some kind of “catch.” They never caught anything, but were always ready to try, and loved playing in the park.
You’ve received some really wonderful suggestions from other readers. Getting together with friends/neighbors to share the kid-tending, and planning activities, is a no-brainer. Check out the Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park for free programs.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:19 am
[...] Frugal activities for kids this summer [...]
June 5th, 2009 at 10:08 am
This summer is all about learning for us and getting ahead for next year. I found a VERY COOL e-learning site called http://www.BigIQkids.com that is offering a 3 month summer special for $29.99 that includes all their K-7 learning programs.
If you break it down, that’s about .30 cents per day which to me is a good deal.
My kids think it is the GREATEST and are so happy to be “online”. I can’t believe they’re having fun learning spelling words, vocabulary, math and US geography. Club Penguin good riddance!!
June 5th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Thanks for this tip, Lorie! Glad you could find an educational activity that is affordable.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
More free tips for summer brain drain prevention are at this cool article:
http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/study_skills/summer-daily-brainwork/