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46 Cheap Or Free Summer Fun Ideas For Kids

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The official start of summer is here for us and I know how hard it is to keep kids entertained all summer long. I found that making a list on my calendar helped me pick a fun thing to do every day. Here are 45 cheap or better yet free, great ideas for summer fun for you and the kids:

Catch fireflies

Decorate t-shirts outside with paint or dye

Have a tea party outside

Make a birdhouse

Make your own ice pops

Bake a pie or cookies

Feed the ducks

Go swimming

Plant a garden or a herb garden

Play with water balloons

Play with water guns

Go on a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood

Play hide and go seek in the dark

Find a new playground

Have a picnic

Make S’mores

Learn how to knit and teach your kids, maybe even take a class

Visit the zoo

Visit a museum or children’s museum

Let your children play outside in the rain

Make a theme day, like a “red day” wear red eat only red foods (tomato, apples, strawberries, polish your nails red) or “dinosaur day” (read about dinosaurs, color dinosaur pictures, eat only veggies that day)

Write a letter to a grandparent or friend

Have a lemonade stand

Pick fruits or veggies at your local farms

Make an indoor sand or (Rice!) box
Find free movies in your town

Play hopscotch

Draw with sidewalk chalk

Make a tent indoors with blankets

Play with bubbles, have a biggest bubble contest

Race some bug you find on the ground

Join a reading club for grades 1-6

Have a “day of beauty” paint nails, have masks, give your kids a massage

Go to a free reading time

Buy a hammock and take a nap together

Play with a remote controlled RV or boat

Visit a day fair or carnival

Go for a hike

Can berries for the winter

Grab your sleeping bags and sleep on the floor together

Do some arts & crafts

Grow butterflies (My kids LOVE this!)

Visit a neighbor

Make a bubble pool in your backyard

Make ice cream

Check out free classes at Lowes or Home Depot

Make a trip to a board walk

Bowling!

Have movie day at home complete with popcorn and candy

What are your favorite family summer fun ideas?

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Posted in Kid Fun, Parent Fun, Parenting, Teens, Tips, Toddlers on June 22nd, 2009

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2 Responses to “46 Cheap Or Free Summer Fun Ideas For Kids”

  1. Carol Says:
    July 19th, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    I love your ideas. Practical, fun, cheap.

  2. hallie Says:
    July 26th, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    what a super list! I definitely need document this for when I am desperate for ideas!

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