10 Fun Things To Do With Kids This Summer For Free (or cheap)

Even box mixes can be fun if you let your little ones measure, pour, mix and lick the bowl! 

Here’s a tasty chocolate chip cookie recipe that stays a little puffier than the original. 

Easy to make: Best Toll House Cookies  

Or, another yummy idea, how about making homemade pizza?

Crafts don’t have to cost much. They should be colorful and fun. The more hands-on the better. Make your own play-dough or use seeds or beans  to make beautiful 3-D pictures. Or maybe buttons? Button crafts are great fun!

Cruise through the internet and find some easy, fun projects. A good place to find them is at BLOG HOPS. Check out the titles and click!  I found this one at a hop: {Kids Craft} Recycled Mixed Media Paint Project

Forget order for a day and build a fort with your kids in the living-room or backyard. If you don’t have a little tent, use a bed sheet strung over the ends of chairs.  Get right in there with them. 

Bring special treasures: pillow, blanket, stuffed animals, books to read, a flashlight (turn off the lights for flashlight fun), music and snacks. What would you include in your fun-fort?

If your climate is warm enough to plant now, buy some flowers or vegetables, get out there with your kids and dig!

If not, start some seeds indoors. Take a trip together to the garden store to pick out what you will plant. Teach them a little about the types of plants that will or will not work for you. Ask questions from the experts who work there. Put it in terms your kids will understand. Make it a fun, learning experience.

Go Fish  — This is two-fold.

Go fishing! All you need is an inexpensive fishing pole, worms or homemade bait, a pail to put the fish in. (You’ll probably be throwing them back before you leave but give your kids the pleasure of looking at them for a while.)

Play “Go Fish”. Kids cards are cheap. I just bought a set of Old Maid, Go Fish and Crazy 8’s for $5. If you have a regular deck of cards, that works, too.

Your local public library will have some great children’s programs. They may host therapy dog clinics, puppet shows, craft time, story time…the sky’s the limit. Get on their mailing list to stay informed.

Go on a nature hike with your kids. Bring a “treasure hunt” sheet listing things to look for. Older children like to compete. Give them points for the first one to see a bird with red on it, or two squirrels playing together, a special kind of flower, fish in the pond, a tree with moss on it, and on and on. Winner gets to sit in the front seat on the drive home!

Your little tykes will love a trip to Petsmart, especially if it has a pet hotel. It’s like going to the zoo–only cheaper! Call ahead to find out what time the dogs will be in the exercise area. They have a bench outside the window and you can sit and watch the dogs play. Kids love it! Don’t forget to visit the fishies, turtles, hamsters, bunnies and birds before you go!

Fresh air and exercise is a must. Take your kids to the playground. Remember to bring sunscreen, hats, water and playthings if there is a sandbox (toy trucks, bucket with scoop, etc).

Tip: Put away the cell phone…no talk or texting on outings…this day is for all of you to really be together. 

Commonly called “worksheets”…but what’s fun about work? Call them “play sheets” and let your kids use their intellectual skills as they play. 

Practice writing, math, map making…there are lots of fun activity sheets that can be printed right from the web.

Photo credits:

• Bowdabra kids project
• Boy Reading Book from Flickr Creative Commons
• Kid Fishing from flickr creative commons
• Make PIzza from Flickr Creative Commons
• Kid Gardening from flickr creative commons
• Child Drawing from freedigital photos
• Baby Dogs from freedigital photos
• Little Girl on Playground from sxc.hu

Note: this author is an Amazon affiliate. Anything purchased from Amazon through Ducks ‘n a Row will result in a small commission for me. In advance, “thank you.” –Sinea