Comments on: Frugal Summer Fun for Kids Part I

By: Looking back at 2009 on Frugal Upstate | Frugal Upstate

Looking back at 2009 on Frugal Upstate | Frugal Upstate — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:44:29 +0000

[...] June: Frugal Summer Fun for Kids [...]

By: niki

niki — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:28:25 +0000

Marbles, wow! I haven’t thought of those in years. My son adores playing the old games his mama played when she was a kid. I’ll have to grab some at the store next time I’m out. I bet he’ll love it!

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:28:45 +0000

Oh I need this right now! My kids have been out of school for almost four weeks now! I here “I am bored!” all the time. I have to kick my son out the door so he will go play! I will use some of these ideas!

Danielle's latest: Set of Personalized Enclosure Cards

By: Robin ~ PENSIEVE

Robin ~ PENSIEVE — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:32:22 +0000

Awww, Jenn, this post made me smile. Sadly, my kids are pretty much passed most of these ideas, but many they enjoyed when they were younger.

A neighborhood lemonade stand is still one of my favorite activities…I wish I was young enough to still man one .

By: Weightless One

Weightless One — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:13:00 +0000

There are lots of free summer festivals that are great for kids and adults alike. In my area (Baltimore, Maryland), we have Artscape in July (www.artscape.org). There’s a big art park that is devoted to families and has all kinds of free art activities for kids. There’s all kinds of things for kids to get their hands on and play with. They can test out all kinds of musical instruments at the instument petting zoo, create their own take-home art projects, and see lots of family-centric performances. There’s great things for adults too and if you have older kids, it’s an excellent way to expose them to the arts in all of their forms. You can see dance, theatre, opera, visual arts exhibitions, and musical performances as well as street theatre and the ever-popular art car parade.

Bring a picnic lunch to avoid the expensive festival food concessions and everything else (unless you are purchasing art) is free.

Weightless One's latest: Beauty

By: Amanda @ Mrs.W's Kitchen

Amanda @ Mrs.W's Kitchen — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:01:49 +0000

No kids here, but I remember my own childhood summers, which were long thanks to the neigbor kids all leaving for summer camps in Canada! Some things we did:

- Go to the library; with air conditioning available and all the books you can read, it’s a haven for stuff to do. Looking back as an adult, I’m so glad to have been taught how to enjoy reading. So many of my peers just don’t, and I think that’s just too bad. Many libraries also have summer activities especially for kids–check website or ask at the info desk.

- City parks department. Local mommies have let me in on a little known secret. The city’s park department has a FANTASTIC summer program in my town. They just don’t advertise–you have to call and ask. Many include FREE LUNCHES.

- Local municipal pool. Don’t have a swimmin hole of your own? A summer membership (usually pretty inexpensive) to your city’s pool might be just the thing to keep the kids occupied. Some even offer free swimming lessons.

- Quiet time at home–we loved finding rocks and painting them. Some had to be washed first–anything from poster paints to markers to acrylics work great.

- Grow Your Own. What better way to occupy a little one than with simple garden activities–growing beans, nurturing a pumpkin plant or a big patio pot of cherry tomatoes? Hollyhocks are also fun to watch grow up tall, too.

- The Dinosaur Mud Pit. Next to my parents’ place there was this one spot that, after a hard rain, turned into a mud pit. We’d haul out my brother’s toy dinosaurs and make an awesome pre-historic scene–getting filthy in the process, of course. But what great opportunity to hose off?

By: Denise@TogetherWeSave

Denise@TogetherWeSave — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:10:25 +0000

Fun ideas.

By: Martha

Martha — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:33:44 +0000

Great ideas. 1 of the best ideas we do at our house for vacations & the summer is have each kid take a day & plan it. I never hear the words I am bored from either child on that day. I think it is because they are in charge. It never has to be anything big or expensive but they make the plans. Sometimes it is just what to make for breakfast 7 then a trip to the dog park with our dog for my son. My daughter loves to save her gift cards & make it a day of shopping. Or we take the camera out & shoot pics around town of them posing. They love to do this. (We also have the donated animal statues that get auctioned off so they love to take pics of these when they come out.)

I am also not above swapping days with another mom. She takes all of the kids for 2-3 1 day & then I take them 2-3 hours another day. Everybody is happy then.