This is the second part of my list of frugal family summertime activities. Be sure to read the previous article for 24 more ideas if you haven't read the other list already.
- Play whiffle ball instead of baseball. Even the little ones can join in.
- Sleep under the stars in your backyard and identify the constellations.
- Have your children attend a Vacation Bible School at a local church.
- Take your kids out for an appetizer and pop instead of a full meal. Or just go out for dessert.
- Go fly a kite ... literally!
- Have a family music festival, concert or recital.
- Play old card games (the games are new to your children!).
- If you're stuck in the car for a long time, try this: look for something odd and out of place lying along the road (maybe an old boot beside the highway), and then take turns making up stories about how it came to be there (everything from an alien attack to a flood disaster scenario is possible).
- Have a Scavenger Hunt.
- Have theme nights. Example: for "Spy Night" watch Harriet the Spy, put together up "Spy Kits" and play a spy game like flashlight tag. Or have Sci-Fi night ... watch an old science-fiction movie like War of the Worlds and then a modern one like Independence Day (very similar basic plot -- possible end of the world due to alien invasion). Talk about how sci-fi has changed in the past few decades.
- Give your kids their own small section of the garden to plant whatever they want: flowers, vegetables. Make gardening a family event.
- Go berry picking. Make something yummy out of the berries you pick (jam, cobbler, ice cream, smoothies). You can also flash-freeze berries for a yummy hot weather snack.
- Think back on things you that you have fond memories of from your own childhood that you can recreate with your own children: catching fireflies, fishing, hay rides, swinging on rope swings, building tree houses, picking wildflowers, making ice cream, playing checkers.
- Think about what our ancestors did for entertainment. They knew how to have fun without spending a lot of money.
- Start a collection: rocks, pressed flowers, leaves, feathers.
- Go to a Farmer's Market.
- Have a water fight or run through the sprinkler (or just spray your kids with a hose while they run through the yard).
- Many museums and local attractions have free days regularly (i.e.: first Thursday of the month). Call and ask.
- Some parks set up big movie screens after dark for Moonlight Movies. Bring your own lawn chairs, blankets, popcorn and drinks.
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