102 Fun (and Low Cost) Summer Activities Week 3

Yay!  It is week three and time for more fun summer activities!  I hope you enjoy them and that they inspire fun and creativity for you and your kids this summer.  If you missed last week's ideas look for the link at the top of my blog that says "102 Summer Activities" or Click Here!  I will add each week to the existing ideas and compile a complete list that you can print and save :)  Enjoy!

 

** WEEK THREE** 

31.  Have a picnic.  All kids love a yummy picnic.  Think of all the options, this could be a typical lunch picnic, a dinner picnic, or even a breakfast picnic.  It could be done in your backyard, at your local park, or maybe in the living room on a rainy day.  Involve the kids in the planning and making of the picnic food…packing the basket will be half of the fun!

Picnic Food Ideas

32.  Make a time capsule.  Kids will love to fill a container with trinkets, pictures, letters, and other memories to be dug up at a future date.  If you do not want to go as far as burying the time capsule, it might be fun to save it in your child’s memory box for them to open at a later date (or even to be opened by your future grandchildren?!).

Time Capsule

33.  Stargaze.  Summer time is the perfect time to get outside and teach your kids about the stars, planets, and constellations.  This could be as simple as laying out a blanket and just looking at the stars or for older kids you could print out charts, use a telescope, and learn about constellations and the phases of the moon.  If you know nothing about the stars beyond the Big Dipper no need to worry…click the link below for kid-friendly charts.

Kids Astronomy

34.  What better time to experiment with hairdos than the summer?  Let the kids try out funky styles such as braids, faux hawks, and Kool Aid hair dye when they do not have to worry about going to school the next day.  Hair wraps can be fun also…have them done at the boardwalk or learn to do them at home to save some cash.

Kool Aid Hair Dye

Hair Wrap

35.  Kids love poetry, especially funny poems.  Capitalize on your kids love for silly poems and not only read some silly poems together but also have them write their own poetry.  Kenn Nesbitt, who is a funny poet, has an entire website dedicated to reading and writing funny poetry.  Explore the site with your child, and they will have so much fun they will forget that they are learning.

Poetry For Kids

36.  Have a garage sale.  Many of you probably live in neighborhoods that sponsor a neighborhood garage sale.  This would be the perfect time to allow your kids to go through their unused toys, books, games, etc., and put them up for sale.  Knowing that they can make some extra money for summer fun will surely motivate them.  If having a garage sale is more hassle than it is worth for you, how about spending a morning visiting other people’s garage sales.  Give your kids a couple of bucks each and let them have a “shopping spree.”  Once you get home have a mini-contest and give awards for categories such as “best deal”, “most useful”, or “most unusual” purchase.  The kids will have a great time competing for the best buys.

 Garage Sales for Kids

37.  Computer games are some of the best ways to let kids have fun while they are learning.  This is the perfect activity for rainy days or a distraction for the kids when you are trying to get some things done around the house.  There are many out there for different ages, interests, or levels, but these are a few favorites of my kids.

Starfall

Discovery Kids

Fun Brain

38.  Explore your child’s comedic side.  Go to the library and check out some joke books or look up jokes for kids online.  Just make sure you have found appropriate onesJ.  Have your child spend the day reading and picking out their favorite jokes and then host a comedy club after dinner.  Each child could stand up and perform for the family and see who gets the most laughs.

Kids Jokes

39.  Save items from the trash and set the kids loose to build a recycled sculpture.  If you are worried about the mess, do this activity outside.  Obviously you will not be able to save this sculpture as long as your kids would like so be sure to take pictures of each kid with their sculpture and hang them in a prominent spot for the summer.  Check out the link for some inspiration.

Trash Sculptures

40.  Watch a sporting event.  This could be a major league ballgame or maybe a minor league team in your town?  If you cannot afford tickets to either a major or minor league game consider finding a local summer league to watch.  Your kids will probably love watching any type of game even if the players are only a few years older than them.  If the field allows it you could even pack a picnic lunch to enjoy food and drink while you are cheering on your favorite team.