Family FinancesThese frugal (or free!) summer activities for kids will keep your children entertained all summer long!
I’m always on the lookout for free or frugal summer activities for kids.
There is just something about the relaxing, fun-filled days of summer that envelope me with a sense of excitement every single year. And after so much time spent indoors during cold winters, my family is ready to explore!
Check out this list of 17 free and frugal summer activities for kids!
Tip: Want to stay organized while you plan your family’s summer activities? Pick up a copy of the 100 Days of Summertime eBook!
1. Take them bowling.
Bowling alleys across the country are offering free bowling all summer long! Check out this list to see if a bowling alley near you is participating!
2. Take them roller skating!
You could take them roller skating at a local park or in your neighborhood, or you could take them to a skating rink that is participating in free skating–just like the free bowling! Check out this list of participating locations.
3. Take them swimming.
This one is a no-brainer! Many neighborhoods have pools, and if yours doesn’t, check out your local community center. We have both, but I prefer our community center pool because it has a great kid area! It’s also only $2 per person for family swim nights! Our community center also offers swimming lessons for only $30 per child.
4. Go geocaching.
I’ve never done this, but it looks to be good, clean, FREE (or really cheap) fun! My friend Stacy makes it sound like a treasure hunt!
5. Make a bonfire and roast hotdogs or marshmallows to make s’mores.
My parents have a fire pit, and the past two Saturdays we’ve spent relaxing around it–roasting hot dogs and marshmallows! My girls think they are in heaven!
6. Make ice cream.
We do not own an ice cream maker, but I recently discovered we can make some ice cream recipes in our Ninja Pro! Here are 6 tasty homemade ice cream recipes. For some fun and unusual flavors, check out the eBook Just Making Ice Cream!
7. Check off a summer bucket list.
There’s no better way to be intentional about your summer than to create a bucket list! Beth from Red and Honey created this great list of 73 frugal and creative backyard activities for kids!
8. Go on a photo hunt.
Check out Life Your Way’s free Photo Hunt. The idea is that each day you look for something specific to photograph. At the end of each month, you can put together a photo collage of your pictures. Items range from a campfire to a ladybug to a giggle!
Click here to download a FREE printable pre-reader edition of the June Photo Hunt!
9. Join a summer reading program at your local library.
I’m a bookworm. Participating in my community library’s summer reading programwas admittedly my favorite part of summer growing up!
10. Pick berries.
Here in North Carolina, we’re wrapping up strawberry season. My girls picked last week. Blackberry season is next, and, our favorite, blueberry season, will be in full swing by late July.
Just remind your kids to actually put some berries in their baskets to take home (and not eat them all off the plants!).
11. Visit a farm–or farmer’s market.
Our local strawberry patch gives farm tours and is equipped with a full petting zoo and fun play area! A field trip to the farm will teach your kids that food doesn’t come straight from the grocery store!
12. Plant a garden–and tend to and harvest it together.
We planted our garden in the spring, and we are now seeing some snap peas, lettuce, kale, spinach and broccoli pop up! My girls absolutely love watering it with their mini watering cans, and they are now enjoying eating peas right off the vine! Check out these simple tips for the rookie gardener to get started.
13. Take them to a free (or cheap) summer movie.
Several theaters in our area are offering free or cheap kids’ movies all summer long! Check out your local theater to find out whether they offer something similar!
14. Visit a splash pad.
We love splash pads because they let the kids get wet without the risk of drowning. And let’s be honest: I do not take all three of my kids (all under age 5!) to the pool by myself!
We have one splash pad in our town that is connected to a park, and it’s FREE! Another one is about 30 minutes away and only costs $1!
15. Explore a museum.
Some museums offer special summer rates, exhibits or activities. It never hurts to ask! This is a great one for getting out of the heat!
16. Play at a new-to-your-kids park.
We are blessed in that our town is loaded with parks. But we really only visit a handful of them! I’ve been thinking it might be fun to visit a new park each week this summer!
17. Attend a Vacation Bible School.
Whether your church offers one or not (ours doesn’t), you are bound to find a Vacation Bible School somewhere for your kids to attend!
What are your ideas for some free or frugal summer activities for kids?
Related Posts:
5 Things Your Kids Should Do Every Day in the Summer
5 Ways to Enjoy Your Kids More This Summer
15 Ideas for a Summer Staycation
19 Ideas for Frugal Summer Fun as a Family
beth
as a note for the geocaching- you need a GPS system or have an app for that on your phone. You can get free apps that work pretty well. Also, there are tons of sites and apps dedicated to caches, where they are located, deciphering the clues, etc.
Erin
Thanks for the great tip, Beth!
Ceri Yates
Even better for the younger kids is letter boxing. It’s a scavenger hunt that you can easily make a day of. And after you’ve found so many boxes, why not be a planter too. Visit www.atlasquest.com and register for free. If you already own a stamp pad, some cute stamps and a notebook, you’re good to go.
[email protected]
Thanks for the link love, friend 🙂 🙂 🙂
Erin
Anytime 🙂
Ruthann
Just curious where in NC you have found to go berry picking?!? The closest farm (well, organic farm) is well over an hour away from us and stopped allowing picking at the end of May and we missed it!! 🙁 We’re relatively new to NC and are still learning the “go to” places!! Thank you for this great post!!
Erin
We actually went to a non-organic farm. It was a field trip with preschool. But i know of one organic place near Charlotte. Welcome to NC!
Megapolis Cheat tool
Everything is very open with a clear clarification of the issues.
It was definitely informative. Your site is very helpful.
Thanks for sharing!
alturl.com
When I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify
me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on
every time a comment is added I get 4 emails with the exact same
comment. There has to be an easy method you are able to remove
me from that service? Cheers!
free steam games
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post.
Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!
Micah
Everyone loves it when folks get together and share ideas. Great site,
continue the good work!
Sheryl
My son and I LOVE Geocaching! As already mentioned, you do need a GPS or app for your phone (the Geocaching.com app from Groundspeak offers a free version just listing the easy traditional caches) and an account with geocaching.com. And be aware that it isn’t always clean! We often end up in mud and dirt. We plan ahead and wear appropriate footwear, use bug spray and watch closely for poison ivy and have no problem! It can be addicting!
Alana @ihaveafutureandahope
We absolutely love #4 geocaching! My kids beg to go do this all the time. It is so neat because no matter where you travel there will always be one near that you can go find. Great list, we will be doing may of these this summer.