Cheap Summer Fun Doesn't Have to Be Boring

Even though you may have limited funds this year, you can still provide your kids with plenty of cheap summer fun that isn't boring at all. Here are 3 ideas that might help you to eliminate that "B" word from surfacing even once this summer.

1. Plan a neighborhood scavenger hunt.

You still have a little time before summer launches into full swing. Use that time to make scavenger lists for different ages. A list for little kids could be limited to items found just in the backyard. A blade of grass, a leaf, a bug, a cup of dirt, a rock, etc.

Get more creative with the older kids. How about a red ford, the address of a house with a magnolia tree, a house number with two or more nines in it, a house with blue trim, a brown RV, a house with a dog in the yard, etc.? They need to bring back the addresses of each of these items. You can find literally hundreds of items if you scout the neighborhood ahead of time.

You can divide the kids into teams or have each person work independently, depending on how many show up for the scavenger hunt. Award cheap prizes from the local dollar store, or fix up some fancy cookies wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pretty ribbon to the winners.

If money isn't too tight, spring for a barbeque in the backyard afterwards for all the participants, or better yet, throw an outdoor potluck and let the parents of the kids get in on the act, too.

2. Put on a play.

When I was a kid, this was one of our favorite activities for cheap summer fun. We often chose simple fairy tale stories, (I was a perfect Gretel when we did Hansel and Gretel.) but older kids may want to get a skit book or a book of 1 act plays from the library and put on a more involved production.

You'd be surprised at what kids can accomplish with left-over paint from the garage, and a cheap roll of newsprint from your local newspaper office. Encourage them to make costumes, programs, and tickets. We charged neighborhood kids 5 cents to view our fabulous productions, but you might want to check with the local authorities to see if that is legal in your area. I guess setting out a money jar should be okay, and might raise enough money to pay for popcorn for all the attendees.

3. Dribble Basketballs to the nearest big city.

Well, not really, but a man in our town who works with young kids started a program where he checked out the mileage on our local bike path. Every day, between 2 and 4 last summer, he would be there for kids who wanted to participate in the great basketball dribble. They would select a city in our state they thought they would like to visit, find out how far it was, and start dribbling. Each day, when they finished dribbling, the distance they had covered that day was recorded. By the end of the summer, they had all reached their goals. (Older kids might choose a destination too far away to make it in one summer, but there is always next year, and the next.)

If you decide to do this in your neighborhood, you might reward the group once a month during the summer with a good video to watch at your house and some homemade cookies. If you are feeling more generous, how about presenting each one that reaches their goal with a cheap white T-shirt decorated with symbols of their accomplishment, or better yet, let them decorate their own T-shirt with supplies you furnish. (On the back patio or out in the yard, of course.)