Five Free Summer Activity Suggestions to Share with Your Kids

Every day in the news we read about people who are cutting back because of the current economy, and that will hold true when schools let out later this year. When it comes to entertaining your kids this summer, there are numerous activities you can engage them in for free! Even better is that many of these activities will be great fun for both your kids and you! All of these suggestions are completely free, and 100% fun.

Races

"Races? Isn't that kind of obvious?" is a thought that may "race" through many minds, but with the rising level of childhood obesity, races are obviously not being ran enough. Challenge your kids to a race around the yard, the block, to the garage and back, or engage in them a pre-supper game of tag on a daily basis! Get your children moving and move with them. The health benefits are great, and the outdoor activity is a wonderful thing in this age of Wii Fit becoming a go to for family exercise. If you can't race outside because of weather, continue the concept inside if at all possible, even if running has to be replaced by a jogging in place marathon or a jumping-jack challenge.

How about an Obstacle Course?

Obstacle courses are fun. Almost any child has seen one on a TV show or in a movie. Make one! You can use typical household items like paper towel and/or toilet paper tubes, coffee cans, and dominoes to make a dandy obstacle course for a marble or a miniature racecar to traverse.

Treasure Hunts

Treasure hunts are fun on so many levels. There is fun in creating the course, the clues, and the general hype behind the activity, and there is fun in finding the treasure at the end. The treasure can be as simple or as complex as you like. "X" could hold a coupon for a mini vacation from household chores or freedom of choice during the next family movie night, dinner, or game night.

Summer Reading Programs

Summer reading programs are offered by almost every public library now, and they are a great, free way to engage your children in a summer activity. Most library programs offer incentives for joining their programs. These incentives can include prize giveaways at the end of the year and presenting certificates to each child who reads a pre-selected number of volumes. You can help your child meet their summer reading quota by reading daily stories, or, if you have more than one child, by having a reading circle where all of you take turns reading through a book.

Play Fort!

Surely you did this as a child? You must have enjoyed it! Teach your kids how to play fort, and if you didn't play it yourself, now is your chance to learn to. This is typically played with a mixture of bed sheets, comforters, and sleeping bags. All you have to do is take your bed sheets and use them to make a canopy in a room of your house. If it is a bedroom, dresser drawers are usually quite adequate for anchoring one side and the space between two mattresses usually takes care of another side. If you find yourself needing more anchors, you may have to get creative and find something heavy to hold the side down. When you have your makeshift fort (or tent as some call it), crawl inside under the sheets with a flashlight and precede to hide from the adversaries that surely lurk outside! Feel free to have a snack or peak out the front flap to watch your favorite programs on a rainy day!

With a little imagination and reflection, it is easy to come up with free activities that will surely entertain your children. Think back to your own childhood. Even if you are eighteen, you can remember a time before every home had a PC or an internet connection! What did you do for fun then? When you find the answer, share it with your children. You will both benefit from the experience.