Fun Summer Activities for Kids

Summer '" most kids embrace the break from school. As parents, we often cringe, especially when we start to hear the kids fighting or the absolute worst two words ever '" I'm bored.

In my house, I tell my kids, boredom is a state of mind, and I direct their attention to some cleaning venture that needs to be accomplished in the house. This usually sparks their imaginative juices and they quickly find something to do.

This year, I'm on a quest to find cheap, fun, entertaining ideas around my town, Clermont, Florida. I figured I would share since I'm pretty sure I'm not the only parent with the dilemma of entertaining kids.

Our local library has several fun activities planned for kids of all ages. Story times for younger children, a Lego club for older kids, and a reading summer challenge, where kids can set reading goals and earn prizes. They also team up with the community to provide special performances, share crafts, and more. We will definitely be participating in many library activities this summer.

Local parks provide fun trails and many cities have programs for kids at local parks. I like to use the summer to visit parks that we don't generally visit throughout the year, or that have special classes for kids.

Water play areas '" many local state parks have swimming during the summer months, as well as local public swim areas that are open from the end of May through September. When the heat starts attracting us to the indoors, we can count on water activities to keep us cool.

Local beaches. While the drive to the beach for us is about an hour, this is by far one of our favorite outings. We love the water, salt, and sun.

Volunteering. Many churches and organizations within the community need helping hands. This is the time for us to get active, stay involved, and give back to our community.

There are many low-cost attractions, especially if you get yearly or family passes that includes museums and other hands-on attractions. In the past we've had passes to some of the Orlando based attractions, Science Center, etc. Many museums also have reciprocal privileges for entrance, which is great to check out since you can enter many museums for free. Many museums also offer student days over the summer or free entrance on certain days of the week '" which provides for a great summer trip.

Hopefully you won't have chirping in your home about boredom this summer. I certainly hope I don't.