Summer activities for the kids?

[Sowelu]

Okay so my kid's summer vacation has started and already they are driving me insane...lol
Can anyone suggest something fun but inexpensive to keep them busy/occupied? What sorts of things do you do with your kids? I have a 14 yr old a 12 yr old and an 8 yr old.:steppy:

[Nighthawk]

MAke a cheap slippery slide.. can be done with plastic and some water.. Send them on a neighborhood ..what you call it, a gathering? anyway, where they have to collect one of this, one of that...on and on... like a certain flower, a stone etc... Hmm, what else?

[Ravyn Sylverwyng]

Get them to read books, or something similar. I have started a reading tree in our house. I made a tree trunk and hung it on the bottom of our fridge and for each book that they read, we write the name of the book and the aurthor on a leaf and hang in on the fridge with the trunk. Not to mention that if they are under the sixth grade, once they read I think eight books, you can take a list of them to Barnes and Noble and they will give you a coupon for a free book. They can be books that you own, from the library, or anything else.

[BlueMoon13]

........ Not to mention that if they are under the sixth grade, once they read I think eight books, you can take a list of them to Barnes and Noble and they will give you a coupon for a free book.....
WOW! That's a great program! :fpeace:

[MerrisHawk]

Crafts.
I kept my kids entertained with hands-on projects and things that required physical activity.
*Home made clay, acrylic paints and string will get you adorable mobiles, jewelry, wall tiles and decorative do-dads.
*Search for the perfect runestones. Small, flat and oval or rounded, it can take a whole day just to collect the perfect stones and paint on the symbols.
*Cooking. Something easy and fun, snacks, treats, pancakes and french toast are easy.
*Paper Mache. Old newspapers, fabric scraps, balloons or other containers, glue and paint.
*Macrame friendship bracelets.
*Offer to walk the neighbors dogs as a good deed for the week.

[Galaxia]

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[Yvonne Belisle]

Do a search on this site in the family forum for summer activities. There are several threads with ideas that have been started in there over the years.

[Aconite]

Do a treasure hunt, make up easy ones(get us to make them up lol) sned your kids on those and give them easy rewards(aka...candy)

I myself am 13, so i'll try and think of something ID do.. Bring them swimming, or take them on a hike, start them in some kind of summer program, if you have a dog get one of them to take it to agility classes(sooo fun) Things like taht:D

[fireswimmer]

I know that you said cheap but I am nto sure what the budget is. If you can do something like the YMCA they have a ton of good programs for kids. You can also look at programs through children's museums. I know that the local ones around here have a variety of get aways. Those options may or may nto be within your budget.

do you have a city pool that you can go to at a low cost? Do any of your schools offer swimming lessons? Is there a sport that you can get them involved with? Those are some freat local things.

I know that my sister's kids love doing things with Mom or Dad in the SCA. There are a lot of events during the summer and they do not have huge entrance fees.

I love going up to the lake. We paid a dollar and got passes that are good basically forever. We use them year after year. Because we are residents they were a dollar a piece. If we were nto residents then it would have been more expensice but most likely worth it for the summer.

I am a huge fan of swimming. I think you may have noticed that theme. You can also plan trups to the parks in your area, camp grounds etc. The summer is a time to get outside and enjoy mother nature, unless you live in an area where it is so hot that you do that the rest of the year and retreat in doors for the summer.

I wish you lots of luck and fun for the summer!

[Viseux]

Wash clothes and hang out to dry.

Mow the lawn.

Wash the dishes.

Babysit the younger children.

Hmmmm. What am I forgetting?

LOL!

Viseux

[Yvonne Belisle]

I bumped a thread you might like in the family forum.

[Syx]

my mom takes us to the ymca sometimes. ahe also takes us swimming, camping,hiking and stuff. some days we sit home bored, but now i have a dirt bike so it is not so bad. i am really proud of me and so is my mom. i have been going to work with her and dad and earing the money myself. so i chose to buy the bike. now they are making me buy a helmet lol.