Free and Cheap Entertainment for Children
I have a houseful of children between the ages of two and young adult, so these
these suggestions are for a variety of ages. Many are from a post I made on
Yahoo's Budget Homemaking group, although several are new. Have other great
ideas? Share your wisdom!
1. Water play. Hoses, wading pools, sprinkler heads... even dirt becomes fun
when you add water.
2. Library. Most have programs that give little prizes for reading and have days
when people come in with snakes or something equally interesting. Plus, they
have music CDs, movies, computer games, and magazines you can check out.
3. Free computer games for all ages abound on the internet. Start with
cartoonnetwork.com, nickjr.com, runescape.com, and pbskids.com, but don't stop
there.
4. Table time. Once a day we sit down with markers, glue, scissors, puzzles,
whatever, and make stuff. You don't have to be Picasso to enjoy the feeling of a
paint brush, and with elective programs disappearing from schools everywhere,
this may be your children's only exposure to the fine arts.
5. Come on and take a free ride. Our local buses allow free rides on Wednesdays
and Saturdays in the summer. I keep intending to take the kids out for a day, but
the time never presents itself. Many cities run programs like this, and if they don't
bus fare is still a bargain compared to the price of gas.
6. Do you like the YMCA? Everyone likes the song, but I'm talking about the actual
establishment, filled with swim pools, dance studios, workout rooms, and a
summer's worth of cheap or free activities. If you can't afford the membership fees,
many give tuition scholarships or let you work it off in the childcare room.
7. Call your local parks department. Ours has an "allied arts van" that goes to
different parks and does a free art project with the kids. They do a new one every
week. It's supported by Rotary. Every town has something going on.
8. Deviate from your routine. We have a picnic supper once a week. In our town,
Franklin Park has a free concert every Thursday evening so that's where we go. I
know a lot of towns do something like this.
9. Sports have been clinically proven to improve your child's health and
self-esteem. You don't need to buy anything. Basketball, racquetball, badminton,
croquet, soccer; just whatever stuff is lying around.
10. Netflix is under $20 a month for 3 movies at a time--that's three rented movies
of your choice always in your home and ready to watch. Worth every dime as far as
I'm concerned. To sign up, simply click on the link at the right.
11. Check out your local museums. One of ours offers "family memberships" for
$40 a year which give us unlimited free admission there and half-price at almost
every children's museum in the Northwest. We go every few weeks or so. And if
your answer to "I'm bored" is "Let's go to the museum, then!", your kids will either
end up very knowledgeable or stop complaining.
12. Go somewhere and: Take a walk. Hike. Ride bikes. Swim in a creek or a lake.
13. Put those lazy-heads to work. The cheapest, and easiest, solution to the
summer blahs is giving your children jobs and having them help you throughout
your day. Are you ever bored? I'm not. I have so much to do I wish I could fit about
five more hours into the day and that's with all this child labor I have :-) The
American childhood of laying around the house whining all summer is a very
modern invention and prepares them for absolutely nothing in real life. Kids
started getting summers off so they could work 14 hour days on the family farm.
14. Attitude adjustment. I remind my "bored" children that the French phrase for it
is "I'm boring myself" and then I give them the lecture about how only boring
people get bored because the rest of us have this really cool inner life we can fall
back on when our hands aren't moving. Then, I make them scrub the floor or water
something outside. Result: They do not ever tell me they are bored unless they
really sincerely want me to find them something to do. In fact, they deny boredom
and try to look busy so they can guard their free time.
I have a houseful of children between the ages of two and young adult, so these
these suggestions are for a variety of ages. Many are from a post I made on
Yahoo's Budget Homemaking group, although several are new. Have other great
ideas? Share your wisdom!
1. Water play. Hoses, wading pools, sprinkler heads... even dirt becomes fun
when you add water.
2. Library. Most have programs that give little prizes for reading and have days
when people come in with snakes or something equally interesting. Plus, they
have music CDs, movies, computer games, and magazines you can check out.
3. Free computer games for all ages abound on the internet. Start with
cartoonnetwork.com, nickjr.com, runescape.com, and pbskids.com, but don't stop
there.
4. Table time. Once a day we sit down with markers, glue, scissors, puzzles,
whatever, and make stuff. You don't have to be Picasso to enjoy the feeling of a
paint brush, and with elective programs disappearing from schools everywhere,
this may be your children's only exposure to the fine arts.
5. Come on and take a free ride. Our local buses allow free rides on Wednesdays
and Saturdays in the summer. I keep intending to take the kids out for a day, but
the time never presents itself. Many cities run programs like this, and if they don't
bus fare is still a bargain compared to the price of gas.
6. Do you like the YMCA? Everyone likes the song, but I'm talking about the actual
establishment, filled with swim pools, dance studios, workout rooms, and a
summer's worth of cheap or free activities. If you can't afford the membership fees,
many give tuition scholarships or let you work it off in the childcare room.
7. Call your local parks department. Ours has an "allied arts van" that goes to
different parks and does a free art project with the kids. They do a new one every
week. It's supported by Rotary. Every town has something going on.
8. Deviate from your routine. We have a picnic supper once a week. In our town,
Franklin Park has a free concert every Thursday evening so that's where we go. I
know a lot of towns do something like this.
9. Sports have been clinically proven to improve your child's health and
self-esteem. You don't need to buy anything. Basketball, racquetball, badminton,
croquet, soccer; just whatever stuff is lying around.
10. Netflix is under $20 a month for 3 movies at a time--that's three rented movies
of your choice always in your home and ready to watch. Worth every dime as far as
I'm concerned. To sign up, simply click on the link at the right.
11. Check out your local museums. One of ours offers "family memberships" for
$40 a year which give us unlimited free admission there and half-price at almost
every children's museum in the Northwest. We go every few weeks or so. And if
your answer to "I'm bored" is "Let's go to the museum, then!", your kids will either
end up very knowledgeable or stop complaining.
12. Go somewhere and: Take a walk. Hike. Ride bikes. Swim in a creek or a lake.
13. Put those lazy-heads to work. The cheapest, and easiest, solution to the
summer blahs is giving your children jobs and having them help you throughout
your day. Are you ever bored? I'm not. I have so much to do I wish I could fit about
five more hours into the day and that's with all this child labor I have :-) The
American childhood of laying around the house whining all summer is a very
modern invention and prepares them for absolutely nothing in real life. Kids
started getting summers off so they could work 14 hour days on the family farm.
14. Attitude adjustment. I remind my "bored" children that the French phrase for it
is "I'm boring myself" and then I give them the lecture about how only boring
people get bored because the rest of us have this really cool inner life we can fall
back on when our hands aren't moving. Then, I make them scrub the floor or water
something outside. Result: They do not ever tell me they are bored unless they
really sincerely want me to find them something to do. In fact, they deny boredom
and try to look busy so they can guard their free time.
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