Summertime Activities on a Dime

The passing of Memorial Day is a perpetual rite of passage for me, signifying the beginning of summer. Although my kids finished last week, many of you still have kids currently wrapping up the school year. Have you planned for their summer activities? Even though my kids are now old enough that they prefer to make their own plans, my husband and I were reminiscing the days when they were elementary age, and younger, and I was the one they looked to for their summer activities. Yes, a family vacation will account for a portion of that time, but what about the rest?

Looking back, we were amazed at how expensive it could have been keeping 4 kids busy throughout the summer break, bewildered at how other parents were able to send all their kids to summer camp. We weren't willing to separate ourselves from our savings account so I found all kinds of alternatives. It entailed planning, creativity, and some willpower, but the kids and I always seemed to have a great time.

I would suggest looking into your city's Parks and Recreation Department. Ours had a magnitude of classes, broken down into 'Arts' and 'Sports' orientated themes. My kids took classes ranging from swimming, to dance, to karate, all at incredibly reasonable and affordable rates. As our kids got older, our recreation center had open hours for the kids to come in, at a small cost, and enjoy not only the amenities such as basketball courts and the climbing wall, but also supervised activity tables to participate in crafts and other events. The open activities were just a 'treat' now and then as it was an extra expense. I planned ahead with other parents so that the kids could enjoy the time with friends, and the moms could take turns just 'being in the building' while the kids 'thought' they had the freedom of being on their own!



Using our Parks and Recreation Department for my kids' scheduled classes, I filled in the gaps with other activities that were either free, or close to free. We made trips to our City Pools at very little cost, and planning in advance to purchase a summer pass saved us the most.

We were always signed up at our local library for their summer reading program, which is free. The kids really enjoyed making the trips to choose their books, get their charts stamped for the books they read, earning prizes along the way, and anticipating the 'big' prize of whatever the libraries were offering that particular summer upon the kids reaching their final reading goal.

In addition to 'story time' at the library, a lot of book stores have followed suit and offer the same types of programs. That sounds like 'mom time' to me! Walk the kids over to the children's area and get them comfortable, walk yourself over to the coffee cafe/bakery and pick up a treat, find a comfortable chair where you can focus in on your little ones, and take a relaxing moment for yourself!

For a nominal fee, some of the craft stores, like Michael's, or the home improvement stores, such as Home Depot, hold regular classes for the kids to come in and make a craft, or maybe even a birdhouse! Don't forget to check with some of your local, non-chain stores as well to see what they've got going for the kids. Click here to find out more about Home Depot's "Kid's Workshop". Click here to join 'The Knack" at Michael's which is not only chock-full of great ideas of fun things to do and create with your kids, but will also keep you up to date on all the in-store events.

What I found the most useful, was putting up a weekly schedule of the things we would be doing throughout the week. Everyone knew which mornings were designated for swimming lessons, or who had what class on which day, when we would go to the library, you get the idea! The anticipation for the week ahead gave the kids a better sense of stability and structure in our schedule, which meant no more listening to whining about 'What are we doing today?" and "I'm bored, there's nothing to do!" for me!

Plan ahead, check into some programs, and keep your kids busy! Unless you're like me, with teenagers, who have opted to keep themselves busy. Oh look, one just walked into the room right now, whining, "Mom, I'm bored...." Go figure.