A fun summer for $25 a week. What can we do?

[Amandaj0831]

1/2 price books has a summer reading club where every week if you read to your kids for 15 min they get 3 toword a new book. My girls loved that. There is always chuck e cheese and pools as well.

 

[dreamin_disney]

DD and I like free/$1 summer movies at the movie theater
-regal
-AMC

Barnes and Nobles -dd loves book and uses her B-day Giftcard to buy books and she also does the summer reading program. Read 6 books(I think 6-8) and get one book free.

When dd was younger we would have lunch at McDonalds and she would play in the indoor playground.

Chuck E. Cheese play $5-$10 plus turn in reportcard for extra tokens and have lunch at home or fastfood

 

[powellrj]

One thing we use to do was yard sale. We would get the paper out and map our day and then take off. I would drive and DS would stalk them out, and let me know if he thought it was worth the stop. DS is an adult now, but he said he still can't drive by a yard sale without thinking, Old People stuff, girl stuff, looks good. He even remembers some of our better stops after all these years!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Just thought of something else...

Any minor league teams nearby? My DD is 4 and wants to go to a baseball game. Fenway would run into the hundreds, so we are taking her to a PawSox game (Providence, RI). General admission seats are $5 for kids and $7 for adults and this Friday night the first 3,000 kids get a free Webkinz!

Any drive-in movies? Here it is $20 a carload.

 

[ctinct]

While you are at the library, check out books for suggestions of free things to do. I own copies of titles like Backyard Fun, Nature Fun, 365 TV Free Things to Do, etc. They are filled with inexpensive , fun things to do. Also browse through back copies of Family Fun magazine. My youngest is 16, but I still subscribe to Family Fun, more for travel and cooking ideas now, but it has tons of creative stuff to do in every issue.

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

We are in Friendswood also. There are several parks in the area so make a list and try out a new one each week. You could also go to JumpNJungle or Funmax for those really hot summer days. I'm not sure of their prices but I would go on their websites and see if they have any printable coupons. Also, as someone else suggested too start a playgroup or join one. I am part of one called Clear Lake Kiddos and my son has a blast just going over too other people's houses to play. Oh, also we got a zoo membership last year for $45 for the entire family. I thought that was pretty cheap. Last but nor least, my kids love to go to Kemah Boardwalk to play in the sprinklers by the aquarium.

My kids love Funmax. I think it's either $7 or $8 but I rarely see any coupons for them.

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

If you pick up a copy of Space City Parents - they usually have them at the library, they list all the activities in the area for the whole month.

 

[MomofSixinSC]

Ther eis a fun, inexpensive homeschool curriculum called Before Five in a Row. You can probably get it pretty cheaply on e-bay. You read a children's book to the children, then do a learning activity drawn from the book. My children loved it. You can get the children's books from the library.

 

[libraryfreak]

When my kids were that age, one of the moms made a schedule up for summer of parks. Each week was a different park. We would meet Wednesday at 10 am, kids would play, we would have lunch and then each week a different family would bring supplies for the kids to have "craft time." It was nice having the schedule pre-made for the summer.

How about doing science projects? Volcano's, egg heads (grow grass in eggs and draw faces on the eggs so the grass looks like hair)... I had a great book, "Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions" that I used regularly. There are lots of those type of books at the library (since you're going anyway).

Garage Sales! Give each kid $3 and when it's gone it's gone. My kids LOVED garage sales. You can get lots of stuff for so little money. And then if they only play with it for five minutes, who cares? Then you can resell it at your sale.

Day Camping. We would go to our local state park, set up the tent, hike, fish, etc, cook lunch, yada yada, cook supper, have a fire... then take down the tent and go home. For fishing - we only had one rod, and I knew that wasn't going to work. So I had them find a nice stick on our hike, tied fishing line to it, put hooks on the end and wa la! My daughter caught 8 fish that day and my son 11! It also taught them you don't need expensive equipment. Granted, they only caught blue gill, but that didn't matter. It was exciting to catch a fish.

I made my kids read 20 minutes a day. If your 4 year isn't reading yet, have him look at books for the time. I think it makes a difference in their reading level when they start school again in the fall. I believe it's one of those, use it or lose it skills.

Cook. Again, there are books at the library for cooking with your kids.

Hope you like some of these ideas, and enjoy your summer. This is such a great age! Soon they'll be teenagers.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I joined a couple websites that offer discounts on local places, I started a thread on them awhile ago and there are more suggestions of websites that do that on it. The ones I belong to right now are Twongo.com and groupon.com . They don't always have stuff I can use, but so far I've gotten good deals on a local fun center place (go-karts, mini golf, laser tag) and a bounce house place.

It sounds like you have a lot of good ideas, don't forget to just relax and let them come up with their own things to do. And don't discount the value of chasing fireflies, running through the sprinkler, or rolling cars on a chalk road.

 

[nicki.momof3]

I am not sure about the park systems and zoo's and muesums in your town but this is what we do every year.

We purchase a science center family pass $60 - it gets us into 5 science centers within a 40 minute drive - good all year long.

Zoo pass - again a family pass $65 - fun all year

Metro park pass - $20 - access to 10 metro parks in the area - great summer fun.

 

[bitty246]

Subbing to this thread! You all have some great ideas!!

Get a roll of craft paper and some fingerpaints. Set it up outside and let them create a masterpiece. This is a good time to get out those messy popsicles for a treat as well! When they're done, bring out the sprinkler or the water hose and let them go to town! I know how hot it gets in Texas during the summer.. I'd plan as many wet activities as possible!

Oh yeah, I was also going to suggest a pick your own Farm or berry patch. Great way to expose your children to agriculture and then you can select a recipe to make together!

 

[bas71873]

www.kidsbowlfree.com

THIS is awesome. THANKS!!!!!!! We are all signed up and did the family pass too!

 

[sameyeyam]

Free movies at Regal Cinemas. See the link below. Just put in your state and it will show the dates. My daycare provider took the kids once a week when they were little. Just be sure to feed them beforehand or you'll be stuck with paying the high theater snack prices.

They are not first run movies, but all are G or PG and who doesn't love seeing some of your favorites on the big screen again. They are usually shown during the day, so it's mainly mom's & kids and you don't need to worry about noisy kids at the theater.

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx

 

[ekatiel]

Thanks for all the great ideas, guys. I talked to some ladies at church today, and we're going to try and do the whole meet at a different park once a week thing! Our schedule is filling up!! I also looked in my Mom's Entertainment book, and there's some good BOGO coupons in there for the Natural History Museum, a local wildlife park (where they drive you on a tram through all kids of animals), and several putt putt and bouncy places! I'm thinking we'll do once of these pricier activites every week or every other week (depending on their cost). I don't feel quite as intimidated by summer now! --Katie

 

[fakereadhed]

If you get a large enough group of kids for your playgroup(10-15 or more) you can usually arrange tours at local businesses(some will include freebies for the kids) or get group rates at local attractions. Our group has toured McDs(kids loved seeing behind the scenes there), fire dept, police dept, local library(they did private story time for us), grocery store, etc. All you have to do is ask!

 

[bas71873]

If you have a Whole Foods nearby, they did a free kids cooking class once a week last summer (it was Thursdays here last summer).

Also, Barnes & Noble has story time and other activities in the summer. They have a summer reading program too and if you kid reads X number of books over the summer (it's on the honor system and you have to sign off) they get to choose a free book. Check it out on their website!

 

[gandycat]

These are probably repeats, but here goes!

My kids love, love, love hiking and having picnics. We do trails that take 30-60 minutes and pack a lunch. We often end up at a nearby park. I try to find parks that they've never been to before, and do a couple of those a month.

I love getting memberships so we can pay once and go whenever we want. I especially like that we can go for an hour or two instead of feeling like we need to go all day b/c we paid so much to get in.

Do you have state parks near you? My kids love to swim in the lakes in our nearby state parks. They are free and we pack a lunch.

Have a movie night at home with popcorn and invite their friends over.

If you have a tent, camping out on the deck or in the yard is a lot of fun.

Check out libraries that are not the one nearest you and see what storytimes and kids' programs they have. I have to say the library that in a town about 10 minutes away has tons more stuff to offer than my local one (it's a bit more affluent).

Oh, and check out meetup.com for local playgroups. Most cities have a number to choose from.

Have fun!

 

[Aunt Flancy]

THIS is awesome. THANKS!!!!!!! We are all signed up and did the family pass too!

That's what we got too. I was able to put the teenagers on the family pass, so everyone can go!
You do have to pay for your own shoes at most places, but we were thinking about checking out the thrift stores.

 

[Liltx]

Houston is our cheap weekend trips in the summer. We are from San Antonio.
We stay downtown at the Hilton through Priceline for around $50 a night. They love the green park across the street. We also take the rail to the museum district and some of them are free on certain nights (Tues I think?). We also go to an astros game and sit in the outfield for $7 for adults and $1 for kids. Don't forget the Miller outdoor theater for the free shows.

My kiddos (girls age 5 and 7) will be doing the following:
vacation Bible school- this takes up morning for a week and they love it!
swimming every evening from 4-6
swim lessons once a week on Sunday evenings
park and storytime every Tuesday (our are right together)
free movies on Wednesdays
indoor playplace Emerald Rainbow
Clay Casa Pottery
Art Works- drop in art $5 for kids
Zoo
Sea World- my parents bought them passes for only $49 each
Children's Museum
Chuck E Cheese for games only no pizza
Roller skating- moms can walk little ones around the rink
Gym kids club- they like this and we do it first thing in the morning so I can get my workout out of the way before hitting other activities at around 10 am
visit my brother who happens to live 15 minutes from the beach- use those relatives for cheap vacations if you can

AT Home:
Many playdates
Netflix for the kiddos- one movie at a time is $5 a month and the kids love to pick what's coming next, we usually get two per week in the summer because we watch and return so fast
watering the plants with watering cans
playing with paintbrushes, roller, buckets and water
tons of art supplies
make playdough
make ice cream in ziploc bags- cream, sugar, vanilla, ice and rocksalt
bake cookies, cupcakes, muffins etc and share outside with the nieghbors
sit out front with the neighbors and enjoy a beer for me and popsicles for the kids
dollar store glow bracelets
Friday night sleepovers at grandma and papas
hour and a half long rests mid afternoon- this is a rule in my house, we all need alone time

We keep really busy. I do have budgeted $60 a week though.
I am also bumping up my housekeeper to everyweek since the house will have more wear and tear from us being home. But I have no childcare cost during this time since I am a teacher so I am actually saving a bit of money!