Cheap (or free) Summertime Activities!

Children are out of school and college students will be heading home so that must mean Summertime is only a few weeks away! Believe it or not, there are ways you and your family can have a rockin' summer without spending tons of money!

Children-Friendly Activities
I asked on our Facebook and Twitter pages what were some of the best cheap (or free) activities that families with children can do to keep the little ones occupied. Here is what most of the repsonses included:

• Free Summer Reading Programs- Check your local library to see what their Summer reading program includes. Our local library also offers a reading program for tweens AND teens. Barnes & Noble also offers a summer reading program.
• Crafts- For ideas, you can choose a few from Spoonful.com, a website catering to children crafts, recipes, and fun.
• Water Fun with the hose, cups, water guns, balloons, or pool.
• Scavenger Hunt
• Bowling- AMF Bowling is offering Kid's FREE bowling with their Summer Unplugged program! They can bowl 2 games per day, every day, all summer long! Shoe rental not included. 
• Nature- U.S. National Park Service has FREE admission days to a number of U.S. national parks!

Tween/Teen Activities

More than likely, they won't be interested in the simply fun things, so finding something to keep them occupied and interest can be a challenge.

• Free Summer Reading Programs- Many libraries have reading programs available for tweens/teens as well, so check with your local library.
• Movie Nights
• Crafts
• Summer sport teams
• Let them make their own movie
• Sleep Over Parties (Do kids still do that?)

Family-Friendly Activities

• Road trips
• Educational Trips- see if any of your local museums offer discounts or free admission days. If not, choose only a few to visit (since some museums can have costly admission fees).
• Family movie and/or game night
• Craft day- Everyone can make the same craft. If it is a little hard for younger members, choose another craft that is similar so they don't feel left out.
• Nature hikes
• Free workshops- Many stores like Michael's, Lowe's, Home Depot, and even Bass Pro Shop offer free summer workshop classes for families and children. Call your local store to see which workshops they are offering this year!
• Volunteer
• Family fun day- Check your city's website or call your city hall for a list of events.
• Zoo- Some zoos have outrageous admission fees, so it's best to see what the prices are before you go. Some zoos let children ages 3 & under in for free. Some zoos are also connected with other zoos and if your family holds a pass for those other connected zoos, you may get admission at a discount.

If you search the internet for cheap family summer activities, you will find TONS of ideas, so this is just a small list of possibilities. What are some of your family's favorite summer activities?