Our summer fun has been in effect for almost 5 full weeks – yes, my kids have been out of school for 5 weeks! With school summer vacation comes a chance for lots of #summerfunathome, but also the risk for spending quite a bit of money. This is especially true if you do a lot of outings, family trips, and even just the extra food intake from being home more! That’s why I’ve been trying my best to enjoy as much FREE summer fun as we can. Luckily, there are plenty of free summer ideas you can take advantage of for your own summer fun at home! Check out how we’re spending much of our summer!
5 Free Summer Ideas for #SummerFunatHome! (Basically, How We’re Spending Our Summer)
1. Free Weekly Movies
I’m so thankful for the free kid-friendly summer movies at the local movie theater! Yes, they’re older movies. And yes, my kids have already seen most of them. But, they don’t care! It gives us a chance to get out of the house for an air-conditioned activity (a MUST here in Florida). Plus as any parent knows, kids can watch movies about a thousand times each and STILL laugh along!
2. Free Library Programs
Our local library not only organizes a free summer reading program each year, they also provide weekly kids’ shows that correlate with the reading program’s theme! (I realize that we are incredibly lucky to have such an amazing local library system with dedicated staff for the children’s program.) And again, I’m thankful for a weekly outing in an air-conditioned space! This allows us a weekly visit to the library for new books, as well as to check out a 30-45 minute show. Previous shows have included puppet, magic, music, and live animal shows.
3. Weekly Pool Time
Summer just wouldn’t be summer without some water fun! Taking advantage of the fact that our neighborhood has a community pool, we have decided to make a weekly visit to the pool. We pack up a couple of snacks, our sunscreen, and spend a couple of hours at our pool before (inevitably) the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.
4. Playground Visits
Since our community pool is right next to a small playground, I combine our trip with a playground visit. The kids release a bit of energy on the playground and get some exercise before relaxing in the pool water. It’s been working out great! We also visit other parks or playgrounds on the weekend, when able.
5. Outside Fun
For days that we’re home, we try to keep our summer fun going with various outside fun activities. From riding their bikes or playing in the backyard to playing with sidewalk chalk and bubbles in the driveway, as long as my kids get a bit of fresh air and are having fun, they’re happy! Unfortunately, with the Florida sun and heat we can’t stay outside for hours at a time, but every little bit of outside fun we have this summer goes a long way!
What free summer ideas have you been taking advantage of this summer?
All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™
Good tips!
The thing my family enjoys the most is hanging out at the beach. My kid loves water and I feel like he can stay on the beach all day, especially if we bring plenty of snacks. However, I’m not a huge fan of the pools, even though we have one in a community, I don’t feel like it’s very safe.
Cheers,
Jenn
We love the beach as well and wish we could get out there weekly! My kids (and I as well) could be at the beach all day too!