« Pay Yourself First | Main | You Can Build Wealth Even if You Don’t Make A Lot of Money »
10 Relatively Cheap Ways to Keep Your Kids Entertained During the Summer
By JLP | June 4, 2008
Looking for some ideas for cheap, educational, and possibly fun ways to keep your kids busy this summer? Here are some ideas I thought of off the top of my head. Of course there are more expensive ideas like sports camps and things like that. I tried to keep this list to less-expensive ways to keep kid entertained. These are my ideas, which means you might not like some of them. If you have any that you would like to add, leave a comment.
1. Take them to the library. Many libraries have summer reading programs where kids can earn prizes by reading a certain number of books or read for a certain number of minutes. My boys were always motivated by these kinds of things.
2. Plant a garden. Not all kids will go for this but some will. There’s something really cool about watching a plant grow from a seed. You can use the experience as a way to help kids learn the differences between different flowers and plants. We started a small herb garden this year. The kids think it is cool to go out and pinch off some dill to add to a salad. Food always seems to taste better when you grow it yourself.
3. Help them start a “business.” My oldest son has started mowing our grass this year. I have watched him and am confident that he could handle mowing a few yards in the neighborhood. If he could get three jobs that required him to mow once a week, he could make an extra $50 – $75 depending on how much he can get for each yard. If he does do this, I’m going to take it as an opportunity to teach him about income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets. Other kid-friendly business ideas could include: dog walking, car washing, house sitting, and baby sitting.
4. Visit local museums.
5. Schedule tours of local businesses. This is something I have always thought would be cool. Of course not all kids will be interested in this kind of stuff but some might. I think it’s important for kids to learn how businesses make money. You don’t necessarily have to “tour” the business. You could just ask your kids questions about how they think the business makes money.
6. Buy a stock or mutual fund together. Show them what to look for when making an investment. Talk about expenses, diversification, and if you are looking at an individual stock, order a copy of the annual report.
7. Let them plan a week’s worth of meals and help you do the grocery shopping. Show them how to comparison shop and how to calculate the per person price of a meal and compare that to the cost of going out to eat. I think it is important for kids to understand the cost of things. I know my kids don’t fully realize just how much it costs to live. Teach them how to cook some of the basics and have them prepare a dinner for the family.
8. Buy them an inexpensive camera and show them how to take pictures and how to use photo software to put together picture albums. Put them in charge of taking the family vacation pictures.
9. Buy them a model or craft to put together. I used to put car models together when I was a kid. I never became a really detail-oriented modeler but I did enjoy the hobby. Car models today cost about $10 – $20, which is relatively inexpensive.
10. Have them start a Guitar Hero
Those are ten ideas I could think of off the top of my head. If you have any ideas for fun, cheap, and educational ways to keep kids busy during the summer, let me know.
Topics: Budgeting, Kids and Money | 10 Comments »
June 4th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Our summers usually end up pretty packed! We go to our church’s VBS, volunteer at a local Kid’s Camp for 2 weeks, day trips to Galveston, Houston, or the beach, an educational camp of some sort (through school) and a lot of swimming! I know some people that go to 3 or 4 Vacation Bible Schools over the summer, and those are FREE!!
June 4th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Hey JLP – don’t forget to include leaving them with the grandparents if they live relatively close by. I know this isn’t necessarily something you do with your kids but I always liked spending a week with my grandparents – they spent tons of time with me and kept me entertained. I’ll do the same with my kids
June 4th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I was just going to say what Matt said – dump them on the grandparents! LOL. I don’t have kids, but if I do they will be spending a week or more in the summer with each set of grandparents. The closest set is 8 hours away so that is driveable, but it’d still be worth the price of a plane ticket
Besides they need to learn what life is like outside a big city and rural NC sounds like a good place to me!!
June 4th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
The best thing I got for summer was a bus day pass. I loved to just go places and people-watch as an early teenager, and would go to ballgames and such with friends.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I don’t have kids, but here are some low-cost ideas for anyone who has free time. I live in a city so these ideas would have to be customized to your area.
Volunteer time at a non-profit organization of their choice. Kids can visit nursing homes, animal shelters, etc. and help out. Churches and youth organizations may need murals painted or computer repairs or just some cleanup. I don’t know what the age limits are for home-building charities like Habitat for Humanity, but that is a great choice for someone who likes building. I volunteered during high school and it really helped teach me compassion and community building.
Other charity work: have them plan a fundraiser for their favorite charity, maybe in conjunction with a church, youth group, etc. eg. a benefit potluck, bake sale, car wash… Ask them if they were the president, pastor, chairperson how they would raise money to support the charity. This is a way to discuss budgeting and donating/tithing.
As a family, sign up for a charity walk/run/bike event. Train together in advance and then participate together.
Also available at libraries:
- summer chess club: free, fun, and builds intelligence
- free DVD’s and music instead of paying full price at the movie theater
Local universities frequently have free speakers open to the public. This is a great free introduction to the world of art, politics, history, and current events. It’s also great prep for college. This can be a good family night with a low cost dinner out.
Street/city festivals – My city has free festivals where they showcase music, dance, and culture. Anyone can attend for free – Latin/Hispanic festival, Hindu/India festival, Muslim festival, African festival…etc. It’s a free entry and low cost way to sample international foods and be exposed to new cultures.
For little kids: Take them to the local airport and sit in an accessible lounge (before the security checkpoint)where they can watch the planes land and take off. Pack a picnic lunch or snacks and talk about planes and trips. (My former co-worker’s two little boys loved this day trip with their mom.) When I was a little kid, I loved watching the trains arrive and depart from the town’s train platform, so a trip to a train station can work too.
If your children are learning a foreign language in school, you can:
- look for places in your area where that language may be spoken and go there (may require supervision depending upon area)
- seek out free foreign-language newspapers and do translation projects
- seek out exchange students, ESL students, or immigrants who may attend your local church, youth group, schools, or other local organizations and do language swap time
- at the library or video store look for movies in the foreign language that would be suitable for the kids’ age group
- when you are doing the cooking lessons try some new foods from a grocery store from a different culture. Search the internet for new recipes for dishes from that culture.
If the kids like learning about investing, have an investing contest where they get $100,000 in fake money to invest and have them build a portfolio. This will really get them thinking about investment types. The winner is the person with the most appreciated portfolio (or some other metric you decide upon). The winner gets a bonus treasury bond, or an extra few shares of stock, or some savings reward.
Have fun!
D.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Another interesting way to get out, depending on if the interest is there is something called geocaching. Yes you need to buy a GPS, and it takes some tech savvy, but it is a great way to just get out. It helps to have some parks around, or national parks but still a nice way to get out and do something, without breaking the bank.
http://www.geocaching.com
June 5th, 2008 at 2:51 am
One thing: let them do things _without_ their parents. Way too many kids do dumb things as young adults, and I’m convinced that part of the problem is they never learned to be by themselves as kids.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:31 am
How about swimming at a local pool, lake, river, ocean etc?
June 5th, 2008 at 11:59 am
This post is very interesting….
Another interesting way to get out, depending on if the interest is there is something called geocaching. Yes you need to buy a GPS, and it takes some tech savvy, but it is a great way to just get out. It helps to have some parks around, or national parks but still a nice way to get out and do something, without breaking the bank.
I have to agree
http://www.kimberlycredit.com
September 23rd, 2010 at 4:06 am
I am a 66 year old retired Jew, who, lives on a very small farm. I have room for two teenage boys possibly intercity kids. I have degrees in both Socology and Psychology. It would not cost them anything and perhaps they could earn some money if they are willing to work. I believe a project like planting a garden. I have a old car to repain if they wanted to. Just let the kids get away for a few weeks would be a breath of freash air for them. It is 5 miles either way east or west from my house to get a loaf of bread. People of color would be no more of a problem than being the only Jew for several miles around.
Sincerely,
paul w becker
P.S. Phone is the best way to get me because my wife and I travel a lot. H 573-759-6621