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| We found a beautiful little waterfall while exploring a local park |
Summer break is finally upon us! Now the hard part begins. How to keep the kids from saying the dreaded "B" word - BORED!
I have spent years wracking my brain to figure out how to keep them entertained and not spend a fortune, so I'd like to share a couple of my ideas.
■ The pool. A lot of neighborhoods have them, the YMCA is a good place to go, but if you don't have access to either of those, a simple backyard inflatable will do the trick. (Of course there are safety procedures that should be followed if you get your own, so please be aware!) This idea does have some cost, but I think it more than pays for itself!
■ Rainy day fort making. The classic blanket/pillow fort is always a hit with my kids!
■ Geocaching. This is a relatively new activity for my family, but it's so fun! It's like a scavenger hunt, and the kids love it. There are apps that will help you locate the caches, some are free, but all have a "premium" feature that you have to pay for. We use the free apps, and have a ton of fun with it. There's a ton of information about it online, if you're interested!
■ Rainy day movies. My kids and I like to spread a blanket on the floor and watch movies. We pop some popcorn and make some hot chocolate (yes, even when it's scorching hot outside we enjoy hot chocolate) and binge watch movies.
■ Make juice or Kool-aid popsicles. These can be done in a variety of low cost ways. We have used ice cube trays and toothpicks, small plastic cups and popsicle sticks, and the store bought molds. The method is up to you.
■ Free parks. Of course there's always the free local parks. There are some in my area that have waterworks for the kids to play.
■ Field trips. The kids can stay busy and learn about the area in which they live. There's a field trip app that works off of your GPS location, and will bring up all kinds of facts and places to visit. It's called 'Field Trip'.
How do you beat back the boredom during the summer?
