Over Memorial Day weekend, I spent a few hours with local newspapers, magazines, and websites coming up with fun and free/cheap things to do with the kids this summer. I put every event on the wall calendar in my office so that on any given day, I can come up with an activity that we can do as a family.
I began by checking the nearby movie theaters. In our area, one theater offers free kids movies every week, and another offers $1 movies every week. It's a great way to spend a hot or rainy day.
I also looked at all of the nearby metroparks, and wrote down programs that would be age apropriate. This week, Sam has toured an ancient native American village. Tonight, we will attend a free outdoor concert, and probably play a round of $1 putt-putt, too.
Last night, we attended a great campfire program at one of the metroparks. Naturalists came to give a talk about our wild backyards. We saw:
Screech owls!
A barn owl!
A red-tailed hawk! And hold your nose for this one...
A skunk!
When the program was over, the park had marshmallows and metal tines for all of the kids to roast over the campfire!
What a fun evening! We plan on attending every Wednesday night to see more animals and learn more amazing facts. And it doesn't hurt that they serve marshmallows, too! :)
Have you heard about the Kids Bowl Free program? All over the country, kids under fifteen can bowl two games every day for free (not including shoe rental). You can find a program in your area by visiting this website:
Kids Bowl Free
Summer is also a great time to brush up on some reading skills. Barnes and Noble Bookstores are offering a summer reading program called "Passport to Reading with the 39 Clues". Kids can read books and even earn a free book at the end of the program, too! (May 25th thru September 7, 2010)
I hope you're having a fun summer, too!
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