The economy may or may not keep you and your family away
from high-priced amusement parks or your child from attending
multiple camps but no matter; there are still plenty of ways to have
loads of inexpensive fun this summer.
There are plenty of
boredom busters you and your children can engage in that
don’t require a lot of money, just your imagination and willingness to
play.
Summer months are prime time for “informal
learning,” said Renee Hunte, director of Child Life at
Children’s. “Research shows that as children play and
pretend, they are reenacting experiences they've had and are
trying to make sense of their world.” Play is a critical
part of childhood, as it allows children to practice and rehearse
various experiences.
Here are 10 inexpensive summer
ideas appropriate for grade-school children.
1. Obstacle
Course
Cost: Zero
Supplies: lawn chairs, tires,
etc.
Details: Set up objects to crawl over/under or walk through
in a yard or indoor play area. Use lawn chairs, stools, boards,
tires or plastic pipes. Make it as easy or as complicated as your
child can handle safely.
2. Kid-Size Tent
Cost: About $1 apiece for 1-by-2-inch strips of wood, plus $4 for
clothesline.
Supplies: strips of wood, clothesline
Details: Lash five poles together into a teepee shape with length of
clothesline; drape a sheet around it and fasten with a clothespin. Or
put a blanket over a card table or over four chairs to make a
tent. Sit inside and tell scary ghost stories or read a book out
loud.
3. Bubbles Aplenty
Cost: $2 for fly
swatter
Supplies: fly swatter, dishwashing soap, corn syrup,
water
Details: Mix a gallon of warm water with 4 tablespoons of
dishwashing soap and 1 tablespoon of corn syrup. Dip a new fly
swatter into soap and swirl through the air. See how many bubbles you
can catch without popping them.
4. Nest
Building
Cost: Zero
Supplies: twigs
Details: Pretend you're a
bird and gather enough twigs in a park to make a nest.
5. Race Car Box
Cost: Minimal
Supplies: large
cardboard box, plastic plate, wooden spoon, crayons or non-toxic
paint
Details: Find a cardboard box big enough to sit in. Tape a
plastic plate to the “dash” as a steering wheel;
place a wooden spoon into a corner as a gearshift. Decorate the
outside of the box with crayons or markers like a race car.
6. Hallway Bowling
Cost: $1 to $2 for art supplies
Supplies: markers, non-toxic paints, aluminum foil, 9 toilet
paper tubes or 9 empty juice cans
Details: Using markers, tempera
paints and aluminum foil, decorate nine toilet paper tubes or
empty juice cans. Stand them on their ends to form a “V”;
knock them over with a tennis ball.
7. Buried
Treasure
Cost: Minimal
Supplies: shoebox, aluminum foil,
costume jewelry
Details: Wrap a small shoebox and lid in
foil and fill with costume jewelry. Dress up as a pirate and bury
it. Draw a map so you can retrieve it later.
8.
Flying Saucers
Cost: $2 for packet of premium paper plates,
$1.50 for bowls, $1 for glue
Supplies: paper plates, paper
bowls, non-toxic glue
Details: Glue the edges of two heavy-duty
paper plates together, then glue on an inverted paper bowl. Draw
some doors and portholes. Send it flying.
9.
Natural Paperweight
Cost: Minimal
Supplies: Non-toxic
Paints and interesting rocks
Details: Gather a few rocks from
your neighborhood. Wash and dry them. Paint a summertime theme.
Use them as a paperweight.
10. Hot-weather Fan
Cost: Minimal
Supplies: heavy paper, crayons, stapler
Details: Color the front and back sides of the paper. Fold
accordion style and staple together the bottom edge after folded.
Use it as a fan.
