10 Free and Budget Friendly Summer Ideas

If you're like us than you might still have another 5 weeks before the kids get ready to go back to school.  Last year I made up a Summer Cup of Fun for things we could do on those "I'm bored" kind of days.  This year we are just winging it and finding fun in the more simple things.

Here are 10 ideas that are either free or budget friendly that you can enjoy with your family for the last few weeks of summer!  We have personally enjoyed all of these activities and although not over the top exciting, we have still made lots of fun memories.

1. Cloud Talk: Lay a blanket outdoors or if it's too hot find a spot inside near a window and talk about the shapes you and your child see in the clouds.  My daughter LOVES telling me the shapes she sees. Doing this will encourage your child to use their imaginations and work on their vocabulary skills at the same time!

2. Basketball: As I think about our summer so far their is one thing I think of first and it's playing basketball in the driveway!  Yup, so simple but yet, so memorable!  Since my kids are almost 5 years apart it can be challenging to find an activity that they can both play and enjoy together.  Shooting hoops is definitely one of them!  I join in too and every day no matter what we're doing we stop and play basketball even for just 15 minutes! If you don't have a basketball net at home most local parks have basketball courts.

3. Make Your Own Ice-cream Sundaes: Next time you are out doing your grocery shopping add ice-cream to your list along with some fun toppings and let the kids create their own yummy sundaes!

4. Backyard Story Time: Simply curling up on the couch and reading is always enjoyable but to make things a bit more exciting head outside for story time!  We laid out a large blanket, brought out some pillows, snacks and believe it or not it changes the experience of reading.

5. Visit Your Local Pool: This isn't a free activity but most pools are fairly economical.  Our local pool does not charge for children 5 and under and if you have older kids who can swim independently and who don't need Mom's help in the water

our pool offers a non-swimmer admission of just $1! Check out the prices of your local pool and enjoy a carefree day of fun in the sun!

6. Feed The Ducks: We have a few local places around our house with some pretty hungry ducks.  My kids always get a kick out of feeding them.  Just keep in mind to try and feed 'duck friendly food' like peas, oats or corn instead of bread.

7. Skip or Toss Rocks: We are also lucky to have alot of rivers and lakes in our neck of the woods.  The river runs through some of our local parks and the kids enjoy searching for rocks and tossing or skipping them into the water.  Literally, my kids can spend an entire morning or afternoon doing this!

8.Family Day: My kids enjoy having their friends over or going to their houses but it's also nice to designate a day where it's just you and the kids.  Pull out the board games or even the video games like Just Dance on Wii and enjoy each other!

9. Slip N' Slide Fun: For under $10 you can pick up a single lane slip n' slide at Walmart!  This year we sprung for a metal frame inflatable type pool but every year for about the past 5, we have had one and made a ton of use of it!  For less than a $10 investment your kids will have lots of splish splashin' fun and you can use it year after year!

10. Visit Rita's Italian Ice: We LOVE Rita's and no I'm not getting paid to say that!  We literally couldn't stay away last summer and even though delicious I needed to curb our Rita's habit this summer.  So, this year we usually only go on Wednesdays since it is half price on all their ices that day!  It's more of a treat this way than going as much as we did last year!  Check for a Rita's near you.