Entertain your kids without breaking the bank with our frugal kid’s activities guide. Read on for our top picks for family-friendly activities on a budget.
Many parents concentrate on finding fun summer activities that their children can participate in while school is out. However, while there are tons of fun summer activities available for school-age children, it can be difficult to find some that toddlers can participate in. This doesn’t mean that it isn’t important for toddlers to be involved in fun summer activities too.
After all, they are still people and when they are being carted all over for their siblings’ activities, they will begin to feel less important and not understand why they don’t get to join in on the fun. Below are several fun summer activities that toddlers can participate in.
Make Homemade Ice Cream
One of the best treats enjoyed by all children during the summer is ice cream. So, why not make it a fun family tradition to make your own ice cream? Your children will enjoy and learn a lot as they help with the ice cream making process.
Gymnastics
One of the most universal activities for toddlers is gymnastics. This is because gymnastics provides toddlers with a constructive way to burn off the extra energy they have while improving their socialization and coordination skills. They will also become more aware of their body and increase their physical fitness levels. While gymnastics is available for children all year, it’s one of the fun summer activities that your toddler is sure to enjoy!
Plant a Garden
It’s important that children learn where their foods come from. So, one of the best ways to help them learn this is to show them. Take them to the store in late winter/early spring and pick out some packets of vegetable/fruit seeds. Then, when the weather is right, have them help you plant the seeds. They will enjoy watching the “fruits of their labor” begin to grow…and eventually get to eat them!
Travel
Most families take a family vacation during the summer, but traveling doesn’t have to mean getting away for an entire week to some place fancy. Even a simple road trip with your family can get you out of the house and in to the wide, wide world.
Traveling with your children will teach them a number of different things. First, you will be taking them to a variety of different areas where they will get to see things they haven’t seen before. However, you can also take the time in the car to teach them how to read maps – a skill many kids won’t learn with the invention of the GPS.
A Day at the Beach
If you live relatively close to the beach, then take the time to take your children every now and then. They’ll have a blast swimming, building sandcastles and looking for seashells. The great thing about the beach is that you don’t have to do much to teach them – especially if you have young children. Seeing the ocean in person is an awesome experience and will give your kids the chance to learn about seagulls, waves, high tide and low tide and a host of other things!
Take Photographs And Videos
Taking photos and videos really can be turned into a day full of summer fun for kids! Equip them with a digital camera (or a disposable one if you’re concerned they won’t look after it) and help them find fun things to take photos with. Kids will often get really creative and take more impressive shots than you might have imagined! Or simply record the kids and the family having fun all summer and put together some home movies to enjoy one night.
As you can see, there are many summer activities for kids available. All of these activities have their own unique benefits for your children, but the one common benefit they share is keeping them busy during the summer. Keeping your family happy with the right activities, means that your children are less likely to be getting in trouble during the summer – which will be a huge relief to you.