0
0
It’s summer time and if you are like me and have multiple children , smaller adventures are often better than larger adventures. And the more money you can save the better life will become. I have found some worthwhile adventures that you and your children can do on a budget. The key is finding and doing new things daily. You never want to get the kids bored doing the same things over and over again .
One of the first things to do is plan . Planning is important because sometimes smaller kids don’t understand the art of the compromise. Set your weeks up ahead of time . Plan for the weather , where we live its very hot and humid in the Summer so its always important that we plan for those extra hot moments and either plan our day earlier or much later to avoid melting in the heat .
Consider everything an adventure . And I say this in all honesty . Even though the kiddos are out of school for the Summer it doesn’t mean that life stops for you. Bills need to be paid, laundry and grocery shopping must be done . So plan for these events. One thing that do with my babies is every Tuesday we do a scavenger hunt in the grocery stores. The best stores to do these sorts of hunts in are the stores that have the smaller baskets for children. Each child has a list , with pictures and writing that they must find. This teaches two lessons , patience, how to read and how to follow directions. Also include rules, no running, no bumping into each other and no yelling. This is so much fun because it allows you to get everything you need on your list. And they are learning all at the same time . Reward them at the end of shopping trip. My babies love carrying bags and getting a receipt.
Summer mornings are great for bowling , skating and the movies. Most cities have $1 bargain days . Monday and Tuesdays are the best days for these events. And the best part if you plan ahead you can do all in one day or switch it up per week.
I live in a relative small town so paying bills is always an adventure. We use those times to walk downtown to the old buildings and check out the history of the buildings. I also live in a city that is a tourist city so there are always someone around to give out some information. The best part about living in a small city like mine its always live music somewhere . And you can find a different spot daily.
Though I live in a small city my husband works in a larger cities . We have learned to take advantage of this during the summer months. With day trips and planned week adventures . From Memphis , TN to Little Rock , Arkansas we have made some of the weirdest cities work . Somehow one night in a different place is always fun for the kids. And remember always to book a hotel with a pool and free breakfast. We have taken advantage of museums and every free recreation we could find also anything concerning history is fun for the kids.
We have limited our vacations currently to only places we can get to by plane within a two hour span or by car . Why? Well I have children who are around the same age (7, 6,5) its just easier . Beach trips are great and if you use places like groupon you can get great deal on rooms. Also another idea for renting hotel rooms is to use a rewards program, those programs allow you to save up points for free nights . So far all of our weekend getaways this year have been absolutely free , thank you Marriott and Choice Hotels . Because my husband travels frequently we were able to collect points all winter to be able to use them on hotels for the Summer months.
Splash pads are always great and usually free. I would recommend this as a reward for good work all week . You may even take advantage of a pool or any thing your child may love and doesn’t experience on a daily basis.
There is a weekly reading programs at all libraries. Reading is usually done at some of the local libraries or your local retail bookstore . We take advantage of these times , they serve snacks and also have crafts for the kids.
And lastly even though its summer all kids should remain on a schedule. As much as I want to sleep in and let them stay up later they are little humans that need their rest in order to grow and develop properly . I hope you enjoy your summer and use some of these basic ideas for Summer fun.
Basically Tesha
I totally agree with making every day activities into adventures!! I try to make every day an adventure with my boy…making memories and having adventures is my favorite!
I don’t have kids but I can attest to planning is key! My Mom would drop me off to summer camp which I absolutely loved! A great way to get me out of the house and keep her sane lol.
I love the ideas to go and play. I also call everything an adventure. We also throw in a bit of camping b/c it’s a little cheaper as well.
You sound like such an awesome Mom Tesha. Love the concept of a grocery scavenger hunt. That’s sounds like so much fun. I’ll have to remember to do that one day when I have Grandbabies 😉
We love spending lots of time with the kids (6 and 10 years) during the summer holidays which seem to fly by so quickly. Your ideas are great and like you, I like to forward plan so that we all have lots of fun and adventures but valued quieter family time together too. Enjoy your summer!
You sound like an amazing mother! I wish we had the funds to travel with mine when I was a kid!
These are really great ideas & I’m sure your kids love the adventures. The grocery store scavenger hunt is such a great idea! I wish my parents had done that!
Life with babies is really exciting. I have 3 kids and they always make me feel so happy each day.
it sounds like you are doing a cracking job at motherhood. I really enjoy spending time with my kids over the summer.
Your kids will forever be your babies, just like how we will always be our parents’. Thanks for sharing your experiences juggling with the daily activities as a parent!
With my 3 year old, we have to plan short trips. He gets so miserable in that car seat after two hours or so. When we take long trips, we are stopping every 3 hours so he can get some time to run around. It’s not easy traveling with kids but it can be done with a lot of planning.
I don’t have kids but sure sounds like a lot of planning is required to keep them busy and entertained. You are doing such a fab job with it all.
❥ tanvii.com
Your article gives me so many fantastic ideas of activities to do with children during summer! My children are younger than yours but they’ll definitely enjoy these ideas!
We have been doing the opposite this summer. Our schedule is so off, I need to slowly bring them back!
Nailil
http://thirtyminusone.com/
Sounds like you are having a wonderful summer! We have struggled in past years with not doing the same thing over & over & over!