Summer is almost here, and you know what that means.  The children will be out of school, and will need to be entertained.  Keeping summer fun at your home doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune.  There are several inexpensive, or even free, activities you can do to keep everyone entertained and happy.

Some fun activities for younger children include:

Sidewalk chalk, this is a huge hit at my house.  You can get a pack of sidewalk chalk for as little as $1.00, and they can draw for hours with it.  You can even let them have contests to see who can draw the most pictures, the biggest pictures, or the prettiest pictures.  Kids love to draw, and get messy, this is the perfect combination of both.

Finger paint is another huge hit with children.  If it is nice outside, take them out, and let the little artist take over.  It is a good idea to buy some poster board, or even a roll of craft paper, that way when they finish one master piece, they can begin another one.

Nature walks, and scavenger hunts are really fun for children as well.  You can make a list of things to find on your outing, before you go.  If the children are too young to read, you can draw pictures of the items they should look for on their list.  You can also make this into a competition as well.

On rainy days, bring out the crayons and let the children draw pictures of their favorite things, or create a book with all of their art work.

Summer time activities can be fun and inexpensive; sometimes you just have to be a little creative.

Find more ways to help your family save money at Our Family Budget.

Photo credit: Victoria Peckham