Simple Ways to Keep the Kids Entertained This Summer – Keeping your children entertained during the long summer months can be a difficult task, especially if you are working to a tight budget. However, with a little creativity and planning, there is a whole range of possibilities for fun, cheap activities for the family to enjoy at home or in the local area.
Why it is important to keep children entertained over the summer months?
Participating in planned activities will not only keep them busy but can also provide them with new learning and development opportunities. Just because school is out, that doesn’t mean education has to be put on hold.
Summer is the perfect time to get outside and learn about the natural world or to work on hobbies that are often side-lined during the hectic school term. Interacting with new people outside of their school friends can also help to improve social skills and build new connections.
Here are just a few ideas to help get you started with planning your kids’ activities this season:
Utilise free places for fun day trips
If you live in a city then it is likely that you have a range of free-to-access venues in your area. Museums and art galleries aren’t just for tourists, they also make great family days out on a budget.
Even if you have visited before, museums and galleries often update and change exhibitions. Outside of large cities, towns and villages often have local libraries and community centres that put on events such as crafting or group reading sessions.
If you are a member of a local gym, check with them to see if they have any activities for children over the summer. The local council may also be offering reduced or free entry at your nearest leisure centre for children to go swimming.
Print out colouring sheets and activities
Just because these are traditionally the warmer months, there is no guarantee of sunshine and cloudless skies. On rainy days, it is a good idea to have some indoor activity options that you can arrange on short notice.
Take a look online for colouring pages and activity packs aimed at children. These are quite often free or low-cost to download and print on your home computer and printer with inkjet cartridges.
Get out all the pens, pencils, paints and glitter and let your children unleash their creative side. Placing down washable or disposable mats on the floor or table can really speed up the clean-up process. If using messy materials and the kids don’t have aprons, it’s easy to fashion one out of a rubbish bag.
Have fun in the garden
If the weather is on your side and you have access to a garden, there are a huge number of activities that the entire family can enjoy. It can be easy to feel bored when stuck at home, but getting out in the fresh air can really help.
If you would usually go camping in the summer, you will probably have all your camping equipment at home. Why not set up a tent in the garden and get out your camping chairs? You can make an evening of it and enjoy a barbeque for dinner and even camp out for the night if you wish.
You might have used cardboard boxes and packaging material lying around if you have had a recent furniture delivery. Another activity to keep the kids is to set them the task of building a fort. This can even be turned into a competition with forts rated based on their comfort, durability or any other criteria you can think of.
Poppy Watt