Make a friend.
Summer is a great time to reconnect with old friends or make new friends. Bonus: socializing doesn’t cost an arm and a leg which means social activities are great low-cost or free summer activities for kids.
Write to a Pen Pal: If you Google “find a pen pal” you’ll find many sites where you can locate pen pals from all over the world to correspond with. Not only is this free summer activity for kids fun but it can also help them practice penmanship, spelling, and vocabulary as well as learn about different cultures.
Give back.
Looking for an inspiring free summer activity for kids? How about volunteering. Help your little one locate and sign up for a volunteer project they’re passionate about! VolunteerMatch.org is a great way to find volunteer opportunities for you and your kids.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation: If your kids want to have a lemonade stand, encourage them to donate the proceeds to a charity such as Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation which helps children with cancer.
While volunteering is great, if you’re trying to teach your kids the value of a dollar and about the benefits of making and saving money, another free summer activity for kids is a job. Here are 15 ways for kids to make money!
Explore the arts.
This summer, take your kids to community events, museums, or other local art exhibits. These low-cost or free summer activities for kids can help stretch their creative minds while school is out for the summer.
Target Community Events: Target partners with local museums to offer you and your kids FREE or nearly free entry to attractions in your community.
Bank Of America Museums On Us: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch is giving members access to over 200 free summer activities for kids! Yep, their credit and debit card holders can score FREE admission to over 200 museums the first full weekend of every month.
Give your brain a workout
Printable mazes and coloring pages serve as free summer activities for kids to help them continue building their art and critical thinking skills.
Printable mazes, printable travel games for kids, and free printable word searches: These free summer activities for kids are great for keeping the kiddos entertained with minimal interaction with you. In other words, they’re great for that summer road trip you’re thinking of taking!
Coloring: This activity is beneficial to kids and adults alike. Seriously, coloring has been shown to promote relaxation so perhaps you and the little ones should sit down and give it a try. Here are some fun and free coloring page options:
- Color Crayola Disney Coloring Pages
- Disney Cars Maze Coloring Page
- Disney Cars Race Coloring Page
- Disney Cars Mosaic
- Disney Fairies Tinkerbell Coloring Pages
- Disney Princess Belle Coloring Page
- Disney Toy Story Woody and Buzz Coloring Page
- Disney Mickey Mouse and Friends Coloring Page
Indoor activities for toddlers: These free summer activities for toddlers are great when you’re trapped inside and need to ward off cabin fever fast!
REI Adventure Journal: Find a whole slew of fun activities in this printable journal for kids including games, quizzes, and “bloopers.”
Online: The Internet offers a plethora of free summer activities for kids. Be sure to check out:
- FunBrain.com – Play games, read books and comics, and more!
- Nickelodeon website – Play games, watch FREE online videos, get kid craft ideas, find kid-friendly recipes, and more!
- PBS Kids – Visit PBS Kids for FREE educational videos, games, and activities.
- Disney Video – Kids can watch their favorite Disney shows here.
- Kids National Geographic – Kids can watch videos, play games, and learn lots of cool stuff about animals and more.
Apps: Smartphones and tablets offer even more fun, high-tech free summer activities for kids. You can download FREE Android apps for kids on Amazon, head over here to check them out. For iPhone and iPad users, be sure to head to the iTunes store to download free apps.
Feeling hungry?
At many great restaurants kids can eat for FREE, making eating out the perfect free summer activity for kids.
Find out where kids eat FREE! You can also head over to KidsMealDeals for more places where kids eat free.
May I have this dance?
Dancing is a fun indoor or outdoor free summer activity for kids… so put on your dancing shoes and let’s boogie! 🙂
Children’s music from Amazon – Head to Amazon to check out their selection of free music for kids.
When all else fails… Pin it!
Still need more ideas to keep the kids busy this summer? Head over to Pinterest for a bounty of FREE summer activities for kids. With these ideas your kiddos are guaranteed to have a super fun summer and you’re guaranteed to maintain your sanity!
Looking for more free summer activities for kids near you? Check out these tips for finding free summer activities near me.
Thanks to: Care.com, The Centsible Life, Passion For Savings, The Frugal Girls for helping with these tips for FREE summer activities for kids.