Looking for ways to entertain the offspring in the final weeks of summer? From playing with water guns to counting mosquito bites, here are some cheap and humorous summer activities for kids.
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Cheap and Humorous Summer Activities For Kids

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Looking for ways to entertain the offspring in the final weeks of summer? From playing with water guns to counting mosquito bites, here are some cheap and humorous summer activities for kids.

The whining and bickering and complaints of “I’m bored” that now fill homes around the nation are reminiscent of a summertime plague like polio – only no one has developed a vaccine for it. Do yourself and your bank account a favor by skipping the expensive day camps and pricey excursions to the movies. Instead, try some (or all!) of the following suggestions to survive the season:

Inexpensive toys – My 3 youngest spent over an hour yesterday dropping foam capsules (bought at Target for one dollar) into a bowl of water and watching them expand into animal shapes. Granted, my kids can be easily amused – but even I was surprised by this one. Note to self: liquidate college funds?

Water gun fights – You can buy decent SuperSoakers for 5 dollars each at Target or KMart, which will provide your kids with at least an hour of outdoor fun per use (just make sure tolock the door behind them so they can’t sneak back inside too soon). Then the children will spend another half hour fighting over who puts the hose away.  Bonus!

Blanket tents and pillow fights – Strip all the kids’ beds and pile the comforters and pillows neatly on the floor of one of the bedrooms. Tell them not to mess it up (this step is important – it renders the pile irresistible). Leave. Knit peacefully for half an hour until someone bonks their head on the side of a dresser.

Food – McDonald’s has one-dollar sundaes. Why not?

Walks – Yeah, it’s hot, but it wears them out. By the time you get home from the trek, they lie around the living room, too tired to fight. Remember hydration – water for them, something a little more..uh,grown-up…for yourself.

Science experiments – Have each kid use a natural mosquito repellent on the right arm and DEET on the left arm. Send them outside for half an hour (again, lock door). When they come in, have them count the bites on each arm. Discuss your results.

Remember, if you don’t wear them out, they will wear you out. As always, the best defense is a good offense. So, if all else fails, keep the children busy doing any chores you can think of until they run away and hide. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that…

You can do this! And without great expense.  Save that money for when you really need it – the teen years, when you’ll be willing to pay anything to get them away from the house and off the Internet for a few hours. ANYTHING.