The Affinity Group›
50 Free or Cheap Things to Do with Your Kids 1 Plant a garden. Kids love planting seeds in the spring and watching them grow through the summer. 2 Have a water balloon fight. Let the kids toss water balloons at each other or you. My youngest daughter loves the chance to soak her dad. 3 Go bowling. The Kids Bowl Free program allows kids to play two free games a day at participating bowling centers. 4 Watch birds. My friend and her two sons take their binoculars and a book of their state's native birds to the backyard and try to identify as many birds as possible. 5 Create a water park in the backyard. Turn on the sprinkler, fill the baby pool, get out the Slip 'N Slide and let the kids have fun cooling off on a hot day. 6 Take a bubble bath outside. If the kids are tiring of the inflatable pool, make it fun again by filling it with bubbles -- and tossing small toys in for them to find under all the foam. 7 Visit the public library. Public libraries often offer free summer reading programs that include workshops, movies, children's theater, puppet shows and more. Or just check out how-to books so you and your kids can learn something new together. 8 See free or cheap movies. Many theaters have free or cheap ($1 to $2) showings of family-friendly movies on weekday mornings. Check the Web sites of theaters in your city. Many advertise their summer movie programs on their homepage. Otherwise, check the site's specials or values page. Click to read 42 more!
