20 free days out with kids over the summer holidays

This is our regular guest post by Beckie Whitehouse from Be Confident Coaching.

Do you sometimes feel (like me) you are spending a fortune to keep the kids happy and entertained? Here are some ideas of free days out with kids this summer:

1. Picnics – don’t have to be exciting or special food just eating somewhere different can be exciting enough
2. Check out a different park perhaps one near you has had an upgrade? Go with a group of friends – parents can catch up, children have friends for added entertainment
3. Go to a park with a paddling pool or a sand pit – of course dependant on the weather
4. Trips to the library – do they have anything else going on, a summer reading challenge or a competition?
5. Pond dipping or fishing in a stream or river all you need is a net and a bucket
6. Borrow a dog and go for a walk
7. Make use of any National Trust, English Heritage or other memberships you may have. (Often you can take extra children in so you could take some friends)
8. Check what else is going on in your area – are toddler groups meeting up? Summer concerts in parks? Free swimming lessons?
9. Do you have a local museum you could visit? that’s free entry?
10. Find a nearby Geocache; if you have no idea what I am talking about look at www.geocaching.com

Here are more great ideas!

1. Water painting – brushes (they can be big, little or a whole mixture) and water outside, paint pictures on the patio or paint the garden furniture.
2. Water play – paddling pools or washing up bowls, watering cans, pots all shapes and all sizes here anything goes
3. Download free stories for the ipod, ipad etc
4. Download free games and there are some for learning shapes, tables, puzzles etc.
5. Build a den and have snacks in it (inside if wet, outside if lovely)
6. Print out free colouring or activity sheets from the internet
7. Young ones love playing with dry pasta- you can thread it onto string or poke spaghetti through the holes in a colander
8. Summer scrap book – cut out pictures from magazines, papers, leaflets of place you have visited and then stick them in.
9. One my kids have loved – long jumping. Mark out where to start and then how far can they jump. And I am sure there are lots of add ons to this one and lots of ideas with the Olympics on
10. Put on your own Olympics in the garden; obstacle races, gymnastics, high jump, you name it, I am sure you can do it!

So there you go, some excellent ideas for free days out over summer – so what are you waiting for getting on out there. And if you have any other ideas for free days out with kids, do let us know below as well as join the conversation on Facebook!

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Thanks for reading!

 Helen 

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