Even the most dedicated of parents admit that having young children home for the summer can get ho hum once the dog days of August roll around and the kids get restless.

If you’ve already spent money taking your children on vacation, you might want inexpensive or cost-free ways to entertain them until school starts.

That’s why Popular Bank gladly shares ideas for low- or no-cost activities to keep your kids happy through the end of summer.

When you’re at a loss for inexpensive or free ideas for fun with your kids, use our handy list. There’re bound to be activities on it you and your kids will enjoy doing together.

If you choose something from the list that you’ve never done before and you need instructions, check out the Internet. It’s a good source of instructions and links to sites with details, including locations, maps, recipes, and ideas for new twists on familiar activities!

Activities

• Ask your child to teach you something
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Bathe the family dog
• Bicycle
• Blow bubbles
• Camp out at home with a tent and sleeping bags
• Cool off in a sprinkler
• Fly a kite
• Go canoeing
• Have a yard sale
• Hike
• Interview an older relative to learn about the family
• Make an indoor fort with blankets, pillows, chairs, and tables
• Nap outside on a porch or under a tree
• Paddleboat ride
• Picnic in your backyard
• Picnic at a local park
• Play catch or Frisbee
• Play miniature golf or hit balls at a golfing range
• Practice batting at a batting cage
• Rock climb at a safe, indoor facility
• Roller skate/roller blade
• See a movie
• Set up a bicycle washing stand
• Set up a lemonade stand
• Soccer
• Swim
• Take a sewing class
• Tennis
• Train ride
• Volleyball
• Walk
• Walk in the rain
• Walk your dogs

Art and Music

• Attend an outdoor concert
• Brass rubbing at a graveyard
• Check out craft day at the library
• Create a family album
• Create a family cookbook
• Create a chalk mural on the driveway or sidewalk
• Finger paint
• Get books at the library
• Go on a photo walk and create a follow-up scrapbook
• Go to an art museum/art opening
• Help your child write and illustrate a book
• Help your child write poems, illustrate them, and put them in a collection
• Help your child write a letter to and draw pictures for someone special
• Make a family tree and match pictures to the names
• Make a playlist of favorite songs and sing along to them
• Make edible play-dough
• Make origami art
• String beads

Cleanup

• Attic
• Basement
• Bedroom – try rearranging the furniture after cleaning up
• Garage
• Wash the car together

Cooking

• Bake a favorite dish
• Bake cupcakes
• Cook pasta
• Make homemade ice cream
• Make homemade pizza
• Make homemade popsicles with fruit
• Make smoothies
• Make tacos

Exploring

• Go on an historic town/city walk
• Go on a walking tour
• Go on a mystery walk, where only you know the destination
• Local playgrounds
• Ride a train
• Take a ride in the country
• Tour the town or a city on a bus
• Tour a local business, including the newspaper, a radio station, or city hall
• Travel to a destination on a city bus
• Try Geocaching
• Visit a graveyard to see names and dates
• Visit the airport
• Visit the fire station
• Visit the train station
• Visit a fish hatchery
• Visit the local farmers’ market

Games for Inside

• Boggle
• Bowling
• Ping Pong
• Scrabble

Museums

• Aquarium
• Check out free or discounted museum days
• Nature museum
• Planetarium

Nature

• Bird watch
• Fish
• Garden
• Go on a scavenger hunt
• Go to the beach and build a sandcastle
• Hang a birdhouse
• Pick berries
• Pick wildflowers and make arrangements to give to friends
• Plant a tree
• Put up a bird feeder
• Stargaze
• Visit an arboretum
• Visit local county, state, and federal parks
• Visit the zoo
• Walk on nature trails

Reading

• Attend a poetry reading
• Attend story or poetry time at a café or bookstore
• Attend story or movie time at the library
• Read a book and then see the movie
• Spread a blanket on the grass and read together
• Start a book club

Volunteer Opportunities

• Clean up trash at a local park
• Donate clean towels, used leashes, dog food, or leftover dog toys to an animal shelter; offer to walk and brush dogs
• Do something special for someone who needs help, like cook, help clean up, help with his/her dog
• Garden at a local arboretum
• Help out at a nature center
• Pick up trash on park trails
• Visit a retirement home and play an instrument, read stories, or write letters for residents who need help
• Visit someone who needs company

Popular Bank is eager to help you save money whenever possible so that you can make decisions for the overall health of your finances. Visit our branch locator to find a Popular Community Bank near you. Our bankers are waiting to speak with you now.