Summer can definitely become bored city fast! There are a few things that you can do that don't cost a whole lot, some have been around for years, my Mother remembers doing them with me!

Library's are a great resource. They often have reading programs through the summer, along with activity sessions, free movie showings, carnivals (passes come from reading books), etc. Make sure to check all of the librarys in your area as some programs are interchangeable and others are held at various locations.

I know that Children's Museums are often overlooked because of the cost, but we found that most of them are involved in a reciprocal program. What this means is that you can pay one time a year (it is VERY reasonable if you read all that I am writing) the one we do is $125 per year for our whole family (up to 5 people), for $15 more you can bring a guest anytime you want (it does not have to be the same guest) or for $25 ALL the Grandparents can have memeberships as well.

Remember I said it was not a bad deal if you got this far you are prob. wondering why, that is not exactly free either. BUT with this pass we can go to ANY children's museum in the nation (there are 3 in our city), ANY botanical garden (we have 2 here), 2 months free at the aquarium, 1 month free at the zoo, and multiple other locations too many to list. This opens a lot of avenues for you to take! (This option is not good if you live in a rural area.)

NOTE: Check out muliple places, as I said we have 3 children's museums here, they are all in the reciprical program, but all have different costs, GO FOR THE CHEAPEST!

Amusement parks often have specials for local residents. Make sure you check before you go. We try to go at least once a year and being near Busch Gardens they have come for a day play all year here. Amusement Park tricks to keep in mind. We have one "Season Pass" that gives us free parking, and the others are "Pay for a day play all year." OR if you want to save even more if you go to the parks after 3-4pm they often have stopped charging for parking!

Weekly flyers have various local events, and many are free as well.

Another good one is to go to McDonald's or Chick-Fila and get a small drink, then let the kids play in the play area. You have to buy something, yes (well I guess you could not buy anything but they would kind of catch on), I buy the cheapest thing on the menu and then let her go to town for a few hours!

Chuckie Cheese also has weekly coupons on their site, if you log on to www.chuckiecheese.com and click on coupons you can print them off your computer. If you join their club they send free tokens for the kids birthdays too (and you can double up with the library, Chuckie Cheese has a summer reading program for free tokens as well!).

Hopefully some of these maybe helpful! Good luck!