Don't let summer be a bummer

my kids have summer vacation that lasts' from the beginning of June till the beginning of September, luckily my kids are in summer school which only lasts' for about two months but a few hours a day and one of my kids only has school on Monday through Thursday! Which means the rest of the hours of the day and so on I have to find ways to entertain them; because I am a single parent, student, and not working at the moment I am limited to what I (we) can do for this summer!

Luckily I am resourceful and have a good memory most of the time, oh and not to mention I am an energetic mommy (I try to be)! I must say these qualities are good to have when you are trying to figure out what to do with a 14 year old and 11 year old, in the summer time. Luckily they are girls because I know more less what they are into and what they shouldn't be into! Moreover as I kind of mentioned before (we are on a strict budget).

so here are my tips on how to keep kids entertained for the summer without having to spend too much money if at all!

1. Have them try something new, like maybe save cans and bottles AKA recycle. This is not only teaching them about earning money they are also keeping the environment a little bit more better and cleaner. Their reward would be the $money they get for doing such a wonderful and rewarding action for our environment.

2. You can also go to your city web site and see what fun and free events they have coming up
(if it's not free it's usually a few bucks). they can also volunteer at the events this way they can be apart of your local community where they can meet new friends or see old friends and be involved (which is safe, local, and most of the time free). It also keeps them out of trouble.

3. of course there is always just taking them to a local park and if you live in a wonderful community like we do you probably have quite a few parks to choose from. Therefore you can all decide which park to go to on a certain day and depending on how far it is you walk to one (one day) or ride bikes on another day and so on! You can even make a day out of the week that you all cutt up some fruit and pack some favorite snacks and make it a picnic day! Also while at the park you all can play base ball, basket ball, tennis, or basically any sport and if you don't know how who cares you can just try it doesn't hurt to try! I'm sure your kids would get a kick out of you looking like a fool!

4. my favorite tip is the one thing that my daughter actually found out through a friend at summer school; go to your local sheriff station and find out if they have an explorer program that is fun and of course your child would have to be some what interested or at least let them try it or (make them) try it. It's free, fun, and they will learn something new everyday; and of course they will be out of trouble "per- se". It will definitely keep them active and in shape.

5. or if you have a little money to spend enroll them into a course or class that they would like to be in or try for the first time. For example my 14 year old is going to start a writing class after summer school ends and my 11 year old is going to be in a kids club class where they just do a whole bunch of educational fun things at our local college (where mommy attends) so she is excited about that!

6. last but not least; don't forget what kids love about the summer the most "swimming". there is always beaches if your lucky enough to live by one or close to one or/and swimming pools! =)

Well these are my tips to having a fun summer on a limited budget, hope you have a great one! thanks for reading.