Being a mother isn’t as easy as some people anticipate and having 2 young kids I know very well how hard it is and how to make it simpler. The hardest part of being a parent is attempting to keep them entertained and without going broke. Although it is hard I have seemed to find ways to make it cost less and still keep the kids entertained for hours. This summer I know will be completely wonderful
First chalk is the very best budget-friendly thing out there and I believe you will love to have it as soon as you finish reading what you can do with it. The regular thing to do is let the kids to draw all over the cement and they do greatly enjoy it, however there is so much more they and you can do with it. Most certainly my favorite thing to do with chalk is draw a huge rectangle. Then I draw circles in the rectangle from left to right and top to bottom using a couple different colors. Then the children and I must get from one side to the other jumping from circle to circle of only one color. This is not only fun and amusing but helps kids learn their colors.
I will also create a hopscotch on the sidewalk for hours of fun. My children don’t completely understand hopscotch, but they do enjoy jumping from square to square and they are starting to recite the numbers as they jump through it. We’ll also use the chalk to draw a little bike path for my children to ride through, the first time we did this our children did not want to do anything else but ride their bikes around it for the entire day.
I made the decision this summer I wanted swings for the kids. We have an incredible tree out back with a branch that could easily hold 3-4 swings but we only need 2. After talking with my husband we made the decision to buy some 2×6 wood and rope to make my oldest son a swing, but my 20-month-old son we decided to buy a fisher price swing so I won’t have to be anxious about him falling.
We built the kids an old-fashioned bean bag toss activity. We built it by attatching two pieces of plywood to a 2×2 to form a teepee that folds. On one side of the teepee we cut circles into it. Then I made some bean bags for the children to throw in the holes. This activity has really taught my kids how to encourage others, share and has increased the stamina in their upper arms. It has also helped improve their hand-eye coordination.
My last word of advice for budget-friendly outside activities is a sand box. Purchasing one is easier but you can build one with either plywood or cheap cedar fence pickets. Just have the store cut everything to the exact size you want the box then either attach the pieces together with some screws or you can use stakes to keep them standing up. As soon as you have the sand box, fill it with some sand and some budget-friendly beach toys and you are good to go.