Summer Fun on a Budget for Kids

What’s on your list of things to do this summer with the kids? I know a lot of kids go to camps during the summer, but what about the days the kids aren’t at camp?

I found some fun things for you to do with your kids that are either free or priced pretty reasonable.

If your kids like to bowl, you can register them for two free games of bowling a day all summer long. Yes, a day. This is part of the Kids Bowl Free Program. Bowling centers around the country participate in this.   Several new local bowling alleys are participating this year. Locally Liberty Lanes, Ten Pin Lanes, Countryside Lanes, Dunedin Lanes, Seminole Lanes and Sunrise Lanes participate.  You register online and print out tickets each week. I have registered my girls the past several years for this and they love it. The only thing you have to pay for are the bowling shoes, but if you have them than it is totally free. The website to register  click here  

I know my kids love the movies and recently the movie theatre we go to put in all new recliner seats. They are pretty awesome! Regal Cinema’s Largo Mall 8 and Park Place Stadium 16 offer movies for kids during the summer for $1. You can’t beat the price. There are some really good movies this summer. This summer starting June 9 you can see on the big screen, Annie, Dolphin Tale 2, Madagascar 3, Paddington, The Lego Movie, Alexander and the Very Bad Day just to name a few. The movies are G and PG rated and are offered on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10am. To find out the movie dates and times at the theater nearest you click here. 

If you want to go to the movies on Friday and Saturday nights for free, Pier 60 in Clearwater offers fun family movies all year long. The movies begin at dusk. For a list of the movies click here  and click on Sunset Cinema.

Your kids can also go to a Tampa Bay Rays game for free over the summer if you have them read. The Rays Sponsor a reading program called Reading with the Rays. It starts on June 8. You need to go to your local library to get a score card to write down all the books your child reads during the summer. If they complete 24 hours of reading, they can get a free ticket to a Rays game. Both of my girls enjoy reading and love going to the Rays games, so this is extra incentive to read over the summer.  You can find out more by logging on here.  

If your kids like the water, the beach is a great place to take them. We are so fortunate that we live so close to the beautiful water. Take advantage of the beach over the summer. Check out your city’s recreation department too this summer. Most of the cities in Pinellas have aquatic centers with water parks and pools. The price to go for a few hours is usually a few dollars per child. One of my kids favorite places is Largo's Highland Family Aquatic Center, 400 Highland Avenue, Largo. They kick off their season on May 9 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. They have a 214 foot corkscrew water slide, 3-story speed slide and water area for little kids. It's a lot of fun and reasonably priced. If you have a Largo recreation card it is $12 for a family of five and without a recreation card it's $23 for a family of five.

I enjoy having my kids home during the summer, but I have to have some activities for them to do outside of  the house or they get bored. I also don't want to spend a fortune keeping them entertained. I hope some of these ideas help you kick off your summer.