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.

Ways to keep your kids learning during the summer

School will be out soon and it’s important to keep our kids minds active during the summer. Here are some ways that I have been able to keep my two girls ages 8 and 9 learning while schools out. I try and make summer learning fun.

One of the places we like to start our summer off is at our public library. We go there to find out what programs are offered during the summer. The library is a great place to keep your children engaged in reading because of some of the incentives they offer to the kids for reading.  It is free to get a library card and your child can have their very own card. I know my girls love having their own card to check out books. If you haven’t been to a public library lately, most have a special section of the library for younger children with computers and crafts.

Each library has unique programs for students over the summer.  Most public libraries in Pinellas County run their programs from June 15^th - August 9^th.  A weekly program during the summer at Seminole Community Library is the reading with the dogs program. “This is where students are one on one with therapy dogs. Last summer it was very successful,” said Jill Storm, Youth Services Supervisor at Seminole Community Library.

One of my girl’s favorite programs in the past at the Seminole Library has been the Wonderful Wednesdays. This is where each week special guests come entertain the kids. In the past there have been magicians, balloon artists, musicians and more.

 Elementary school students who enjoy science can try e-magination which is where students get to do hands-on science experiments and have fun doing crafts. For the younger kids ages 3-6, on Monday nights at 7 p.m. there’s Slumber Stories, where children can come in their pajamas and read stories and do a craft.

Another great way to keep kids reading over the summer is with the Reading with the Rays program. Kid can pick up their Reading with the Rays game card at the library. Your kids will need to read a certain number of hours each week and as they read they move around the bases. After the get around all of the bases, they can turn their playing card in for a free ticket to a Rays game. My girls have done this the past few years and knowing they get to go to a Rays game if they read is fun for them.

If you are looking for camps to send your kids to, there are several that are fun and geared toward learning. St. Petersburg College, College for Kids Summer Camp offers unique summer programs starting June 9^th  and running through August 1^st.  College for kids has been around for 36 years. I remember going when I was a kid. They offer affordable camps for kids in elementary, middle and high school. What’s nice about this is you have credentialed teachers and there are nine different locations throughout Pinellas County where the camps are held.

 They also have before and after care. For incoming 10-11^th graders there is a weeklong camp offered for free called Career Pathways Academy. This helps students think about career choices. www.spcollege.edu/c4k or call 727-341-3000.

Another fun camp in Seminole is Bauder Elementary School’s 13^th annual Summer Science Camp. This is a weeklong camp from July 14^th-17^th . It is hands-on science activities, computer technology and arts and crafts. This is for K-5^th grade and runs from 8:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m. Bauder teachers are the camp counselors.  If you are interested call Bauder’s office at 727-547-7829.

University of South Florida’s Continuing Education offers beginning reading programs throughout the county. Students meet once a week for five weeks for two hours. The cost for these classes is around $350 including materials.  You can find out more at usf.readingprograms.org or call 1-800-978-9596.

If you want to have your kids do some learning at home on the computer, the Pinellas County School Board’s web site www.pcsb.org offers quite a few learning programs on their web site. It is called Beyond the Classroom. “Our expectation is that students will spend a minimum of 30 minutes each week during the summer for grades K-2 and 60 minutes grades 3-5 in each application on the Beyond the Classroom web site. The purpose is to extend their learning from the school year,” said Pat Lusher, Director of Digital Learning for Pinellas County Schools.

 Lusher says students will need to have their Pinellas County School student username and password to log in. “Some of the most common sites are Ticket to Read, ST Math, FCAT Explorer and BrainPop.com,” said Lusher. This summer they will be adding a program for students to check out eBooks on their mobile devices or computers at home from several of their digital libraries. It’s called My Digital Backpack. There will be incentives for student participation to encourage students to become fluent readers.

Even though students are on summer vacation, make sure they don’t take a break from learning. Kids can have fun and learn at the same time.

Keep Kids Reading during the Summer

By: Contributing Freelance Writer Ree Shapiro

  

You have made it through another school year!  As a parent and a teacher,I understand that it’s time to take a deep sigh of relief.  Let’s all take a moment to bask in the satisfaction of another school year completed.  We can now take a break from the pressure of making sure homework and projects are done and with keeping up with all the school events and expectations.  It was a lot, I know, but let’s not take a break from learning.

In the summer, many students regress in their learning and then need to catch up in the fall.  Do not let your child be one of these students!  You do not need to assign work every day, but do incorporate reading and writing during your child’s day.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to take advantage of your local library.  It is amazing how many activities the libraries offer and all for free!  The activities vary from book clubs to puppet shows to free tutoring, all centered around reading and writing.  Children love to keep track of the books they read on the fun charts the libraries use, all leading toward prizes for amounts of time spent reading.  There are also night and weekend programs, for children who go to day camp.

Many other places also have enrichment programs going on in summer.  Museums, parks and science centers have lots of great educational classes available.  They also have weekend programs.

 If you are taking a vacation this summer take advantage of the local learning opportunities available wherever you visit.  Many of these are also free!   I have been fortunate to be able to travel in the summer with my family.  I would always take advantage of free museums and libraries.  Not only do you save money,but you really get a sense of where you are, not just the tourist parts.  As my kids got older,I would have them research on line the places we were visiting to find their own activities they would like to do.  Maybe the place you are visiting is famous because someone special grew up there. Maybe a certain product is made in that state. It would be great to have your child learn about the product before you get there. 

 I would also encourage my own kids to keep a journal of wherever we visited, and give them a disposable camera to take pictures and document their trip.  These are both fun writing activities.

As I say in my end of the year letter to my students and parents, have a safe and happy summer!  Take time to relax with your family and enjoy the adventures that the summer brings; including some academics along the way!

About the author Ree Shapiro

Ree enjoys working with young children. In her teenage yeas, she was a baby-sitter and camp counselor.  To help offset her college tuition, she worked in different pre-schools as a teacher assistant.  It was no surprise to her family when she decided to major in early childhood/elementary education.  She is in her sixteenth year of teaching and is certified in early childhood/ Elementary education, Varying Exceptionalities, English Speakers of Other Languages and Art.

This is her seventh year teaching kindergarten.  She has also taught first grade, pre-school for students with special needs and have worked with students with learning disabilities, both as a tutor and a teacher. 

Ree is married with two children; her oldest is in College and her youngest is in High School.  As both a parent and a teacher, she has some very interesting insight into the world of education! She hopes her knowledge can ease your own child’s educational experiences.

Kids Reading Clubs with free stuff

I found a great Kids Club for reading. It's with Barnes & Noble.  It is free and the kids get a 30 % off coupon, a cupcake on their birthday, a free digital book and more. Click on Barnes & Noble above to go to the site for more information.

There are probably more book clubs out there. When I find them, I will post.

Free Books from Borders and Barnes & Noble

What a great way to get your kids to read. Tell them if they read a few books they can go get a brand new book for free!

Borders is offering kids a free book for reading 10 books. It's the Double Dog Dare. Fill out the form at Borders for a free book. Offer is good from June 1- September 5, 2011. Click on Borders for form.

Barnes & Noble is offering kids a chance to get a free book too! Kids just need to read 8 books and record them in the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Imagination's Destination Journal. Bring completed journal between May 24- September 6, 2011 for a free book.

Visit Your Local Library

The library is full of fun for kids. Not only can they check out books and movies over the summer, but they can also win free things for reading.

Ask the librarian about the following:

The Tampa Bay Rays will give a ticket to a Rays game for reading 24 hours worth of books this summer. Click above for more information or visit your local library to sign up.

Taco Bell is giving kids a free taco and burrito for reading 10 books.

Disney on Ice is giving kids a free pass for Disney on Ice Sept 9-11th at the St. Pete Times forum for reading 5 books. Ask the librarian for your ticket.