Summer Fun Without Spending a Ton

We're just two weeks into Summer vacation in Brooklyn and already I can hear cries of, "Mom, I'm bored" ringing throughout the neighborhood. In my circle, I've become the "go to" person for activity planning because I'm always seeking out free or low cost activities to keep me and my five year old daughter busy. My friends are amazed when I tell them I was out all day and only spent train fare and $2 for an ice. Of course, I always try to pack a sandwich, juice or water and some snacks to have on hand to avoid spending too much on food that always seems to be overpriced, and just plain unappealing.

Every week I take a few minutes to look online to see what's happening in my area. There are many websites that list events, many free - it just takes a few minutes to research. A popular site that has listings for many cities is http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/

Sometimes it's just too hot to be outside but you still want to get out of the house, and for those days your local library is a great place to cool off. Many libraries offer kids programs such as arts and crafts, story time, and also a weekly Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program where your children can earn free books. Most museums offer free admission days and some are free all the time. For example, the Brooklyn Children's Museum just changed their free day from Wednesdays to certain weekends to accommodate working parents. Also many book stores host a weekly story time for kids. All is takes is a few minutes of your time each week and you can plan activities that are fun and won't break the bank.

Using the internet I go to local zoos, aquariums, parks, botanic gardens and museums websites and I look to see if they offer free admission days or if they have any events going on. By doing this I have discovered that two local parks offer weekly kids events absolutely free. For my New Yorker's reading, those parks are Union Square and Madison Square Park. Although this site is specific to Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island and Queens, I just have to mention it because it's my absolute favorite website for finding things to do http://newyorkkids.timeout.com/

Nothing beats a day spent playing in the sprinklers at the local park, but for times when you want to do something a little different, just type phrases like this into your search engine: "free kids events in your city" or "free things to do in your city". By doing this, I always find something interesting to do. Also don't forget good old fashioned person to person networking is a great tool for finding out what's going on around your way. By just talking with other moms, I found out that a local movie theater had a day where for a few hours, admission was free for kids movies that had been out for a while.

I hope that by using these tips, you find many fun things to do with your kids this Summer!

While you're online, for some dope tunes and more, check out Brooklyn's own Tah Phrum Duh Bush http://tahonline.com/home/home.htm