100+ Free Things to do this summer

Ahhh.....summer break! Although I have the kids at home fighting all day I am SO happy to have the reprieve from all the meetings, clubs, appointments & etc. I still like to keep us busy and there are a million lists of free things to do. I've really thought mine through and listed only things that are free or you should have around the house. We will be doing a few of these each week and I will post pictures, free printables and more to go along with them, so make sure you check back! Plus later in the week I will be posting a list of Cheap things to do for summer and a list of things for mom.

THINGS TO MAKE

1. Check out and make Flat Stanley
2. An indoor or outdoor obstacle course
3. Write and Illustrate your own story book
4. Make Pet/Monster/Picnic Blanket Rocks
5. Rainbow crayons from your old crayons
6. Paper planes
7. A Scrapbook
8. Puzzles/mazes
9. A home movie
10. Goop, Play-dough, or finger paints
11. Popsicles, cupcakes, cookies
12. Make a flip book
13. Have a lego or block building contest
14. Leaf rubbings
15. Trace your bodies in chalk and then decorate yourself
16. A tent
17. A Kite
18. Press flowers and make them into stationary/cards
19. A Sundial
20. Hats or masks
21. Start a summer diary to remember all this awesomeness!
22. Your own music video to your favorite song
23. A comic book
24. A Time capsule
25. S'Mores
26. A collage
27. Silhouette Cameos. Make them of yourselves, then try toys and more.
28. A dream board
29. Your own board game

THINGS TO DO

1. Geocaching
2. Letterboxing
3. Find a pen pal and write them a letter. Try Students of the World or PenPal World. Always monitor your child's correspondence and be careful when giving out personal information online.
4. Make a card and send it to a family member or friend
5. Have a sleepover
6. Volunteer. VolunteerMatch.org is my favorite to use.
7. Visit the pet store
8. Have a treasure/scavenger hunt
9. Catch bugs (and let them go)
10. Go on a Park Passport tour (this printable will be available soon!)
11. Explore the neighborhood
12. Feed ducks, birds and squirrels at the park (I know you aren't supposed to feed them but don't we all?)
13.  Join your local library's summer reading program, also Barnes and Noble, Pottery Barn, Sylvan (bonus they test the kids after they've read the book so you know they aren't cheating ;) Pizza Hut Book-It (TONS of printables relating to specific books and lots more) Half Price Books.com (earn a $5 credit woo hoo)
14. Go to a story time
15. Make prank calls to family and friends (ONLY the ones who will be OK with it)
16. Complete 5 random acts of kindness
17. Take the dog for a walk
18. Hunt for four leaf clovers
19. Have a family awards ceremony
20. Have a photo prop session. The Party Event has tons of ideas you can use.
21. Trace pictures from a book and then color them in
22. Copy a famous painting
23. Go on a hike
24. Take your favorite toy on an adventure. Take pictures of it in the grocery store, the park, & etc. At the end of summer you can make a photo book of everywhere it went.
25. Have a birthday party for your pet or favorite toy
26. Donate some of your old books to the children's hospital
27. Go on a picnic
28. Find a free concert in the park
29. Plant Seeds
30. Read a Dr. Seuss book backwards (Hilarious!)
31. Have a toy/book/clothing swap party
32. Find a free VBS
33. Download the Storia App and get 5 free e-books
34. Find a book that has been made into a movie. Spend a week or so reading the book then watch the movie and see how they compare.
35. Find an episode of one of your favorite shows on YouTube, or something "vintage" like Smurfs- a personal fav of mine
36. Star gaze, learn the constellations and the moon phases
37. Make up your own holiday
38. Find a local free day event
39. Have a tea party
40. Camp in your back yard
41. Find a free factory tour
42. Earn some Chuck E Cheese tokens
43. Have a pajama day, even let them go to the store like that (like we don't already do this right?)
44. Paint with water
45. Join Postcrossing and exchange post cards all over the world.
46. Join Swapbot. You can search for swaps just for kids. NOTE: there will be some shipping depending on the swap so keep that in mind.

THINGS TO PLAY

1. Tic Tac Toe
2. Bingo
3. Have a Pillow Sack Race
4. Have friends over for a playdate
5. Go Fish
6. Play in the sprinkler
7. Have a dance party
8. Make and have a puppet show
9. Play Memory
10. Old Maid
11. Sing Karaoke
12. Play School House (ironic kids like to play this in the summer!)
13. Make your own Summer Olympics
14. Hot potato
15. Play Car Wash (BONUS your car gets clean!)
16. Dress Up
17. Have a Fake Accent Day
18. Jump Rope
19. Hopscotch
20. Play mahjong online (or find another free game)
21. Charades
22. Have a family/neighborhood talent show
23. Tag/freeze tag
24. Truth or Dare
25. Jacks
26. Hangman

THINGS TO LEARN

1. How to Zentangle. Tanglepatterns.com is my favorite site.
2. How to skip rocks
3. Research another country/religion
4. Learn useful phrases in a new language
5. Learn basic sign language
6. A new song
7. Origami
8. A magic trick
9. Juggling
10. Tying knots
11. Bird Watching
12. How to play chess
13. A new word every day
14. A new math fact every day
15. Teach your kiddos the basics of your computer, Word programs & etc.
16. Pig Latin
17. How to meditate
18. Learn kitchen measurements, cups, teaspoons, gallons, ounces & etc.
19. The rules to a new sport, or one you love
20. A new craft- painting, sewing, knitting, drawing, etc.

NATIONAL FREEBIES
Check with your local place to be sure before you go
Home Depot- Free kids workshop 1st Saturday of every month
Lowe's- Build & Grow classes for kids
Michael's- Lot's of different free in-store make and take projects
Toys R Us has free events every now & then
The Disney Store has occasional events. Check your local store for events
Lakeshore Learning- Free crafts for kids every Saturday
Pottery Barn free events
Lego Store Free monthly mini model build and other events. These are insanely popular so check with your local store to see if they hand out tickets before hand or how early you need to show up.
The Apple store teaches classes and has learning camps on occassion
American Girl store offers crafts & fun events
Bass Pro Shop offers crafts and lots of fun events


Phew! I worked my tush off on this list! If you have more ideas send them my way. Don't forget to come back for the list of cheap fun and treats just for mom.