Free (Or Close to It) Summer Time Activities

On Tuesday June 17th at 11 AM on the lower outside level of Union Station there is going to be an event honoring dairy farmers hosted by Borden Cheese. There will be a calf that the kids can feed with a bottle and pet and some other fun activities.

Hi J.,
You can make this has free projects every week that you can make with your kids. It's the section called Kids can make this. Here is a part of their blog.

And the second piece of news is that we are opening a new section of the site called, “KIDS Can Make This!” Beginning in June, visit our site each week for a new FREE project download that you can do with your children! That’s right…KIDS can make this, too! We’ve read your comments and know how much you enjoy sharing your love of learning something new, with your own children and grandchildren. So we’re going to help you create some fun memories (oh,and a fun project, too!) each week this Summer.

Here is the web address. http://www.youcanmakethis.com/index.htm?cxaaffrefcodea=10... kathymize
They have lots of different projects for you to do, like sewing, knit, crochet, scrapbooking, beading, quilting, painting, photography, hair accessories, home decor, woodworking, and more. I love this website, and it just keeps getting better. THe first project for kids to make is paper bag mini books.
Hope you enjoy it, K.

There are a couple of really cool parks.
Tower Grove Park has a cool water sprinkler/pool with a playground close by.
Tilles Park has a connected water sprinkler/pool with a connected playground. Both are free.
You could also buy some disc golf discs (like frisbees but a little different) and take up disc golf. The courses are free and all around the city. If you look up disc golf courses, Saint Louis, MO on google, you'll find some really cool stuff.
Gardening could be cool, too, even if you don't have a garden. Just use pots!

ON Sundays at 130 or so, at the art museum there's a free craft and tour of an exhibit that goes along with the craft. this is all year long, but summer too.

hello-

my family and i have loved the free concerts at the botanical gardens on wednesday nights. you get to bring all your own food and drinks (even coolers for cocktails). it is completetly casual. we bring swim-suits for the kids to run through the fountain in the lehman rose garden. you can sit anywhere- so the kids can go nuts without bothering the die hard music listners.

we bring- cooler on wheels, chairs and blankets, swimsuits/change of clothes for kids, BUGSPRAY, and comfy shoes as parking is at a premium and sometimes requires a little walking.

for details check out the whittaker music series at www.mobot.org

When my boys were around the same age we sat down together and made list of themes, colors, animals, cars, bubbles. We put each theme in the jar and would pick one out then have activities all day or sometimes all week if the theme was broad enough. When we did bubbles we found a recipe for bubbles and made a lot. We took lots of different things outside- slotted spoons, strainers, whatever we thought we could make bubbles with and expiramented with them. When we had lunch we cut the food into circles to stay with the theme, for dinner we had meatballs. Just have fun with it. If they like books the library has summer reading programs that reward the children for books or minutes read. If you attend a church they might have a summer VBS planned. or a lot of times even a church that is close to your home will let anyone attend. Thats a good way to meet some new people. Just remember to have fun and enjoy the time with them while they are young. They grow up so fast. Mine are 21,17 and 14. It seems a couple of summers ago they were a lot younger.

My sisters & I are currently making a list & schedule of "free or close to free" things to do this summer also. We have talked about the cheap movies in the mornings at most theaters. One of the things the kids are most excited about is a day of "Park hopping" there are all kinds of parks everywhere - not just swings & slides, but nature parks - we will pack a lunch & snacks!! We also love to go to the different State & County parks that have walking trails & lakes. We can fish, ride bikes, rollerblade, swim, etc.... We probably will do the Ride & Slide passes to Worlds of Fun & Oceans of Fun because they do pay for themselves in a few visits, plus you do not feel like you have to spend the entire day to get your $ worth. We can go at the "odd" times of the day & stay for just a little while if it gets busy, or stay for a long time if we like!!! There are a lot of things out there to do for not much $ - you just have to think about it & get out & do it!!! Have a fun Summer!!!

depending on where you live, this might be a bit of a drive but there is a resturant in Paola, KS called We-B-Smokin. It was recently featured on Food Network's "Dinners, Drive-ins, and Dives". The resturant is the airport so you can watch small airplanes coming in and out. You can even go out and see them up close. Thier BBQ is amazing but their breakfast is just like grandma used to make! Prices are cheap and portions are HUGE! We went a few weeks ago and there was an antique war plane that even did a mini-airshow when they left. Not sure who had more fun that day, my daughter, husband, or Papa!!!!!

Go to any of the local lakes and go fishing!! especially with boys. If you just let your boys fish... then you don't need a fishing license, unless you start to fish and then you
will. And if you don't like WORMS (i don't) use hotdogs!!!!

Wonderscope in Shawnee has been very helpful in the past, as well as the Johnson county museum, AND the TOY and Miniture museum is fun and inexpensive. Kalediscope at Crown center is free, but I believe your younger boys maybe too young.

My daughter's 8, and for the last few summers we've taken one day a week (a weekday, not weekend) to go do something fun. Weekday's are the best time to go places! She loves the History Museum and the Art Museum. They are both free - parking and admission. The History Museum has lots of kid friendly, hands-on things for the little ones. On Tuesdays any special 'pay to see' exhibit is free. The Art Museum has the mummy exhibit and the "knight-in-shining-armor" exhibit that the boys might like. Neither of those places get too crowded or crazy. We also like Laumeier Sculpture Park when it's not blistering hot outside. At home she is easily occupied for hours with water in any shape or form, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk. Not necessarily all at the same time!

J.-
Depending on where you live, there is a great play place in Wentzville. It is called playtimepartycenter.com, it is the cleanest, friendlist, indoor play place that I have ever found. It has a seperate toddler/big kids area with lots of fun games for all ages. It is free to get in but I believe that they have just instituted a $6.00 charge either for coins or food, not a bad deal for hours of clean, fun, playtime!! Go to their website and check them out.
Tks T.

There is Powder Valley Nature Center - it is free and has wonderful walking trails. Take Hwy 44 east to Lindbergh exit - Take a right on Lindbergh then a right on Watson Road. You will then take a right on Sugar Creek Road (I think that is the name of the road) and you will see the sign to turn left on Powder Valley road - then just look for the sign to the center. Also, there is Lone Elk Park and the World Bird Sanctury in Valley Park. My son and I have also been going to different parks to play. There is also a great walking trail in Washington - called the river walk - it's off by the picnic area on the river. All these are free. There is also a great train store in Fenton call the Whittle Shoreline railroad. The kids can go in and play with train tables. There is no charge to go in, they do have a donation kettle. They sell all kinds of train cars, books, puzzles. Also, the malls usually have a summer film festival for the kids (not sure if it is free or very cheap) Hope this helps!

I take my son to the lake, and feed the fish off the dock. You can take old crackers, bread, chips, etc.

My sister just told me that Wehrenberg and AMC Theatres have free kids movies every Wednesday and Thursday. They are shown at 10 am and noon. The movies are a little older, but it is a great treat to spend the morning or afternoon in a nice AC building! Right now, I think they are showing movies like Alvin and the Chipmunks and Charlotte's Web.

I do not know where you live but the Mills Mall has a nice play ground inside as well as an ice rink and then there is Nascar Park. I have yet to be able to go in there. My husband is too afraid that he will end up having to watch our 19 month old if he lets me in there. There is also going to the park early in the morning to play on the playground or going to different schools in your area to let the boys play on the play grounds, however you need to be sure that Summer school is not being held at that school before you go. My daughter loves the playground at the Mills mall it is bigger and better than the one at Crestwood.

I don't know where you live but if you are in the KC area. You can go to the big sprinklers across the street from Crown Center. It is free.

Take them to Kaleidoscope which is also in the area and is part of Hallmark. It is a fun place for kids and very creative and it's free.

Deanna Rose petting zoo in Olathe, KS is a great zoo for your kids ages and is free. Just bring a lot of quarters to feed the animals.

Oceans of Fun is a waterpark and isn't that crowded and if you want to invest in passports/going 3 times will pay for them. You can also get discount tickets at any price chopper store. It is more crowded on Saturdays but during the week it's not bad at all. The pools seem more crowded than the waterpark.

Camping and fishing is cheap once you have all the fishing gear (baits, poles, etc.) Boys especially love this. My 8 year old can't get enough of fishing. We go for hours and he never gets bored. I take a book to read and let him fish because I get bored faster than he does when it comes to fishing.

My kids and I probably could have spent a whole summer at the pool. If you feel you have to take them places, why not just load up some lunch, plenty of water,bats, balls, frisbees, a sketch pad, journal,camera? etc and turn them lose at a good park with a playground. Take a book for yourself and a small first aid kit. I hated to leave the park just because of a small cut that just needed a kiss and bandaid.

Pack a picnic and go to the park. Take along toys for the day. Go outside and paint. Take several things of yarn, go outside and you tie the yarn to something and then just start stringing all around the yard. Wrap it around the swingset, trees, anything that is out there. You make this crazy looking spider web maze thing. The kids then try to go through it. Check out your local library. I know ours has story hour and other fun activities during the summer. Hope some of this helps.

Summer time walks. Leaf collecting. And sometimes we go to the country and follow with them and see what and how they explore. It is a great learning experience for them and you to see how your kids take in their surroundings. Go to St. Joe's park and bike or draw on the concrete with chalk. Learn survival tricks like using a cumpass but only where you know where you are. Don't go somewhere where you could really get lost. Just play. From one location back to your home. Have fun M. F.

I saw someone mentioned the concerts at MO botanical gardens. There are many other parks/venues that do free music - some even do movies. One great way to find out what's going on in St. Louis is on metromix.com. You can search different events in st. Louis. Good luck.

Let them paint on the sidewalks with water or use an old dish soap bottle to squirt water to draw pictures on the sidewalks. Also, there are all kinds of recipes on the Internet for different things kids can make (or you can make for them) that only use cheap household ingredients. Homemade silly putty is really fun, and you can make it any color you want. Try peanut butter play dough and raisins for a snack one day.
I'll bet if you Google those phrases, you'll get all kinds of great stuff.

We enjoy hiking. There's always a lot to see. Also my son who is 4 LOVES fishing. He will sit for hours and cast and reel it in.

We have 5 kids 10,10,7,6,and 2! I know all about inexpensive family fun! We go camping! I know it's not for everyone, but we love it.

I always like to pack a picnic lunch and head to a local park for a outdoor picnic and play on the playground day. I have heard that there is really nice park near the butterfly house, though I haven't been there myself and there is a nice park in Arnold just before the Meramec bridge that sits next to a pond where you can feed the ducks. Sometimes we just take sandwiches and sit at any picnic table or sometimes we sit at a table with a grill, make a fire and roast hotdogs and marshmallows and say that we are "day camping" (without the night camping part!). As for another activity, we plan play dates with friends and the kids classmates. The moms take turns hosting the once a week play date, plan an activity for the kids and then spend some of the time just letting the kids play while we chat and visit. We have several families that get together and not everyone can make every play date, so we always have a variety of different kids together to play. These things help to break up the long days of summer for me and my kids. Hope this helps!

wherenberg and amc have free movies during the week - check out their websites for times and theatres - there is also a place called Woody's - I believe in the Life Christian Church off highway 30 near 270 that has free area to play. Purina Farms (about 20 minutes) from 44 and 270 is free and you can probably spend about 3 hours there.

Wish I still had that age....
Parks....hiking, fishing...some local lakes rent rowboats for 5 dollars for the day...bike riding on trails (don't have to worry aobut cars)....and who cares if you only go half a mile LOL.....pack snacks...drinks....
The pool...we always did passes...
that way if we where only there for an hour no big deal.
My DK's are now 18, 17 and 15 and well they really don't need me so much so for entertainment anymore.
Barb

My kids love to go out and take photos with me. You know the artsy ones that don't have to have a specific subject. The confluence is a nice place to walk and look at all the different birds and the water etc.

Check out the libraries around you. Ours have all kinds of fun stuff for ALL ages. Bonus, they're ALL free! Also, we have a nature center, which is also free, at least the last time I checked they were. I called and they put me on their mailing list so I see 2 months of activities at one time so I can plan ahead. Hope this helps!

There is the butterfly house and a merry go round there. Lone Elk park off 44 is awesome. Pack a lunch and have a picnic. take a frisby or ball to toss. Then as you leave there is a section you stay in the car and see wild animals. Elk, Buffalo, much more. Arts and crafts are a great way to entertain.

no ideas, just wanted to see others' suggestions!