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This guest post is brought to you by Lynnae McCoy of Beingfrugal.net. She loves to blog, especially about helping other get out of debt.

photo credit: goat_girl_photos

School is out for the summer and kids everywhere are rejoicing. But across the nation parents are scrambling to come up with activities to keep the kids busy, before free play turns into sibling bickering. If you’re looking for frugal summer activities to keep the kids active and out of trouble, these ideas should help you out.

Letterboxing

Letterboxing has been around for years and was a precursor to geocaching. But unlike geocaching, you don’t need expensive GPS equipment to participate in letterboxing. All you need is a rubber stamp to represent your family, an inkpad, a sketchbook, a pen, and an inexpensive compass.

Once you have your supplies, go to www.letterboxing.org to find letterboxes in your area. Follow the clues, find the box, and stamp your journal. If you like, take a picture of your family at the clue site and write an entry about your hike to find the clue. Your letterboxing journal will become a lasting reminder of your summer treasure hunts!

Disc Golf

Grab your frisbee, find a course, and take the kids out for a round of disc golf! The rules are much the same as regular golf, but instead of using a golf club and golf balls, you throw a frisbee at targets.

Most courses are free, so the only expense to play is the cost of your frisbees and the gas to get to the course. An added bonus to this activity is that many courses are in parks and wooded areas, so pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the scenery while you’re out.

An Old Fashioned Water Balloon Fight

Water balloon fights are great, because for less than five dollars you can occupy your kids for an entire afternoon. Buy a bag (or two or three) of water balloons, and let the kids fill the balloons themselves. If they like, they can fashion forts out of blankets, outdoor furniture, and play structures, so they have a place to hide their ammunition.

The kids will enjoy the water balloon war on a hot afternoon. It’s even more fun when parents play along, as most kids think there’s nothing funnier than hitting mom or dad with a water balloon. After all the water balloons have been launched and broken, put the kids to work cleaning up the yard. From start to finish, this activity can take hours.

Camping

Whether you need to plan a frugal vacation, or you just want the kids to have a fun night under the stars, camping is a summer activity most kids enjoy. If you have a free weekend, pack up your camping equipment and head to your favorite campground.

But even if camping isn’t your thing, the kids can enjoy the thrill of sleeping under the stars in your own backyard. No tent? No problem! Have the kids make a tent out of blankets and a tree. Get creative and roast marshmallows over the barbecue and tell stories by the light of a flashlight. Just make sure to leave the back door unlocked, in case your little campers get scared in the middle of the night.

Obstacle Course

If you’re worried that the kids aren’t getting enough exercise this summer, make it fun! Grab some ordinary objects from the yard and make an obstacle course. Have the kids run around chairs, crawl under tables and run through the sprinkler. Make the course as simple or as complicated as your kids’ ages allow.

When your course is put together and the kids understand the rules, time them with a stopwatch. Have them run the course a few times, trying to beat their best time. This will keep them occupied for a long while, while wearing them out, too. You’ll appreciate it at bedtime!

With a little creativity, it’s not difficult to find frugal ways to keep kids busy over the summer.

Related posts:

1. Crossing the Line from Frugal to Cheap