Summer Fun on a Budget

by: Taylor Abrahamsen

Summer is around the corner and with-it hours more each day of time for children to play! This can be the most exciting time of the year, yet potentially the most stressful in ensuring constant fun for children to enjoy, places to go, and screens to avoid. Even more so this year and we worry about how much contact we should allow our children to have with others. Some planning ahead and research can help relieve that stress and create a great summer ahead for your family to enjoy! Enjoy some time inside and out of the house together with a few households supplies you can turn your home into a summer camp style paradise that your children will eagerly await each day. Consider even creating the ultimate summer fun list that the kids can decorate and enjoy selecting and completing fun activities each day without the need to struggle with them to get out and play! Check out this chart to see some great family fun ideas:

Outdoor Fun

•Have a picnic •Camp out and make S'mores •Build a sandcastle in a play pool in your yard (use same pool for a waterslide at the bottom of your slide) •Project a movie onto a white wall or sheet in the yard •Make a sidewalk chalk mural •Set up a bike and toy cars wash •Learn how to identify constellations

Crafts Together

•Make sponge water bombs •Make homemade moon sand or playdough •Make a rain gutter river and boat contest •Paint with squirt guns on canvas •Paint with bubbles on paper •Cardboard box fort •Paint with ice (ice tray/tempera paint) •Make an ultimate road trip map around the US

Cooking Activities

•Host a cookout •Water gun war through the backyard •Homemade popsicles •Make summer treats using jello and other yummies around the house •Have a lemonade stand

Places to go

•Go to the splashpad •Go to the drive in •Visit the park for a scooter day •Watch fireworks at six flags •Make a local park map and pin them when you visit •Check out kids workshops at hardware and craft stores (many are free!)

Games to Play

•Shaving cream twister •Giant dice backyard •Yahtzee •Kickball tournament •A-Z scavenger hunt •Nature scavenger hunt •Stage a summer Olympics with races, hurdles, and relays •Have a backyard carnival ((face painting, games, ring toss) •Bike riding contest or relay •Water balloon baseball •Trampoline sprinkler •Make a yard luau In addition to having fun around the house, it’s nice to be able to explore! Several places in our area are free or low cost and provide a wonderful way to learn more about the city’s history and the natural beauty around us. New Braunfels is a wonderful place to share with your family this summer season. Many know of the iconic locations like the Comal River and Schlitterbahn but there is plenty more fun to be had, and many free options! Visiting the river can be a blast, but the Comal mid-summer can be more like an island of people than a river. Consider going to the Guadalupe! As one of the largest rivers it provides an oasis of life and great way to cool off with your family. Located on the Guadalupe, Gruene, is a historical city inside New Braunfels, and a beautiful place to travel to and take a walk about with your family. Have a furry member of the family? Bring them along to the New Braunfels dog park, a huge gated area perfect for your pet to play and children to burn energy. All around the Texas Hill Country there are free parks, places, and historical sites to engage your children during the summer months and provide them with learning opportunities away from screens. San Antonio is home to several wonderful parks including: Brackenridge Park, Hardberger Park, and McAllister Park which even offers free exercise classes for the family to enjoy. Several historical sites around town include the Missions National Historical Park, The Alamo, historical River Walk, and more provide a great way to see what the found of San Antonio looked like and a day of history for your family to share. Make this summer with your family not just a break from school but a fun filled way to learn and laugh together! With a little planning you can get out and active on a budget and create lasting memories for your family to share forever.

Happy Summer!