The Budget Bambino

In just a few short weeks, we’ll be saying good-bye to summer. Before the season gets away from you and your children, you might want to try a few of the following activities to celebrate summer and create some warm memories of these carefree days:

• Teach your child a new skill. Long days and lots of sunshine make summer the perfect time to teach your child to swim, skate, ride a bike, or jump rope. Let go of perfectionism and have fun!

• Go on a scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts are great because they can be done anywhere – a park, the beach, or your own backyard – and can be catered to your child’s interests. Simply create a list of things for your child to find and get going. You can use pictures of items for your pre-readers or clues or riddles for older children. Take a short cut by printing out the Beach Scavenger Hunt at FamilyFun.com.

• Have a hot dog and marshmallow roast. This can be as simple as starting up your charcoal grill or as elaborate as building a bonfire on the beach. Have your children find sticks and peel the bark from them to use as skewers for the hot dogs and marshmallows. Allow them to cook their own dinner and dessert (with close supervision, of course).

• Create a scrapbook of your summer. You can create your own scrapbook using art supplies you have on hand, or you can pick up an inexpensive scrapbooking kit like the All-In-One-Scrapbooking-Kit from Target for only $19.99. Have your children help pick out pictures and decorate the scrapbook pages to create a record of the special days you’ve spent together this summer.

Summer doesn’t last forever, but it’s not hard to create fun summer memories to last a lifetime!