How convenient is that last one? The one month of the year when the kiddos are out of school the entire month (yes, our public schools around here go on up into June and then start back in August). So, the whole month with nothing to do… that about works out correctly.
Well, those of us who homeschool, boredom is not really an option… if we get bored, we can always start school- or finish it - whatever the case may be for the current year! I seldom here I’m bored around here. Mainly, because we try to keep busy, doing mostly fun, but educational things as well. But also, because they know my answer to them when they mention how they have nothing to do… I can usually find them something… if not school related, then I am SURE there are a few extra chores that can be done!!
Ok, back to the keeping busy part… I have seen lists in various places around the web. I read over them, but mostly thing - we don’t have time for that! Since we seem to stay pretty busy, I decided to share with you all a list of the things we do. Please, keep in mind that we are in a weird area of the state- we are centrally located close to Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Jacksonville, Cabot, Maumelle and even Conway… that opens up many options for us (4 city libraries, plus about 12 county ones` We could go for days on library programs alone!). Here a some ideas that you can check out and adjust for your city.
Library programs - check into your local one(s), as well as what is offered in the next town over. Most places, you do not have to be a member of or have a card to show up and sit and watch whatever they are presenting.
Swimming pools - most of these you do have to be a member of, or there is a small fee. Think about the next town over as well with these - pack a lunch and make a day trip of it to head over to check out their pool… a few extra dollars won’t hurt, especially if they have a cool pool!
Movie theaters - we have a local $1 theater, but in the summer time there are 3 others within 30 minutes of us that have summer $1 movies - granted they are last years movies, but if you are cheap like me, then they are new to you! One theater offers the same movie 2 days per week with $1 coke and popcorn, another one offers 2 different movies two days a week. There have been plenty of options. We have been hitting about 2 movies a week- ones that I haven’t seen!
Children’s Museums - yeah, they can be a little pricey, but sometimes they have cool programs that are totally worth the cost.
Area landmarks - we are about 30 minutes from Little Rock, the state capital. There are several FREE things to do in LR- tour the capital, the old state house, historic museum. There are also some pretty neat things that are a few bucks, but neat to see - Clinton Library, Central High, trolley tours - just to name a couple. How far are you from the capital? It is worth checking into to see what all is free, or cheap and making a day trip that way.
And we can’t forget the staples, bowling and skating. Think about this one on the hottest days! Think about how cool it is in these places- worth shelling out a few bucks to be that cold for a couple hours!
Finally, I will go ahead and add the costly ones… we are fairly close to a water park and not to far away from an amusement park… if you got the extra cash and can handle the heat - it certainly keeps the boredom away!
Our HS group goes skating once a month and they have it set up for $3 per child and we can bring our own drinks and snacks. If you get a group together, there is a discount at most places! This is true for most any museum. Start asking your friends…
Oh, and since it is National Ice Cream Month - make a pact to try out any and all ice cream places that are fairly close to you. We have a Cold Stone, Maggie Moo’s, Scrumdilityuptous, Three Flamingos, TCBY and a Chicago Joes that I can think of off the top of my head!
After posting this, I found
