Cheap/Free Activities for SAHM's & Kids!

Gemma and I both get a little nutty if we spend too much time cooped up at home. At the same time it's entirely counter productive to go out and spend tons on fun activities when Brandon spends so much time away earning our one income. So, I made up a list of our favorite activities throughout the week that cost little or nothing and are a lot of fun!

1. The Park! (duh.)

Being that Gemma's the only one at home most of the time it's super important to me that she gets lots of social time with other kiddos, this is a great (& free) way to insure that happens regularly. If the weather is nice I will even pack a picnic for us or at least a snack! Bonus points if you can find one with a good splash pad during the summer!

2. The Children's Museum

Admission at our local children's museum is $5 per person and kids under 1 are free. When you (will) have four kids in the summer that's a pretty great deal! I swear they could play here for hours so we definitely get our money's worth! You can also take advantage of the free family nights at The Houston Children's Museum every thursday! Bonus: It's indoors so we stay out of the heat in summer!

3. The Zoo

The Houston Zoo has free days the first Tuesday of every month except during peak season. (Which means we can go to the zoo three more times until June for free!) Their membership program is also a great deal if it's something that you and your family enjoy.

4. Story Time at The Library

This is a weekly thing for us. Gemma enjoys the stories and songs and I enjoy the chance to exchange her books for new ones while she's distracted! Totally for free! We also do Summer Reading when the big kids are with us.

5. Cooking/Baking
Jaden loves to help in the kitchen and she's getting to the age now that she is actually a big help to me. She has to be willing and in the right mood though! Sometimes during the summer she will pick a recipe from Pinterest (usually something simple) and make our lunch. Even Gemma loves to work the buttons on the mixer and pour ingredients into the mixing bowl!

6. Farmer's Market

We haven't been to the one here but this was something the kids really loved when we lived in Louisiana. I guess it's all the people or maybe the sno cones! There is lots of neat stuff to see and it's always nice to be out in the sunshine.

7. Visit Grandparents

We try to do this weekly with my Grandmother & Grandfather because they live literally five minutes away. The time together is good for both Gemma and them and it's adorable to see them all together. Grandparents are special and I was really close to mine when I was little. It's pretty awesome to see them with my kid now!

8. Home Depot KidCraft Workshop
We've admittedly never tried this one before but I always hear great things about it! They even do holiday themed workshops... Pretty cute!

9. Arts & Crafts at Home
When Brandon was painting our house he bought a huge roll of painters paper from Home Depot which is essentially just craft paper... The kids love to roll it out on the porch and paint or draw. It's big enough for them to sit, stand or lay on so they get super creative with it. It's hours of cheap fun for them!

10. Water play at Home
Outside toys can be really pricey, especially when a lot of them only last one summer in the Texas Sun! The Dollar Store is the answer! Our kids are obsessed with Water Balloons and will play with them everyday (if Brandon and I are willing to fill a million and five balloons that are gone in three seconds!) We haven't tried this awesome solution to that problem yet but we will over spring break! We use a tarp and dish soap to improvise a slip n slide and there's usually an inflatable kiddie pool in the cabinet from clearance racks last summer! The kids love sprinklers we already have and dollar store buckets to dump freezing water on each other's heads! The thing that I spend the most on for this activity is probably sunscreen... or maybe popsicles...

Happy Weekend!
XOXO
Miranda

P.S. Counting down the days until Summer!