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As we've entered June it's officially Summer.
So, as promised here is my list of 5 alternative and cheap things you can do with your toddler over the next few months!
Fruit Picking
I'm a country boy and one of my fondest memories as a child is going the Pick Your Own strawberry farm with my Mum and picking strawberries and raspberries by the punnet (or was that eating them).
This is a great way to kill a couple of hours, to pick up some healthy food and to begin to educate your children as to where their food comes from. Strongly recommended.
Later in the year we play a fun game in which we pick apples that fall from the apple tree that overhangs our garden and sort them between good apples (which I have used to make an apple pie) and bad apples which go in the brown bin.
Summer Fetes and Fairs
Another relatively low cost fun afternoon out and as we get into the summer there should be plenty of these going on. Whilst bigger country shows or fayres can cost £20 per head plus, we've found that you can have just as much fun at the free entry school fete, these are a great opportunity to let your toddler get used to crowds and to experience a huge range of sights and sounds.
We've done this before and found it a truly amazing experience to watch our son tapping his foot in time to a brass band playing movie scores and then start heckling them for "more music" in the interval betweeen songs! It's also a grat opportunity to meet friends in a slightly more relaxed environment and watch the fun that is toddlers at play.
Fun with nature
Again, this doesn't need to be expensive. Friends of the Earth this year have introduced their "Great British Bee Count" which runs to the end of June, a great and easy way to get kids involved in identifying visitors to the garden
If you live in a City, then our parks offer a huge range of fun activities and sites. Alternatively, City farms provide an fun, low cost and friendly morning out for the family.
Laundry Duties
Now that we've entered the stage of the year where we can hopefully get a whole morning, afternoon or evening, then the washing line comes to the fore. Our son likes helping me take the washing out and hang it on the line, which mostly involves playing with pegs! On subsequent checks to see if the clothes are dry, I ask my son to help me check if the clothes are dry by touching them himself.
Watering the plants
An obvious one really in many respects but with a little watering can, my son enjoys following me round the garden as I water the plants. Inevitably, everything gets soaked and we end up jumping up and down in puddles like a certain cartoon pig and her family but we enjoy it!
Hope this summer list gives you some low cost inspiration over the coming months.
Why not tell us about how you keep the kids entertained over the summer in the comments below and join us in a few months time for the Autumn edition of this blog!
This post is part of a series of seasonal things to do with your kids that are cheap or free. The Spring post is on our website at so come and have a look for this and more Keep a look out for the Autumn edition!