Things to do for free - Summer issue

We know how hard it is as parents of children of all ages to keep your children amused and busy in the summer without spending a fortune, so we thought it might be helpful to publish some of the ideas we have collected.

There are ideas for indoors, outdoors, local events and places to visit. We hope you will find them useful. Please let us know and share with other local parents any other ideas you have by posting them on our discussion boards, it would be great to have some new fresh ideas!

· Rainy day walks - Get togged up in your macs, wet weather gear and wellies and head outside for a fun, revitalising walk in the rain. Children will adore splashing in the puddles and with most people sheltering away from the rain, you're likely to have most of the streets to yourself.

· Water painting - Fill up a bucket of water and give your child a big paintbrush that they can use to paint the house, shed, patio, bricks....they'll love watching the water stain everything a different colour and going back over the bits they've missed.

· Make a cardboard house - A couple of big cardboard boxes (one for the building, one for the roof) is all you really need to create a mini child-friendly house and your children will adore decorating it with pens, paints, glitter and crayons. If there's space in their rooms, you could move it upstairs and let their toys live in it for a week or two, plus they'll love showing it off to all their friends.

· Set up your own restaurant - Decide on a three course meal and ask your children to create proper menus with prices. They can dress the table and ask dad to take his seat when he returns from work.

· Treasure hunt - Depending on your children's ages, place between 5-10 clues in the house or garden each with activities on lasting around ten minutes. These can be anything from painting each others faces to building a tower and having a quick drinks break (you could place the items they need to complete their task next to the clue). Once the hunt is finished, each child can win a small prize or decide on which games they want to play next.

· Washing the car - They'll enjoy washing the car clean with sponges and foam and you could set them tasks, such as cleaning certain sections of the car within a minute.

· Write a diary - You can encourage older kids to keep a record of their favourite days, moments and activities throughout the summer. Postcards and photographs can be stuck to the pages, plus little mementos of days out (shells, leaves etc).

· Planting - Plant orange and apple seeds in cut off plastic bottles then decorate the bottles with paper, tinfoil, felt pens and glitter. It's wonderfully creative and equally rewarding when the seeds start to grow.

· Camping - If you've got a tent, why not pitch it in your back garden and camp out for the night? This is a great activity for dads to do and kids will love the anticipation of helping to put the tent up, making their beds and putting any toys or books inside. You could add to the experience by cooking their tea on a little camping stove or barbecue and serving it up in plastic bowls.

· Obstacle course in the garden - Ask your children to help you create their very own obstacle course with ropes, hoops and toys that they can wheel around the garden. You can time them and set them a challenge to try and best their original time.

· Picnics - This family activity is lots of fun for kids and the best thing about it is you don't even need to leave your back garden! Ask the children to help you make the sandwiches and choose which fruit and vegetables they'd like to eat. You could even bake a cake the night before to add to the anticipation...easy, free fun to be enjoyed by all.

· Local library - The library is a great place to show them new books and encourage them to explore the shelves for new characters, stories and topics. Most libraries also offer a story time, a great source of entertainment for young children and a good opportunity to meet other kids in the area. They can also take part in team read - this summers new reading challenge, for more information visit: http://www.citylibraries.info/ChildrenandYoungPeoplesEvents.asp

· Fly a kite - Kite flying is a traditional past-time that provides entertainment and enjoyment for all the family (not to mention a thorough workout). Pick a windy day and head to somewhere with a bit of space and hilly like the downs or stanmer park for a kite flying session to remember. You could take a flask of warm hot chocolate as a treat and time the children to see how long they can keep the kite in the air for.

· Blackberry picking - Give each child a container and go on a blackberry picking mission! Children will love to see how many they can collect and you can use the blackberries to make a delicious pie for dinner. It's a great way to enjoy seasonal food and it doesn't cost a penny.

· Visit the pet shop - Pet shops are lovely places for children to learn about animals, they way they smell, sound and move so if you find yourself free of an afternoon why not pop along for a visit? Parrots are a great source of entertainment and the colourful fish will entrance children of all ages.

· Make puppets - Using an old sock or glove create puppets such as a donkey, spider or an octopus. Sew on beads for eyes, felt for ears, mouth etc.

· Make a jigsaw - Stick a picture or poster onto some card. Cut into pieces and you've made a new jigsaw puzzle.

· Start a dressing up box - Fill a cardboard box with silly hats, old clothes and costume jewellery from charity shops and homemade masks.

· Go somewhere different - Visit an airport or a harbour, a train station or a farm.

· Make up a dance routine - Have your kids choose their favourite band and song