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Summer Family Fun

(ARA) - Looking for exciting family adventures this summer, but don’t want to spend a ton of cash to make it happen? Diane Chernoff-Rosen, author of “The Grownup’s Guide: Visiting New York City with Kids,” has some big city ideas that will allow you to squeeze every ounce of family fun out of a few dollars not only in New York, but in any city or hometown.

“You don’t have to spend a lot of money to create summer fun for your family. Sometimes it’s the simplest of activities that are the most enjoyable,” says Chernoff-Rosen.

1. Go Exploring: Look at your community through the eyes of a tourist. Identify activities that you may not have been able to take advantage of with your family during the school year such as visiting the zoo, spending the day at the local children's museum, living it up at an amusement park or taking in a major or minor league baseball game.

2. Get in Touch with Nature: Every community’s parks and recreation department usually has a full calendar of environmentally-friendly events throughout the summer, like planting flowers, nature walks, bird watching or examining insect life. These events are typically inexpensive and often free.

3. Seize Special Events: Check out the local newspaper and parent paper for special summer events such as food festivals, children's concert series, storytelling, library programs or special outdoor performances.

4. Ride a Bike: Summertime is the perfect time to create that memorable experience of teaching your young child to ride a bike for the first time. Biking can also be a great family activity for children of any age; even the youngest child can tag along in an attachable bike seat or baby trailer. Explore local bike trails, parks and nature preserves and stay in shape at the same time.

5. Eating Out: Revitalize your family dinners by packing everything up and hosting a picnic in the park, the backyard, or even on the deck.

6. Create Lasting Memories: Encourage your children to keep up their writing skills without them even realizing it by having them maintain fun summer photo journals. Polaroid I-zone cameras create an instant way for your child to snap a photo and stick it into a journal. Have them write about who or what is in the photo and the activity it shows.

7. Start a Movie Book Club: A foolproof way to keep up dinner conversation is to select a common book that is either about to be released as a movie or has already been made into a movie. Once everyone has finished reading the book, go to the movie, or watch the video or DVD together and then compare the two.

8. Bake Off: Most children love to help out in the kitchen, so utilize the space as an indoor playground. Take the children to the grocery store to pick out favorite cookie, brownie or cake mixes and then spend a few hours making the special treats together. This activity can be a very rewarding experience for everyone involved.

9. Rainy Days: Don’t let rainy days dampen summer plans. Instead, stock up now on inexpensive art supplies, like construction paper, glue, paints, tissue paper and colorful modeling materials. By doing this, you will be able to have an impromptu arts and crafts day whenever it begins to rain. And don’t forget old favorites like bowling, board games, movies, or even a trip to the mall.

10. Do Nothing: With our continuously over-programmed days and hectic schedules, sometimes it’s nice to just do nothing and see where the day takes you. Unplanned moments may result in memories that will last a lifetime.

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