Inexpensive ways to enjoy the summer

Trying to keep your little ones entertained
(and out of your hair) in the summer
can be exhausting and expensive. Here
are a few new ideas to help you
keep your kids’ bodies and
brains active!

Get outside with the Neighbourhood Toy
Stores outdoor play App

The Neighbourhood Toy Stores app
was designed with one goal in mind:
Get. Kids. Active. The app provides
you with tons of ideas for how to
work kids’ muscles, minds and
imagination – outside. The app also
helps you find your nearest NETS
store so you can save time shopping
and get busy playing.

Michaels Passport to Imagination

This summer, Michaels craft stores have a solution
for parents looking to keep crafty hands busy.
The Passport to Imagination hosts craft events and
provides creative ideas to take kids’ imaginations
around the globe. They’ll travel to Mexico to make
a tissue paper flower or trek to Bangladesh to
create a tiger pin. July 8 until August 23, kids five
and up at Michaels locations across Canada. Drop-in
sessions are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,
$2 per child, per session. canada.michaels.com

Kids Bowl Free

By the time you pay for shoe rentals, book your time
in a lane, and get snacks and drinks, an afternoon of
bowling can be tough on the wallet. Luckily, this cross-
Canada initiative is exactly as it sounds. If your child fits
your participating centre’s age criteria, then they get
to bowl free! Registered kids receive two free games
of bowling per week all summer long – a total value
of $500 per child. To register your child(ren) or find a
bowling centre near you, visit kidsbowlfree.com.

Originally published in ParentsCanada magazine, July 2013.