Free stuff to keep the kids occupied at home.
Cotton reels - ideal for little kids, can be stacked or strung. Save them up until you've got a load - ask grannies and other people who sew to keep them for you so you get loads of them. You can also play rolling races with them or use them in craft projects.
Buttons. Lots of people used to keep a button tin where all the clothes being throw away were stripped of their buttons. You can make pretty pictures arranging buttons on a sheet of card. You can also use them like beads to make a necklace!
Card, paper, felt and fabric scraps can all be used to make collages and cards. Cutting and sticking is a favourite past time for many young children and being creative is so much fun. Only requires card and glue to keep people busy for hours. If you've got no glue then flour and water mixed makes a good substitute! Keep your cutting and sticking box stocked with magazines, newspaper, feathers, shiny papers. Even sweet papers can be worth saving if they're coloured transparent wraps - these are great for creating a stained glass window effect.
Cardboard boxes are brilliant for playing games with. If you can get your hands on a large cardboard box then you have yourself a racing car, a rocket or even a sweet shop! Versatile and easy to decorate and can be recycled when it gets too scruffy.
A trip to the library can provide free to borrow books and cheap hire of DVDs and even computer games and CDs! It's a good habit to get kids into too!
Look out for free play sessions organised by the local council during school holidays. There will be play days for younger kids and sports opportunities and drama available at many local councils in the UK.
Teaching the kids how to garden is a simple summer activity that they'll really enjoy. Growing anything from cress, which is ultra easy, to lettuce or tomatoes! You just need to give them a space in the garden and show them how to plant seeds and they can have hours of fun planting and weeding and watering.
Even cleaning can be an activity that keeps the kids busy for an hour or so. Most little kids love dusting and as long as you've not got really delicate ornaments then you can let them loose with a duster! Washing the car is a great thing for kids to help with. They can have a lot of fun with the hosepipe, although expect to get very wet! It's a good game to play on a hot sunny day! All sorts of everyday tasks can be a fun game for a small child. Going for a walk to post some letters can be even more fun if they've written granny a letter!
