Free things to do in the summer!

Summer always makes me think of day trips out and they always seem to cost the earth. So with that in mind, I started looking at things we could do for free over the summer months.

One of the things we have always loved doing together is going for a walk. Usually, more recently this involves a trip to the swings and slide, but I honestly think Harry likes the actual walk just as much as the swings and slide! It’s a chance for him to run around like the monkey he is. Harry definitely takes after Sam with his love of being outdoors!

We tend to make the walks a little more interesting for Harry, now he’s a little older and also making it a little more educational – although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with just letting him run free across the fields sometimes! We like to point out the wildlife in the park as Harry is obsessed with animals and discuss what noises we think all of the different animals make.

Another suggestion I had from Victoria at travelvixta.com/ was to Go for a nature walk and collect leaves and flowers to do leaf rubbings and press the flowers to make pictures – which sounds like a brilliant idea and one I know Harry would absolutely love. This would be a great idea for all seasons too – not restricted to just the summer months!

We are incredibly lucky to be able to afford to rent a house with a garden – I say lucky, Sam would never live anywhere without a garden – and so sometimes we spend the whole day in the garden with Harrys various outdoor toys and sometimes just simply reading a book or doing some coloring. Anything to get away from Hey Duggee on the TV which seems to be Harry’s favorite at the minute.

Arts and crafts are big in our house and I remember as a child making things from the recycling leftover – there is nothing better than a large cereal box in my opinion! – so I can’t wait to do this with Harry.

Another suggestion we had was from Becky at mummyest2014.wordpress.com which is quite honestly the most brilliant thing I think I’ve heard all summer and I will be doing this will Harry as soon as possible is to Set up your own obstacle course using pillows from the sofa, crawl under a sheet, through legs of a chair etc. use whatever is around the house. Great for indoors or in the garden depending on the weather. Another suggestion that is great for all seasons!!

Lisa from www.thefamilyticket.com said Go to a country park. The the majority are free and have some of the best play parks you will come across. Perfect for bikes, scooters, and picnics too.

Claire said water painting has always been a winner with all ages. Give them a bowl or bucket of water and some paintbrushes and let them paint anywhere they like outside. – find her suggestions at mymoneycottage.com

Have you got any other ideas?

Passions from my childhood I want Harry to love

Everyone has things from their childhood that they still look back on fondly. Things that when they see them later in life still bring a huge smile to their faces. I have plenty of them and most of them are things I want to pass on to Harry.

When we are talking about my childhood it seems crazy not to talk about Harry Potter. These were the biggest influence of my life (Note my son, who is also called Harry) I was seriously late to the game with reading the Harry Potter books, the first book was published in 1997 when I was 5 but I didn’t read them until I was in year 5 in school and my teacher, knowing how much I love to read put me on to them. I am so ashamed to admit that the first chapter in The Philosophers Stone bored me so much I put it down and read The Chamber of Secrets first. I fell in love with the wizarding world there and then and went back to read Philosophers Stone again.

My love for Harry Potter is one of the things I most want to pass on to Harry. We are very lucky that Harry adores books and while right now at 3 years old, his attention span is just not up to a chapter book – we have tried a chapter a night but he gets easily bored – I really want to keep persevering with this and now that he is managing to sit through a short film I am looking forward to snuggling up with the films with him!

I remember in the autumn when my nan would take me down to find the blackberry bushes, we would pick the bushes until they were bare and then we would go back to my grandparent's maisonette and spend the rest of the day making blackberry jam and blackberry and apple pies. Some of my fondest memories were being in the kitchen turning those sour fruit into the tastiest treats. We would also go ‘pick your own’ every summer to do the same things.

I’m really lucky that my grandparents now have their own allotment meaning and my grandad still loves to send us out to pick fruit, whatever fruit is in season at that time you can guarantee it is growing in that allotment.

Now that Harry is walking and more confident, I can't wait to get him out in the allotment picking the fruit and then helping my nan and myself in the kitchen making those delicious treats. Harry already loves to help in the kitchen!

When the weather was crappy and we had nothing to do in our tiny little flat in North London, my mum would clear a huge space in the living room lay out a blanket and bring in all sorts of ‘picnic’ type treats. We called them our indoor picnics and the TV would be turned off our favorite teddies or barbies would sit with us and we would spend hours on that floor eating and chatting and laughing. I have already attempted this with Harry, and he likes the food bit at least!