Cover story
Summertime, and the living is … complicated for busy parents on a budget. Check out these suggestions for low-cost, local — even educational! — summer fun for the kids.
Across the Bay Area, there are summer camps for just about everything, from tennis and golf to swimming and science. There is a camp for film making and a camp dedicated to art. There are fort building camps, superhero camps and nature camps. And, there are those wellorganized parents who months ago had their spreadsheets for each child for each week of camp for the 10-plus weeks of summer.
If you are not that type of parent, or your family is interested in alternatives to the daily drop-off and pick-up, and would like to forgo the cost of camps, which range from $300 to $500 per week, we have ideas for some great low-cost and no-cost things to do with your kids during the summer. Many of the ideas are in the spirit of the YouTube video sensation called “Caine’s Arcade,” where a boy in East Los Angeles spent his summer at his dad’s used auto parts store. With no toys and no set agenda, the young boy created an intricate arcade out of cardboard boxes. The video has had nearly 3 million views. (See the video here: links.sfgate.com/zlkh.)
We asked two of the Bay Area’s leading experts on family fun to come up with a range of ideas.
Giorni is the founder of the science education program Tree Frog Treks, which delivers nature to classrooms and gets kids outdoors.
“The first time you turn it off, shut it down, and get outside, it might take a little getting used to,” said Giorni, who has two young kids of his own. “It’s a different type of thinking. A ranger in Yosemite once told me that going outside at first was like walking into a dark movie theater. No show. No sounds. No music. Then you get settled in and start to learn to read the landscape and the movie starts: the show, the sound, the music, and more. You need to practice going outside. Give it a few tries. It will pay back a thousandfold in fun times and will be a lifelong sanctuary to recharge you when you need it most.”
Build something outside
Build a bridge or a fort using bark, twigs, leaf litter. Dam a creek, make a daisy chain, or stack some rocks into sculpture.
Go on a “Green 15”
Go outside every day for at least 15 minutes, focusing on all things green — grass, trees, caterpillars, bugs.
Go on a weed walk (right here in San Francisco!)
Collect foxtails, cattails, English plantains, sour grass, radish, mustard and study them. Throw them, squeeze them, pull them apart, drop them in a glass of water. Try going for a walk in an old pair of socks in a dry field or vacant lot. You will pick up a lot of weed seeds. Then take off your socks, lay them on a platter and water them. You have just made your very own sock garden!
Find some worms and bugs
Give worms names and race them on a dirt track near some grass or other objects. See which worms are the fastest. Remember to cheer for your favorite wacky worm racer. Make a bug jar habitat. Go bug collecting in your neighborhood and study the creatures overnight. Remember to release them in a day or two right where you found them. Flip a log and find a beetle, roly-poly or other creepy-crawly. See if you can muster the gusto to let it crawl over your hand.
Create a treasure hunt
Bury some treasure, get a compass, and make a map with directions. Give the map to a friend to see if he or she can find it.
Experiment with a spray bottle
Bring a spray water bottle out into the park and spray away. What happens when you spray it on redwood leaves? On oak leaves? On nasturtium? Spray a spider web to reveal its intricate designs. Make a mini mud pie. Spray rocks and minerals to see their true colors.
Get to the beach
Look for cool shells, sea glass and rocks of all shapes and sizes. Set up a rock pile on the edge of the beach. Try to feed it or knock it down. Dig for sand crabs just below the surface of the sand at the tide line. They are completely harmless to hold.
Be good to nature
Adopt a tree, and visit it often to see what is happening there. Find a place you like and care for it. Pull some weeds. Clean up some litter.
Go on a scavenger hunt
Look for all the colors in nature that match the colors of your crayons.
Create collections, classify and communicate
Collect seeds, leaves and rocks. Put them into categories or groups that make sense to you (use a field guide if you like). Then share your collection with friends. Make a summer binder full of what you collect and press.
Get a different point of view
Put your head in a bush and lean and look. Get up in a tree and look around. Lie on the ground and gaze up. Stare at the clouds and find dragons in the sky. Go to a neighborhood park and stay off the pavement. Have a picnic under your favorite tree and just relax with the cell phone turned off.