Keeping Kids Active When Weather Is Bad- Free Options?

I live in the Seattle area....if you don't go outside in the rain, you don't go outside for 75% of the year!
We just play in the rain. At 9 he is plenty old enough to hike, run, play, get dirty.
It's about 47 degrees and raining today and my kids spent the majority of the time outside.

Join a swimming pool.

My mom did the same thing when I was a kid and everyday we were allowed to go to the snack bar for a treat. My kids did the same. I don't think they grew up thinking that swimming = junk food.

How about purchasing a tunnel from IKEA, maybe a play tent too? You can use vinyl placemats (think Goodwill) for square to hop/jump on and make an obstacle course through the house. Obstacle courses are great fun.

Also consider good rain gear. I live in Portland and if we didn't go out in the rain, we would never go out. Really. :) Puddle boots, some wool socks, rain coat... fun fun fun. Kiddo loves to play in the rain, with lots of containers to collect the water in and make mud pies.

When it is really hot here we head to the beach or the pool. Both are very cheap/free. I don't mind the heat as long as I can get in the water to cool off. When it is wet we go outside. We invest in good rain gear and enjoy hiking, playing in puddles, the playground or the zoo (animals are extra active in the rain). For those times we really need indoor activities we have a membership at the YMCA, memberships for a couple of museums or we might visit the library. I would do the outdoor activities first. Time spent outdoors makes for healthier, calmer children.

ETA: Check out kidsbowlfree.org for free bowling. How about ice skating at an indoor rink or roller skating?

Can you join a pool during the summer? That kept us busy and social for a good chunk of time, and the kids can be dropped off when they get older. We also went hiking, biking, to the beach, out to the woods, up in the mountains to play in the snow, etc.
I know you were looking for indoor stuff but it just seems so much healthier to be outside you know? Just get out early in the summer and throw on your boots and jackets in the winter.
Oh and we had zoo and science center memberships, not free but not super expensive either considering how often we went.

The kids and I visit my mom in Texas every summer. We go just about every day to her neighborhood pool! My kids have a blast and since we do it every year all the neighborhood kids know our kids. My mom says she gets kid's knocking on her door asking when we will arrive. I just gave you an answer with all outdoor things to do...we lived in Alaska 15 years and we just go outside no matter what the weather. I realize that I was not very helpful. Not much is free these days unfortunately. Where we live the library, the nature center, and a family center (called family strengths network) are all free. Once a week in the summer there are free or $1 kids movies in the morning at the local theater.

We also live in DFW and my boys an I are outside almost every day during the summer. We go out in the mornings and stay out until after lunch. If you stay in the shade and stay hydrated it's fine. We also enjoy being out in the evenings except in August when it gets pretty miserable. We have so many wonderful parks with trails there is plenty of shade for walking, biking, riding scooters, etc.

We are also all avid swimmers. We get passes to Hawaiian Falls each year, but there are many other options.

Can you think outside the box for stay at home play? I have one of those adjustable height basketball hoops (the plastic kid ones, it adjusts from 4-8 feet in height) in my living room. My kids use it year round. We also have an indoor knee hockey set that my kids set up in the living room. I have 2 kids, so they play together, but if you have 1, you could invite kids over frequently.

It doesn't make my living room look fancy, but I figure living rooms are for LIVING, not for show. And when other kids come over to play, they like it just fine :)

Do a google search for open gyms near you. They are not free, but most aren't too pricey. We have one near us that is $5/kid and you can stay up to 4 hours, although I will say that most of them are only 1-2 hours but it's something!

It's hard to find free, but there have to be tons of cheap options. Do you have a Bass Pro or Cabela's near you? What about a Scheel's sporting goods store? Both of those have lots of stuff to look at and some cheap games inside to stay busy.

Living in Texas I'm sure you either own a pool or belong to a pool, but that is one thing that keeps us busy for sure! We have a membership to the community center pool during the winter months to help keep us active. We can also let the kids run on the track as long as we are with them. Once school is out, the public is allowed to use the tracks at the High Schools to run on...you could do that too over school breaks or before it's get too hot in the summer. Make him run a few laps and then go to a park or something! :)

We have a KC Parent magazine for the Kansas City metro area, I'm sure your city has something like that too...Google is your friend!

I would check to see if your local school does "open gym" on the weekends. Ours does on Saturday and Sundays from 1 - 4 and there is no charge. Also, I would see if the YMCA offers low cost packages - maybe with a financial form you could get a discount? Even in our itty bitty town, the paper posts local free things to do each weekend like concerts in the park, which parks have free entrance for the day, free swim day, $1 bowling, $2 movies, etc. I would also connect with the local library, they often have free zoo passes and a lot of local stuff going on gets posted at our library, and maybe yours, too.

Good luck!

Not knowing your area, I can just give some generic suggestions:

1) Is there a children's museum, science museum or environmental center near you? Often the public library has discount passes and you can check it out for free or very little, then consider an annual membership. For one fee, you can go for free all year long including with parents, grandparents, etc. Many other museums have reciprocal memberships, so if you join one, you can visit others. Usually you get a discount on parking fees and even the gift shop - at least that's how it works up in New England.

2) Nature areas? Contact Audubon or other organizations - usually the sanctuaries are free for an annual contribution, and even if it's hot out, many paths are shaded. Sometimes they have an indoor (and in your area, air conditioned) main building with programs, lectures (for kids), demonstrations. Then you can go outside and apply what he has learned.

3) Bike trail? In our area, there are paved-over rail trails that offer safe bike riding (no traffic except other bikes), and if you get out early before the heat hits, you can be done and ready to cool down and still get activity out in the fresh air.

4) Indoor sports arena? We have some in this area with basketball courts and soccer fields - you may have to sign him up for a league, which might not be what you're looking for, but maybe some have open drop-in hours for a membership fee. Again, if you divide the annual fee by the number of visits, it's not as much.

5) Bowling? In New England we have regular ten-pins as well as candlepins. The latter are easier for kids because they use small balls and small pins, the former are often at alleys where (for kids) they put bumpers in the gutters so the big ball at least has a chance of getting down the alley! If you don't buy snacks, it's affordable. They may let kids bowl in their socks, but you may be able to find bowling shoes through something like Freecycle - that lets you save rental fees.

Good luck!

Go to a large appliance store and get an empty cardboard box.
Or check out Criags list for free moving boxes.
You can cut out windows or port holes - and he can decorate it any way he wants to make a fort.
Castle, ship, rocket, house, cave, barn, etc - his imagination can run wild.
You can read stories in it with flash lights, eat snacks in there, etc.
Take pictures!
When it falls apart you can throw it into the recycling bin and get a new box to make something different.

http://www.moversville.com/new-home-tips/things-to-make-w...

https://www.google.com/search?q=cardboard+box+forts&b...

I live in AZ and for summer the average temp is 110. We basically stay inside. It's even too hot to go in the pool since the water is 98 and the sun blazing on your head does not make for a fun time. lol So maybe ask what all the snow people do during winter and do those things? We do a lot of Dollar Theater Movies. Good luck.

Have you ever gotten swim lessons for your son? Is there a YMCA in your area? I know it's not cheap, but swim lessons and being in the pool are lifelong activities and could save your child's life one day.

I shlepped my kids to swim lessons/swim team for years. It was a labor of love. My younger son ended up being MVP on the swim team his junior year in high school. He was a team captain and I felt that he really did grow as a result of that. And our summers were full of swimming.

I don't know if it's possible for you, but learning to swim and being in the water opens up so many possibilities!

Pool? Beach? Library? Indoor sports (soccer, hockey, dance, karate, etc)?

My kids have a basketball hoop in the basement...one of the plastic ones, and they play in there when it's nasty outside. We also have an Xbox Kinnect, that gets them up and moving. Helping with chores can get him moving as well.

go to barnes and noble. he can choose a book and read there. go to a library, visit with friends.
but a nine year old at mcd's :( not a good idea. first, their play aread. oh lordy.

Pick a couple of friends and take turns rotating between your houses - the kids stay busy and the moms can either socialize or have a couple of hours off. It works great with 3-4 kids total and you can do it once or twice a week so the kids don't get tired of each other.

Definitely find a local swimming pool that you can use - either through an HOA, a club, a YMCA, etc.

Our local gymnastics school offers open gym a couple of times a week. I think it's only $5. The kids have a blast and they use up a lot of energy.

Find somewhere your son really loves and purchase a membership. It isn't free, but you can go as often as you want without having to actually pay each time you go. A children's museum, science museum, water park, etc.

Check groupon for good deals to places like bounce houses and trampoline parks. A lot of times you can buy a groupon deal that lets you go 4-5 times for a pretty low rate.

See what programs your library offers, especially in the summer. Look into multiple branches so you can take advantage of a variety of programming.

Get a bunch of board games and have a game day each week, or play for an hour or two each day. We love board games at our house.