With the Fourth of July in the rearview mirror, parents can feel like they’re starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel for how to keep kids busy during the summer. So here’s a quick guide to some of the free and easy ways to keep everyone entertained before school starts!
Catch Five Free Outdoor Movies
The cities of Boise, Nampa, and Meridian all have outdoor kids’ movies in their parks throughout the rest of the summer. They all start around nightfall and are free to attend. Mark your calendars!
- “Toy Story” on July 11 at Settlers Park in Meridian.
- “The Wild Robot” on July 11 at Midway Park in Nampa.
- “Wicked” on July 18 at Julia Davis Park in Boise.
- “Inside Out 2” on July 18 at Midway Park in Nampa.
- “Moana 2” on July 25 at Midway Park in Nampa.
- “Moana 2” on July 25 at Settlers Park in Meridian.
- “Guardians of the Galaxy” on Aug. 8 at Settlers Park in Meridian.
- “Despicable Me 4” on Aug. 15 at Julia Davis Park in Boise.
The Molenaar Park playground looks pretty fun. (Blake Hunter / City Cast Boise)
Explore the City Through Parks and Paths
Getting your kids outdoors might take a little haranguing and training (i.e., please teach them to be careful on the Greenbelt while getting passed on their left), but it’ll pay off in so many ways.
Just picking a new park or section of the Greenbelt to explore each week can instill confidence and knowledge that will help kids feel more at home in their city. And to get things kicked off, Becca from Boise With Kids joined City Cast Boise to give us her kid-friendly park picks.
And of course, there’s always the public pools to check out — see their schedules here.
Introduce Them to Live Music
I’m stealing from my own July guide here, but City Cast Boise podcast host Lindsay Van Allen endorses these options as free outdoor concerts eligible for kids to attend.
On Wednesdays, Alive After 5 fills up the Grove Plaza after 5 p.m. Plus, there’s a splashpad!
The Neighborhood Concert Series tours the city’s parks, and this month they’re hitting Memorial Park on July 9 and Cottonwood Park on the July 23.
Jump, Jam, and Jive is another free concert series, all of them at JUMP! There are three shows this month.
