Each week I have been providing potential ideas for frugal family fun. I’m talking about Spring this week at Just Doing My Best and Spring is the perfect time to introduce the arts to your children for free.
Spring is recital season and larger schools often publish the recital schedule in newspapers and online in hopes for a large audience. If you live near a university, the options are endless. I live near one and have seen advertisements for free performances by the various music ensembles at the School of Music, all for free! I remember going to one such recital as a child and it was just a small concert on a small stage, but with the same amount of decorum and talent as one might expect from a professional concert. Remember, these are professionals in training so the quality will be fantastic. I’ve seen advertisements for string orchestras, brass ensembles, small concert ensembles, and even vocal recitals at the schools.
Other ideas that might be a little closer to home:
- It may not be free, but many times, the local high schools put on an end of the year play with a title that even small children would even recognize. Wizard of Oz and Annie are popular ones that schools perform and children would love.
- In a nearby town, the small city is funding a professional theatre company to come in to the town’s amphitheatre and perform a few plays for the city’s residents, all for free. This is a good time of year to scour your town’s paper and websites to see if anything similar is happening.
- Lastly, this is not free either, but if you think your child might be interested in dance or taking music lessons, many places offer summer lessons and day camps. These are wonderful ways for your children to experience their interest without you having to make a commitment for more than a summer. This is especially great if you or your child are unsure of how long the interest will last or to gain some first-hand experience with the studio before committing. We tried out a dance company this way and found it was a perfect fit for our daughter and then signed up for the following fall.
Do you have any ideas for introducing the arts to children inexpensively or for free?
This post is linked to:
Frugal Friday by Life as Mom
{ 3 Comments }
We live not too far from a city, so there are several events throughout the year where the orchestra invites families out for free shows.
The art museum around also has pay-what-you-wish days!
Great ideas! We love going to local fairs where they hold outdoor shows or concerts for free. My little one love it!
I love this post!
Another idea is to take them to outdoor events and music festivals. This is a fun way to expose them to other types of music they might not ordinarily listen to.
Car shows usually have classic rock or country bands playing. Concerts in the park usually have classical or jazz. Renaissance festivals have interesting genres like Celtic music. Any place you go that has a band or ensemble with live musicians offers a learning opportunity. Just stop with the kids and listen for a bit. (Sometimes helps to make sure they have some food in hand to keep them rooted to the listening spot!)