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Keeping kids occupied and interested in activities on a tight budget can be a challenge, but it's not impossible. You can have worlds of fun with your kids at minimal cost. You just have to be creative. You can even make activities not only fun but educational, and they don't even know they are learning! Here are some great ideas to fill those rainy days and low budget weekend blues.

1. Treasure Hunt - Gather a small number of interesting items around your home and hide them in unusual spots around the house or in the yard. Make a list of the items they are to find and give it to them so they know what they are looking for. Now you can make this really interesting by using items that are either a matching set like, look for all the kitchen utensils or look for these different kinds of things in nature etc. or even by using items on the list that once they are all found, will be used to make something else. Hide art supplies so that when they find them all they can use them to create their own art masterpieces. Hide clothing items that when they are found can be used to create make believe costumes. Hide items that are based on a theme, things that rhyme or things that match. This can take up a whole afternoon if you use enough items and hide them in interesting places.

2. Dress up plays. Let them use articles of clothing to create their own dress up costumes then act out the characters.

3. Bingo. Draw and cut out bingo cards on paper or poster board. Write the number and letter combinations on little slips of paper and mix them up in a bowl. Let the children take turns on being the drawer. Use different colored squares of paper cut from construction paper to make the place markers on the cards. Give the winners a prize like candy or first turn at something else.

4. Make your own play dough. Using this recipe from Early Kids recipies.com you can make fun and non toxic play dough. 1 cup of cold water, 1 cup of salt, 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, 2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, food coloring. In a large bowl mix together water salt, oil and a few drops of food coloring. Mix flour and cornstarch and add to mixture in bowl 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring consistently. Knead for a few minutes with flour on your hands. You can make as many colors as you want, and making the play dough is just as fun for the kids as using it to create their own works of art.

5. Build a castle/fort. Use old cardboard boxes to create a fortress or castle. Let them decorate it

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