With schools constantly cutting back on extracurricular activities and programs, it’s now up to parents to fill in the gap in their child’s education. However, the cost of music lessons, sports equipment and program fees can be substantial. This puts after school clubs out of reach for many families. Fortunately, there are more and more community groups starting after school programs to fill in this gap in the educational system. In this article, we’ll look at some activities after school that have little or no cost to parents.

Sports are popular activities after school, but the cost of membership fees, uniforms and equipment puts organized sports out of the reach of a lot of families. Smart shopping can save you a lot of money. Instead of enrolling your child in a league, check your local community center for martial arts, swimming or aerobics, as they offer programs at a much lower cost than leagues. You can also look into buying equipment off season or used equipment. The Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Play It Again Sports are gold mines of used sports equipment in good shape. You should also speak to coaches. They may be able to make suggestions for purchasing used uniforms and equipment.

For kids who are into music, there are also many ways to cut costs. Rather than buying a new, expensive instrument that your child may lose interest in, consider renting. Several stores help to finance school music programs by giving leases that you can make payments each month. This pay-as-you-go approach is ideal for a youngster who is being taught an instrument for the first time. If you find that they don’t take pleasure in it, you just break off the agreement. Many music and used equipment shops also provide used sheet music and instruments at reduced prices.

Membership and tuition fees constitute a significant portion of the expense of extra-curricular activities. If one-on-one training is too costly for your budget, then there are more inexpensive alternatives. Organizations such as the Little League, Scouts, YWCA, YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs offer low-priced membership fees and activities.

If you are looking for activities after school for younger children, check out your local church, community center or library for play classes with small fees. Some offer kids crafts or other programs for free and they are fun and well supervised. For older kids, volunteering their time for a worthy charity or organization is an excellent option. Community run programs are always looking for volunteers and the activity looks great on college applications.

Involving your children in after school activities is a perfect way to keep them busy and supervised until you get home. And as a parent, you should be happy to learn that there are lots of great ideas for kids activities that are inexpensive and accessible.