The summer always provides many fun activities for kids, since parents sometimes need to keep them occupied while they work. But there are also some interesting things to do as a family. One of them is a great program that allows for free bowling for kids. (Note: Some bowling alleys charge for shoe rental.)
Kids Bowl Free is a summer program to encourage kids and families to take up bowling, or to continue their practice of the sport. The free bowling program provides kids a wholesome and worthwhile activity, accompanied by their parents. In addition, the bowling alleys are usually well air-conditioned!
Once you sign up for the Kids Bowl Free program, kids get to bowl for free up to two games per day for the whole rest of the summer, through the end of August. You can also sign up for the family pass, which only costs a total of about $25 for up to four additional family members or other caretaking adults to join in on the fun.
Even in a small-ish town like mine, we are able to take advantage of this deal. I did it once a few years ago for just my daughter, but we’re doing it again this summer for both kids, this time adding on the family pass. So for only the cost of shoe rental ($6 for all four of us, at our particular bowling alley), we get two free games of bowling for four people each time we go. That’s almost two hours of fun, at the rate we play. Not a bad price for quality family fun time.
As an added bonus, my man Rory took bowling in college, and so actually knows a thing or three about how to bowl properly. He’s been able to help the kids learn how to hold the ball, swing their arm, and walk up to the lane. He’s helped us all learn how to actually aim properly. Now we all feel like we’re working toward improvement, rather than just randomly rolling a ball toward a bunch of pins. So far, we’ve used the bumpers each time to keep the kids from getting discouraged, but for our next set of games, we’re going to try with the regular gutters. I expect our scores to decrease, but hopefully just temporarily.
I hope we can do this each summer, as it’s a fantastic way for the four of us to spend time together, play a sport, and have a good time.
Check out the Kids Bowl Free website to see if there is a bowling alley in your area that participates.
