Kids Bowl Free is back around Tacoma and the rest of the South Sound for the Summer of 2018.

If you’re looking for free or cheap summer fun with the kids, don’t miss this one!

This year, you don’t have to wait until school is out to sign up for Kids Bowl Free! In fact, we checked all the Tacoma and South Sound area Kids Bowl Free locations, and all of them are open for sign up now! Yep, you can start free bowling this week and bowl almost all summer long. Woot!

If you’re not familiar with this program, it’s way cool! Kids get TWO free games of bowling every day, all summer long, from Burien to Olympia! * You will have to pay the nominal shoe rental fee, but that’s usually just a couple bucks! Another option is to buy them some shoes if you plan on going every day.

There really is no catch to this program! When you register your kiddos, you’ll also be given the option to purchase a family pass for about $25. If you’d like to bowl along with the kids, this really is an excellent deal, but you’re in no way obligated to get the family pass in order for your kids to bowl for free. Just click the “No Thanks” button if you don’t want it.

South Sound Locations:

Hi-Line Lanes, Burien: May 1-September 30
Secoma Lanes, Federal Way: May 7-August 19
Daffodil Bowl, Puyallup: May 14-September 4
Chalet Bowl, Tacoma: April 29-September 1 Note from SFM: We love this one!
Pacific Lanes, Tacoma: May 1-September 30
Paradise Bowl, Tacoma: April 15-September 30
Tower Lanes, Tacoma: May 1-September 15
Bowlero Lanes, Lakewood: April 1-October 31
Bowl Area Lanes, JBLM: May 1-September 30
Sounders Lanes and Family Center, JBLM: May 1-September 30
Prairie Lanes, Yelm: April 10-October 31
Aztec Lanes, Olympia: April 10-July 28

*Note that Secoma and Aztec end a bit before the others.

How To Sign Up:

To bowl free, you’ll need to register your family. Go to Kids Bowl Free and select the bowling alley nearest you to register. You’ll receive coupons emailed to you for free bowling! Easy peasy!

Pro tip: If the kids are throwing all gutter balls, have the attendant put up the bumpers/rails!

We know lots of you do this program every summer. Be sure to pass it on to friends who might not know about it yet. We’d also love to read any tips you might have, and we’d love to hear about which alleys are your favorites.

Need more to do? We’re rolling out our whole summer guide this week! Stay tuned!

Updated 2018

Wondering about Kids Skate Free at Tiffany’s in Puyallup, or looking for a Kids Skate Free location near Tacoma?

The bad news is that Tiffany’s is no longer participating in this program. In fact, the only location in the greater Puget Sound is in Lynnwood-not really close. 

I have details on that below if you’re interested. The good news is Tiffany’s does do regular specials of their own. The best way to keep up with those is to follow their Facebook page! 

 

Lynwood Kids Skate Free

Lynnwood Skate
6210 200th st SW
Lynnwood,WA 98036
Phone: (425) 778-3133

Located 46.25 miles away.
Passes valid for children 10 years old and younger.

We’re so excited to let you know about this amazing deal on admission to the Hands-On Children’s Museum in Olympia for qualifying families.

The museum has just announced a new partnership with the WSECU, and thanks to their generosity, the museum will be able to expand its programming, including offering free admission to any family receiving state basic food assistance through an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card. Isn’t that great? To receive the free admission, simply present your EBT card and your id.

If this doesn’t apply to you, I do hope you’ll consider sharing it with friends and family.

There are other free admission deals to the HOCM for all. Read on for all of them! [Read more…]

Updated for 2017

Northwest Trek and the Point Defiance Zoo are running a great special this month!

Bring in a canned food donation and get half-off admission! Discounts to both of these spot are really rare, so this is a great opportunity, especially for those of you who can’t swing a membership right now. Here are the full details!

[Read more…]

Woot! Apple Stores have just announced their annual, FREE technology day camps for kids 8-12. This year kids can choose from making stop motion movies, coding, and other topics.  These are three day camps that run an hour and a half on three consecutive days, and the South Sound stores I checked are offering three different times the week of July 18th.

Some slots and topics are already full, and the rest will go lightning fast, so if you want in…..go NOW!

From the link, you’ll want to choose your state and then select your store, topic, and session.

The only downside? Your kiddos will probably be wanting some very expensive, “Toys,” at the end of their session-something to think about before you sign up! Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Been before? We’d love your reviews! For more traditional camps on all kinds of topics, be sure to check our guide in the menu bar!

Mark your calendars, bargain book lovers! A Scholastic Books Warehouse sale event is coming up in Auburn!  These sales are a great way to stock a classroom or homeschool library, and this one is just in time for summer reading!

I’ll be honest-I’ve gotten boxes of bargain books at these some years, and walked away empty handed others. You just don’t know if there will be hits until you check it out! That part is always fun! 

Now, these used to say they were just for teachers and book fair volunteers, but the wording now includes school volunteers and homeschool teachers. I’m pretty sure you fall under one of those categories! It’s very unlikely anyone will ask you, in any case. I’ve been several times, and I’ve never had anyone ask for any kind of id or information. They also advertise it to the public-in fact, the event is very much in a warehouse section, and looking for the sandwich board they put out is your best bet! The dates and times are below. Note that the only South Sound area event is in Auburn. They used to host one in Lacey/Olympia, but there hasn’t been one a that location in a while.

Here are the dates for the Auburn Scholastic Warehouse Sale

June 16 – June 25

Weekdays, June 16-24: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturdays, June 18 & 25: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Closed Sundays

Scholastic Book Fairs Warehouse
5103 D. Street N.W.
Auburn, WA 98001

You can go here for more information, or to preregister and get a coupon if you want to do some serious shopping.  If you’ve shopped these before, I’d love for you to share your tips!

Btw, If you’re looking for information on summer reading programs, you’ll find drop downs with all the details on library And retail store summer reading programs in the menu bar under, “Summer.”