We’ve all heard it. At this point in the summer, it’s hot, we’re in a recession and the kids have been out of school for at least a month. (And if you’re in New England, there’s the added wrinkle that it’s probably raining. It doesn’t matter when you’re reading this; chances are it’s raining or it just rained or it’s about to rain or it’s actually stopped raining but the humidity is at 300 percent so it still feels like it’s raining.)

What’s a parent to do?

Here are 10 suggestions for activities to help keep the kids busy and yourself sane over the rest of the summer without breaking the bank:

• Send them out to play in the rain. Kids don’t melt, and they’ll think you’re such a cool mom or dad for instructing them to do the opposite of the usual stay-indoors-when-it-rains rule.

• Turn the hose on them. For some reason, the very same kids who scream “Ick!” at the first touch of raindrops dissolve into fits of laughter upon being sprayed with ice-cold water from a hose. Not exciting enough? Attach a spray nozzle to the end of the hose and surprise them with your aim. Still not fun enough? Let them wear their clothes.

• Picnic! This is four-year-old “Emmie’s” favorite activity in the summer. Any food will do; the menu isn’t the point. As long as we spread out our blanket on the deck, in the yard, in a park or anywhere outdoors, it’s a great experience. Foiled again by that rain? My kids think that eating lunch on the picnic blanket in the living room is almost as fun.

• Breakfast-for-dinner, lunch-for-breakfast, dinner-for-lunch. Dessert before the meal. Snacks at mealtime, meals at snack time. The kids help choose the menu and put it together. The more obviously inappropriate the foods for the given time of day, the better. Anything mixed up amuses.

• Conduct a cooking class (or a class in painting, drawing, knitting, birdhouse-building–whatever you enjoy and do with confidence). I used to take my children to a local kids’ cooking school, and they loved it. Then economic reality hit and we had to drop the classes. To cushion the blow, I offered to reconstruct the experience at home. Now I announce the class in advance and let the kids help me select one or two items to cook up from scratch. I set up ingredients and necessary tools, tie aprons around them and instruct them in the creation of chocolate chip cookies, pasta, bread or whatever it is we’re making. The most difficult part for me is letting them do the work, make mistakes and create a giant mess, but I remind myself continually that this is their experience. They’re proud of their creations, they’re learning a useful, fun skill and it occupies them for an entire afternoon.

• Camp out in the backyard. A classic for a reason.

• Movie night. In sleeping bags. On the floor. Then the kids get to sleep there. If you’re feeling daring, let them invite a friend or two.

• Library and bookstore story times. Lots of public libraries and bookstores hold readings for young kids in the summer, often with accompanying activities afterwards. These are usually free. (The bookstores are hoping you’ll buy something while you’re there, but that’s up to you.) Check with the libraries and bookstores in your area to see what’s available.

• Go to the movies. There’s a movie theater about twenty minutes away from me that offers free movies for families on Tuesday mornings and afternoons in the summer. It’s noisy, and popcorn and leaking sippy cups are everywhere, but it’s a place to take the kids without having to fork over big bucks for tickets. Check with the movie theaters near you to see if they offer anything, and be prepared to venture a little further from home than you usually might to see a movie.

• Go “hiking,” whether in the city or the country. In a city, you can explore streets and neighborhoods you don’t know well or at all, or maybe follow a historic trail like the Liberty Trail in Boston; in the country, you can find marked trails that won’t be too taxing for little ones and you can check out the flora along the way (as well whatever fauna isn’t spooked by rambunctious children). In both cases, know where you’re going in advance and make sure the area is safe, wear comfortable footwear, sunscreen and (if necessary) bug spray and bring a cell phone and water.

Be creative. As you can see, often the key to entertaining your kids isn’t spending money. Sure, that helps, but simply taking them out of their routine is often sufficient, and if you’re actually breaking one of your own rules in the process, well, so much the better! (Just be sure they know that the rule returns after this special occasion and that it’s never okay to break rules about safety.)

Finally, if you’ve ticked off each of these strategies and you’re still plagued by whines of boredom, it’s time to take the gloves off:

• Teach your kids how to accomplish a new chore. They can clean the house, weed the garden, empty the dishwasher, do laundry; as you are well aware, the list is endless. No, this one isn’t going to earn you accolades from your children, nor will it entertain them, but it will occupy them for a brief period of time and should discourage them from complaining to you about boredom for a while.

• When all else fails, tell them to play with something from that huge collection of toys they just couldn’t live without. When the kids complain that the toys are boring, agree that it’s no fun to play with old, dull toys, so you’ll be going through all of them and pulling out anything that hasn’t been touched in a week (or day or month; you pick how you want to play this), then donating the boring items to kids who don’t have so many toys. You’ll be amazed how interesting some of those forgotten playthings will suddenly become.

School is just around the corner, so enjoy the rest of summer while it’s here!

(Click here for About.com’s blog carnival and more ideas for “Cheap Fun” for summer.)