As you work through the first half of the spring semester, a bitter cold day in Kent can make you want to hit “snooze” and stay in bed all day — or all week. But with a list of fun and inexpensive things to do for each day of the week, you’ll be out the door and zipping up that tundra jacket faster than you can say, “snow day.”

The first day of the school week is often the most difficult: shaking off the weekend’s hangover and facing another round of classes, tests and homework you might have forgotten. But dragging yourself out of bed to start the week will be worth it by the end of the day when you reward yourself.

Monday

Shake things up with a Monday movie outing. Kent Plaza Theaters offers Mighty Movie Mondays. You can catch an after-class showing of the suspeseful cop flick, “Man on a Ledge,” for $5. Mighty Movie Monday also means a free 32-ounce bag of popcorn, according to the theater’s website.

Catch up on Oscar-nominated movies like “The Descendants” or “War Horse”, or revisit your childhood by seeing “Beauty on the Beast” on the big screen. Relax, see a good film with free popcorn and start the week out right. Who knew all this could be possible on a blustery Monday?

Kent Plaza Theaters is located at 140 Cherry St. in the University Plaza Shopping Center — a five-minute drive from campus. http://www.moviescoop.com/kent-plaza for show times.

$5 for a movie ticket, $3 for a drink: $8 total

Tuesday

When you find yourself humming “Be Our Guest” after last night’s movie, keep the good vibe going with a lunch of surprising combinations at Wild Goats Café.

Break away from a typical meal at the Hub and try the peanut butter and banana French toast. Or go for a bowl of pepper-jack bacon mac and cheese to warm your frozen senses.

Liza Enos, server at Wild Goats, said about 40 percent of the restaurant’s customers are Kent State students. She recommends the avocado Benedict: two poached eggs and avocado on bread with hollandaise sauce for $8.49.

Wild Goats Café is at 319 W Main St. A substantial lunch of out-of-the-ordinary ingredients will heat up your Tuesday while staying on budget.

Get anything on the menu — it’s all less than $10!

Wednesday

Take a deep breath: It’s hump day! But if the weather is keeping you from venturing far from campus, don’t worry. Wednesday is Late Night College Skate at Kent State Ice Arena.

Admission is regularly $3 with your FLASHcard, but you can skate for half that if you dress in the night’s theme.

After you’ve had enough laps around the ice — or enough falls to bruise your ego — head to Jazzman’s in the Eastway deli. This Jazzman’s location is open until 2 a.m., leaving you plenty of time to cap off the night with a hot chocolate.

View a schedule of Late Night College Skate themes at www.kent.edu/icearena/publicskate.cfm.

$1.50 for ice rink admission, $2.50 for skate rental, $3 for hot chocolate: $7 total

Thursday

It’s almost the weekend, and it’s time for a change of scenery. Grab a friend to take a break from the usual Thirsty Thursday with a trip to the Akron Art Museum.

For $5 with your student ID, you can check out the “Supernatural: Landscapes” exhibit. According to the Akron Art Museum’s website, two Cleveland artists used a flatbed scanner as a camera, and the result is pretty wild. Escape the Ohio chill and zone in on the nature-focused photographs, which show squiggles of the scanner’s neon light in natural foliage.

The Akron Art Museum is approximately 25 minutes from campus, located at the corner of E. Market and S. High streets. Parking is $1 and free after 6 p.m. The museum is open until 9 p.m. Thursdays.

Exploring a museum gives your eyes a break from the laptop screen, but might also work up an appetite. Before heading back to Kent, stop at the Barley House down the street to split a plate of potato skins. Consider it a win-win: a pace-changing activity for your overworked brain and a delicious snack to top it off.

$5 museum admission, $5 for sharing the snack plus tip; $10 total

Friday

Not looking to hide in your room from the snow all night? Venture to Kent Lanes at 1524 South Water St. for an all-you-can-bowl deal. $10 gets you a pair of shoes and as many games you can fit in from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. closing time.

Friday night is “MoonRock Bowling,” which Kent Lanes owner Jim Palmer said draws in “a good portion of students. It’s a nice mix, actually.”

MoonRock Bowling night includes a live DJ in the bar area, who takes song requests all night to keep the dance party going.

“It’s fun, it’s a good time,” Palmer said. “Every night is a little bit different, depending on who’s out.”

Even if you can’t make it this Friday, Kent Lanes offers discounts every night after 9 p.m., so remember it as a cheap activity any night of the week. Check out www.kentlanes.com for a list of nightly specials and coupons.

$10 for shoes and unlimited games

Saturday

Stock your fridge with something besides Lean Cuisines by visiting a local farmers market. The Kent Winter Market takes place each Saturday November through May from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is located inside Lucky Penny Creamery at 632 Temple Ave.

Katrina Kohout of Randolph, Ohio, helps coordinate the seasonal market. She said about one fourth of customers are Kent State students.

Kohout said market prices are “reasonable, but these are still farmers looking to make a living.”

Regular vendors include Miss Julie’s Kitchen, an Akron restaurant that sells organic chips and breads at the market. Mark Grogan of Fredericktown, Ohio, sells grass-fed organic cheeses in a range of flavors including pumpkin spice and port wine.

At Kent Winter Market, you can mingle with local farmers and residents and taste samples of most of the goods. Pick up a jar of homemade orange pineapple jam for $5, a vegan cranberry cookie for $2 or a hunk of flavorful cheese for $6.

Once you’ve adequately filled your fridge, round up your friends for a sledding night. Spend hours racing and testing new paths on your sled, pizza box, trash bag — whatever can slide you down a snowy hill.

$5 for jar of jam, $6 for cheese: $11 total, but the extra dollar is worth helping the local economy.

Sunday

After your busy week, it’s time to catch up on homework. If you’re bored with working in your room or at Starbucks, try a new location to jump-start your study time.

Kent Free Library is located at 312 West Main St., across the street from Wild Goats Café. The library has two study rooms and three reading areas available, according to its website.

You can use a study room for up to two hours at a time. If you have some serious reading or cramming to do sans laptop, shack up in the Bumphrey Room for a distraction-free study session. This room does not permit laptops or groups, so you can have silent and focused reading time.

If you do need your laptop for homework, Kent Free Library offers free Wi-Fi throughout the building. Printers are also available.

When it’s time for a break, grab a latte and a homemade treat at Tree City Coffee and Pastry, or a pita and drink at Pita Pit. While you’re downtown, you might as well extend that study break and check out the shops in Acorn Alley and Acorn Alley II. Wild Earth Outfitters sells camping and sports apparel Exploring local businesses is good enough reason to procrastinate, right?

$0 for library visit, $5 to $10 for lunch or coffee break.

Contact Kelli Fitzpatrick at [email protected].