Frugal Fun Tip

As summer approaches, I find that my kids and I are ready to have a break. We are longing for the day we can sleep in, laze around in our PJ's all day and not have to rush out the door with backpacks and sack lunches in hand. But soon, this changes to the "I'm bored and ready to do something fun" stage.

I am always on the lookout for new fun things to do that won't cost a fortune in the process. One thing we are going to try this summer is bowling. Now I am not a huge bowling fan and have only bowled a few times in several years, but I do have some good memories of bowling adventures. I remember the awkward feel of those funny shoes the smell of the hot dogs and smelly feet, and if I close my eyes, I can picture the bowling ball curving it's way to give me that rare strike!

This summer, bowling alleys across the country are letting kids bowl two games every day for free. Yes, that's right, for free. Bowling is not a popular summer activities and so bowling alleys lose money over the summer months. They are offering the free kid's bowling in hopes that more families will come and they will enjoy a little revenue from adults and shoe rentals.

So yes, there is still a cost for shoes rental, unless you have some or can find some at at resale shop. But it cuts the cost of bowling down with only having to pay for the shoes. If you plan to bowl a lot, you may want to consider buying a pair. The bowling alleys are even offering discounted family passes for adults and friends which are quite reasonable. You can find all the details at www.kidsbowlfree.com.

Now, we could just go bowling a few times and that would be fine. But being the perpetual educator that I am, I have already been thinking about how to make this fun, frugal activity a learning experience. Many thing come to mind. We can look at the history of bowling. Research where it came from and how it spread. We can look at where it is played across the world and find the countries on a map. And keeping score is great hands on math practice.

You could even have your child journal or write about the bowling experience or what they have learned. And if you bowl anything like I do, it can be a great lesson in encouragement and sportsmanship. I hope to see you at the bowling alley soon!

It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader

Encouraging literacy is a community effort. Although home is the most important source to improve a child’s reading skills, it is wonderful to see community programs aiding parents and teachers and instilling the importance of reading to the young. It really does take a village to raise a reader.

We are lucky enough to live in a county with a fabulous inter library system and we have taken advantage of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library regularly.
Both of my kids look forward to trips to the library, especially during the summer months while the reading incentive rewards them with prizes. I was so happy to discover last year that middle school students can now earn Barnes and Noble gift cards. My daughter earned $15 worth last year and this year my son has challenged her to read more as he, too, can earn the gift cards now.

For younger children Barnes and Noble and Borders have reading incentive programs to complement the library’s reading incentive. Since some of the pre-chosen books weren't my kid’s top picks, I told them I would buy them each a book at the end of the summer if they completed all reading requirements. So for approximately $15 in books, my two children read for three months solid!

Additional reading programs include http://www.scholastic.com/summer/ http://www.bookitprogram.com/SummerBreak/ And for those of you in the eastern United States, TD Bank www.tdbank.com offers to deposit $10 into your child’s account for summer reading participation. Half Price Books also had an incentive offer last year for those who have one of their stores nearby www.hpb.com. I am on the lookout for more community reading programs and encourage you to look into what your community may offer too!

With all the fun incentives, neither of my kids considers reading to be school work. They like that they can read whatever they choose (as long as it is appropriate) and that they earn books and prizes. My son often picks Star Wars, but we also return from library trips with a stack of science, history, cooking, fantasy, and adventure books.

I’ll have to admit that trips to Barnes and Noble and the library never leave Mom empty handed either. My list of “to reads” is growing” even faster than my “have reads”. The last few library visits have loaded me up with books on freelance writing. And I am excited for summer reading too!

Encouraging Kids to Write

I want to share with you one of the best memories I have of turning reading into a great learning experience. I plan to do similar things this summer.

A few years ago, I decided to home school for the year. When I first this home schooling adventure, I assigned the kid's a writing assignment only to discover that they were not yet able to write at the level I had asked. I realized that I was going to have to start almost at the basics. We went to the library and picked out Pinocchio. After reading it aloud to them, I gave them the beginner writer pages where you can draw on the top and write on the bottom and had them draw a scene from the book and then write a sentence or two about it. By the end of the week, they had a page for the beginning of the book, the end of the story, and several of the in between scenes. We put it together and I showed them how they had just written a whole book report. We then rented and watched the movie and compared the movie to the book.

After that, there was less reluctance to write, and we gradually graduated to full paragraphs and summaries. I am happy to report that my daughter now wants to write her own books. And to aid in that I discovered a great website www.tikatok.com. The use of the website is free and only costs if you deside to print one of your kid's stories. They can write and illustrate their own books of varying levels and lengths. I am excited to have fun with it this summer and read my kid's masterpieces! They even have a way to sign in as your child's teacher and leave comments for them to encourage editing.

We plan to do a lot of reading and writing this summer and enter exciting new adventures. And, oh, I still have their Pinocchio books!

Top Pick for Frugal Fun

One of the most beneficial activities you can do with your child is Read to Them. And guess what? It's Absolutely Free!

We started reading to our kids in the womb. My husband would read The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh to them each evening. We still have the book and it is still a favorite. Both kids recognized Jim's voice from infancy too. I believe it is from that early reading experience. We continued to read to them almost nightly for a decade.

When I home schooled the kids a few years ago, I started reading to them at the beginning of our school day. There is less time for regular reading now with busy school and activity schedules but we read when we can. Even now during Christmas and summer breaks, we read a book or two.

Some of the benefits of reading aloud to your child include developing their imaginations, instilling creativity and curiosity, building vocabulary and grammar skills, and encouraging family bonding. Reading increases their skills in English, as well as igniting a love for history, science, culture, and adventure.

One of my favorite memories is sitting on the recliner with a child on each arm as we read the Poppy series. We started the series while homeschooling, continued it over subsequent summers, and Amethyst just finished the series on her own after going back and reading each one herself.

I am actually looking forward to this summer and we are already picking out the books we will read. As Amethyst would say, "Reading takes you into new adventures!"

Beating Budget Blues with Frugal Fun

Once you turn it on, it goes full steam ahead. I am talking about the creative juices in my brain. I read once that you would make a great writer if almost everything gives you and idea for an article or a book. I have more ideas than I can count or keep track of.

It is times like this that I wish I had taken more note of all those organizationsl ideas suggested to me over the years! But then that is another idea!

I like to come up with titles for my ideas and then I mold my idea to the title. Here is my latest, "Beating Budget Blues with Frugal Fun". Any thoughts?

I was thinking along the lines of what to do with the kids all summer long when budgets are tight and gas prices are outrageous. How do we ensure the kids still have fun in spite of the economy?

Being the naturally frugal person that I am, I take advantage of every free or low cost event I hear about. And I decided that it would make a great article to share. So . . . stay tuned for more insight into the frugal fun loving mind of mine!

And feel free to share your penny pinching entertaining activities with me too!

Going in Circles

Do you ever feel like you are going in circles? Do you ever open your calendar to plan out your week, only to discover that it looks exactly like your last week?

Life sometimes seems to be like going around a track. I walked 4 miles today. Since every lap looked the same, it was easy to forget which lap I was on. I had to make a conscious effort to be aware of where I was as well as keep myself focused on the ultimate goal. Life can be like that. We have goals, we make plans, and then the mundane, everyday happens. We wake kids up, have breakfast, make lunches, go to school/work, come home, make dinner, feed the pets . . . I think you are seeing the picture.

So how do we make each day fresh and new, while continuing to value the everyday life we have been blessed with. I am reminded of an old saying, "Bloom where you are planted". Don't just exist, but bloom! Rather than going through the motions of the mundane activities of daily life, look for the ah ha moments within them. Instead of being bored, look for new opportunities, new friendships waiting to be discovered, and new ways to shine God's love to those around us who may be lonely, hurting, or trapped in their own mundane existance.

My Bible School Principal, Billy Strachan, used to say that if life was hard and you were in the midst of trials or disappointment that you should pray for others. He said that soon you would discover your life wasn't so bad after all. His advise was very wise. If we stop looking in the mirrow, but instead look forward, we will see opportunities all around us. Opportunies to learn, love, grow, and share.

God is good.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back.

It often seems that when I make headway in one area, I find that I fall behind in other areas. I think, perhaps, it is essentially a lack of discipline. One of the many reasons I took the challenge to participate in the 2011 Workdcount Blogathon. If I can be disciplined enough to blog every day for the month of May, perhaps, I will be able to overflow this discipline into other areas.
Do any of you experience this challenge? Do you start to focus on something you've been longing to do, only to find that other things - the not so interesting or fun things - vie for your time?
I was determined to write daily for 2011. I started a journal and did well for a while but kids, job, house, church, and so much more seems to steal my time. And when I put writing first, the mundane builds up to be overflowing and overwhelming and then takes longer to get under control.
I often feel as though I take one step forward and two steps back. My goal - as well as writing daily for 31 days - is to find balance. I seek organizational discipline. Perhaps the long awaited sunshine bringing longer daylight will trick my brain into thinking there is more time to fit it all in. Hmmm? Here's hoping. . .