Where I live, in Houston, TX, we have a lot of small, neighborhood water parks (some call them splash parks) — they’re essential for getting through those oppressively hot South Texas summers. They usually consist of a dry section, made up of swings and monkey bars and slides, and a wet section, made up of sprinklers and dump buckets and fountains. Most of them don’t have any pools or water slides — just a place where kids can run through the water and cool off while they play.
The great thing about these little parks is that they’re usually a safe place to take the kids on a hot summer day, especially if you don’t have a pool or live near the beach. They’re generally safer than pools anyway, since the water is shallow everywhere.
Unfortunately, like so many things in life, water parks do have their problems. And, like so many things in life, most of those problems are caused by other people. Read the rest of this entry »
Have your child give a gift of himself at the next holiday or any time he wants to do something nice for someone else!
Supplies you’ll need:
- Crayons, pencils, paints, or other art supplies
- Paper
- Packaging from around the house
- Your child’s special gift
What To Do
Talk to your child about gift giving. What does it mean to give something to someone else?
- Instead of buying a gift, have your child make a gift. Does your child have a special talent?
- Maybe your child would like to sing or write a song for a relative? Is there a chore your child could do? Maybe wash the dishes for a week. Is there a special toy that could be loaned to a sister or brother for a week?
- Use materials from around the house so that little, if any, money is spent.
- If the gift is an activity or chore, have your child make a card with a note on it, telling what the gift will be.
- Have your child use imagination in making an inviting package. Perhaps your child could paint a small rock and wrap it in a big box. Or make an envelope out of the comics from the Sunday newspaper.
Hopefully, this excercise will help teach a child that a gift that shows effort and attention can mean more than a gift from the store.
This is a great family craft because everyone can do it. Small children will have fun with it because often they are learning how to set the table, how to help out at mealtime. Everybody has their own chair at the dinner table (or the kitchen table in most houses…).
Children can make placemats for the whole family, designing them with some of the materials to look similar in design so that they match each other.
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I love scrapbooking, making cards and little gifts, but it can be very expensive if you limited your creativity only to items you purchase. We all love die cuts but who says you have to buy them? Why not make your own? It takes time of course, but like scrapbooking it’s very therapeutic. Plus when you’re done you have something else special to add to your scrapbook, die cuts personally made by you!
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As a child, I loved to go to the library. At the end of the school year I couldn’t wait for the summer reading program to begin. I’d read 60 books just to get a free cone at my local Dairy Queen.
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I once knew a man who spent his life working and trying to provide for his family. More than
anything, he wanted to be successful. In his mind, that meant making a lot of money and
having material things to show for it - nice house, new car, expensive suits, cash in hand.
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Spring is on the way, and that means the kids are going to be
ready to play outdoors more. But the time always comes when
every mom hears “I’m bored!” Be prepared with these ideas to
beat boredom before it begins!
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Christmas is over, but the kids are still home from school for a few more days. You’re all tired of playing the new games, but what else is there to do? Try these fun, frugal activities!
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I remember, not so long ago, looking at the boxes and boxes of my babies’ photographs and becoming so overwhelmed by the notion that I had better get them organized and labeled before I lost track of which kid was which.
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TEACHING OBJECTIVE/BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
One of the skills children need to work on when they begin learning to
read is to differentiate right from left. Playing the game, Going
Left, Going Right, can help them practice that skill.
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