Summer is almost over but many kids are still packing their bags to attend overnight camps. According to the American Camp Association, the average cost of one week at overnight camp is $690. If you don’t want to pay the high price tag of a summer camp, there are plenty of camp alternatives that won’t empty your wallet. Read on to discover six budget-friendly summer activities for kids. Sign kids up for a reading program. This is an especially good summer activity for kids who are just learning to read. Find out what programs your local library offers, and sign up your little ones. It’s a great way to keep kids busy for a few hours each day. Start your own “camp.” It will require a bit of coordination and planning, but the closest camp alternative is creating your own “camp program.” Decide which parent will be hosting “camp” each day of the week and make a list of activities for each “session.” If you will be driving the group of campers, make sure everyone in your vehicle is … [Read more...]
Camping Birthday Party Ideas + FREE Printable
Nutty's 7th birthday was last week. I don't know why, but she insisted on having a camping themed birthday and having a sleepover. So...because I'm such a great mom, we had a campover birthday. Twelve girls total (including Nutty and Tottie) with six of them camping overnight in a tent in our back yard. What was I thinking?! I searched all over Pinterest for ideas for her party but I'm not one to go way overboard with decor and things. I just wanted ideas... It started with Nutty's invitations. She really liked this invitation. Though the site somewhat told you how to make them, the author of the post admits she had a hard time coming up with an appropriate pattern. I did some more searching and couldn't come up with one either. After over an hour of cutting, measuring, re-cutting, folding, etc, I finally came up with my own pattern. To save our lovely readers some time, I thought I'd actually share my pattern with you so you can easily make your own tent invitations! … [Read more...]
A New Kind Of Reading #Alicewinks #spon
My mom gave Nutty a Nook for her 7th birthday a few days ago. She was thrilled! Nutty LOVES to read. Don't get me wrong, she is more than excited that she can download apps on her Nook, but she is most excited that she can read with it. What a perfect time to review our first ever multimedia book--Alicewinks! What is Alicewinks you ask? "Alicewinks is a multimedia iBook that brings the timeless illustrations of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to life for digital audiences. Alicewinks pairs a rich narration of Lewis Carroll’s unabridged text with 193 original illustrations by twelve early 20th century artists, all brought together for tablets in animated, portrait-oriented video." In other words, it's the original Alice In Wonderland for modern kids. Ok, before I go on, you may or may not have noticed that the quote above stated that Alicewinks is an iBook. Yes, Alicewinks is available on iTunes, but you can find it on Google Play and Amazon for those of us … [Read more...]
Dog Days Of Summer
We are officially in the "dog days of summer". Not only is this traditionally the hottest part of the year, it's also the time when parents are anxious for their kids to go back to school. After all, it's been about two months since school got out and the kids are getting "bored" with the same old summer activities. Rest assured, you've only got about a month left to go! In the mean time, here are 12 ideas you may not have thought of this summer... 1. Explore your city Or the closest big city to you. Take an expedition to some place that you haven't been yet. 2. Volunteer somewhere Check out Doing Good Together for ways to volunteer with your kids. 3. Make movies Have your kids write a script, recruit their friends as actors, rehearse, and make a movie. Not only is it time consuming, it is also fun and something that you will enjoy watching when your kids get older! 4. Car wash Sure everyone does lemonade stands but what about a car wash for the neighbors? A great … [Read more...]
National Night Out Party Ideas
National Night Out celebrates it's 30th anniversary on August 6th, 2013. Though my neighborhood doesn't celebrate National Night Out (we like to be different), we do have a block party every summer. Just like the official "Night Out", our block party is a time to get to know the new neighbors and connect with the established ones that we don't see on a regular basis. We are known to have the "the best block party in town" and frequently have people from neighborhoods close by crash our party to hear the bands play. Our block party really is big deal... In honor of this year's upcoming National Night Out 30th Anniversary, I thought I would share some ideas from my neighborhood block parties that have helped them to be successful every year... 1) Register your party on the National Night Out website. They've got a ton more ideas than we do to make your party a success! If your party is simply a block party and not related to National Night Out, make sure to call … [Read more...]
Summer Fun Brought To You By GE® #spon
It was hot last week in Minnesota--the upper 90s with humidity making it feel like the 100s. It was a good week to hang out in the air conditioned inside, or better yet, have fun at the pool and lake! That's exactly what my family did... On Wednesday, we went to our friend's pool for the afternoon. We had a ton of fun, stayed cool, got a lot of exercise, and thankfully, didn't get a sunburn. Tottie even jumped off the diving board for the very first time! Thursday, Hubby had an unexpected day off of work so we headed out on our boat for the day. Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky in the sunburn department that day (I even put sunscreen on!)...Luckily, the girls were ok. Friday, was a mom's "playdate" with all of Nutty's friend's moms. We decided that since the girls have playdates so often, we needed one. After work, I headed to her pool for margaritas. Saturday, was fun in the sprinklers at another friend's house...Yes, our swimsuits got a lot of wear this … [Read more...]
