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...]
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...]
10 Questions Bloggers Should Ask Themselves Before Working With Brands
We guest posted over at The SITS Girls Blog today about working with brands. We'd love for you to show our guest post some love! 10 Questions Blogger Should Ask Themselves Before Working With Brands … [Read more...]
Mom Tips to Help Make Every Day Extraordinary
Samantha Harris, celebrity mom of two and television personality, shares her favorite mom tips to help make your everyday extraordinary. Tip #1: Schedule your mom activities like an appointment! I like to pencil in workouts, carpool duty and grocery shopping right into my calendar so I can keep my to-do list organized. Seeing it all written down is a surefire way to get it all done and allow you to rearrange as needed. Tip #2: Make "date night" a priority! As moms, we are constantly juggling many hats and it can be easy to forget to focus some time for our relationships. Ask your relatives or a friend to babysit for a night (and offer to return the favor), then hit the town. Or have a "date in", by setting up a sleepover for the kids (or putting them to bed early), and rent a movie, make some popcorn and curl up on the couch! Tip #3: Enlist the kids to help! Chores don't need to solely fall on mom—I like to get my kids involved by making a chore wheel and set up a completion … [Read more...]
Caught You Being Good FREE Printable–Pinned it, Did it!
I'm sure you've seen a bunch of those "Caught Ya Being Good" ideas all over Pinterest. If you haven't, here and here are a few of them. I LOVE the idea of "Caught Ya Being Good", and while I thought the jars were cute, I wanted make my own version of it. My variation is more like "Wanted For Good Behavior" and has a kinda western theme. Yes, I know I have girls but I just couldn't resist a wanted poster so I had to tie in the rest. The principle is still the same--reward my girls for good behavior. I'm just so sick of yelling at them all the time that I thought I should start acknowledging when they are good. Now when I catch them being good (without me asking) they get a sheriff's certificate. After they've gotten 10 certificates, they get a reward of their choosing whether it be $5.00 for their piggy bank, a date with mom or dad, or an extra treat before bed. These certificates, however, are not easy to earn. The girls only get them when they are CAUGHT being good, not … [Read more...]
