Free Preschool Activities

by Tracy Zdelar

Don’t let the economy bum you out when it comes to having fun.  Saving money should always be in fashion anyways. Get creative and think outside the box to spice up life. If you haven’t had to get creative before, now is a good time to start. Look for “free community” opportunities for fun times!

Earlier this year we made a purchase from a furniture store in the Akron area and became a “past customer”. This furniture store sent out flyers recently to their “past customers” inviting us to a free Fall Festival at their store.  Details of the night included finger-food dinner from “their” cafe-  (yes, this furniture store has a cafe), a free gift (choice of a pumpkin or a floor rug), a little bit of Halloween fun for the kiddos (trick or treating for candy) and if you were making a non-refundable purchase that night you could play musical chairs and get a chance to win up to $5000 off your purchase that night!

Other frugal ways to have fun:

~ While the weather is still nice, give the kids some paper lunch sacks and go for a walk.  Have the kids pick up whatever looks interesting (and safe) and put it in the bags. Or, give them a list of things to hunt…a scavenger hunt! Acorns, gold leaves, pine cones, strange rocks…etc..

~  Teach them how to rake leaves. If they are young enough, they might actually “believe” it is fun!

~ Have a s’mores cookout on the grill or over the fire pit in the backyard. Get a bag of marshmallows, a box of Hershey bars  and graham crakers. Just toast the marshmallows and stick between to crackers with a chocolate bar.  You can also do this in the oven broiler. (Stand by  and wait so it doesn’t burn!) Just put your crackers on foil, top with marshmallows- when those are toasty take out of oven and place your chocolate on top and eat! Okay, let it cool first.

~ Pick out different leaves, bring in the house, lay wax paper or plain white paper and use a crayon to color over to bring out the shape of the leaves.

~ Make a craft with your souvenirs you gathered from your nature walk.

Spending time with your family or friends is the key, isn’t it? That alone doesn’t have to cost money. So get busy thinking. You’ll be surprised to find the simple things you can do for “free” that may just net you “priceless” memories in the future!

Tracy Zdelar lives in Canton, Ohio and is a graduate of Liberty University with a bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies.  She’s enjoyed (more and less) working in a variety of fields from being a small newspaper “high school” news writer,  fast food,  management, teaching,  and case management in the health care system (just to name a few).  She now, like many moms, desires to work from home. This has been a journey in and of itself.  Tracy has earned extra income from home by being in direct sales, offering childcare, selling on Ebay,  and affiliate marketing - sometimes simultaneously .

As a wife and mother of two boys, Tracy now focuses on  affiliate marketing, blogging, and promoting other WAHMs (work-at-home moms) as well as sharing her money saving ways, reviews and resources on her website  http://www.HallofFameMoms.com

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

When you have little people in the house, you can have a LOT of family fun! Preschoolers find entertainment in many everyday activities.  Parents can have fun too by watching their children’s excitement when they discover new things.

One fun family activity you can do is go on a trip to your past, and bring the kids along. My kids love this one.

Go on a car ride to a neighborhood where you used to live and see what’s new. My kids love driving by the house my husband and I rented when we were first married. When we go to our hometown, a few hours away, they like to see our schools, the homes we grew up in, and the parks we used to play in.

If your past is too far away for a family drive, get out the photo album, or a book about where you used to live. Talk about your favorite activities when you lived there.

A very special day for us was when we drove to the farm my grandparents used to own, and where my own dad grew up. We took along a picnic, and imagined my dad as a little boy playing in that big farmyard.

This is a great opportunity to help your children learn more about their own history too. Young children often see the world through only their own eyes. A short journey to your family’s past will help them understand that they’re part of something much bigger than just themselves - they’re part of a family.

After your bug-hunting adventure, visit your local library to find some preschool books and videos about the insects you see. Maybe your child would even like his own library card! Our local library gives free library cards to children 12 and under as long as the parent has a library card.

Here are some of my family’s favorites:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Grouchy Ladybug

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle

Summertime is the perfect time to learn about insects with your preschoolers. All you need is a sunny day and a magnifying class. A magnifying glass like this one adds a lot of fun to bug hunting adventures!

It can be hard to get a preschooler to sit quietly for anything, but when you go insect watching, see if you can get him to sit for a few minutes and count how many different insects he can see.

What does an insect look like? Adult insects have these characteristics in common. (See how many creatures you can find that fit this description!)

• All adult insects have 6 legs. (Spiders are not actually insects, but arachnids.)
• Some insects have wings, but not all of them do!
• Insects have two antennae attached to the head.
• They might be hard to see, but insects have compound eyes. If you can look closely, you’ll see that their eyes are made up of many lenses put together.
• They have an abdomen. This is the segmented tail area that contains the heart, reproductive organs, and most of the digestive system.
• They also have a thorax. The thorax is the part that connects the insect’s head to the abdomen. The legs are attached to the thorax.

It’s still too cold in Calgary to grow plants outside. In fact, we built snowmen over the weekend!

No matter what the weather, you can always help your preschooler learn about plants by visiting a local greenhouse.

If the greenhouse isn’t very busy, you may even be able to talk to one of the employees about the different plants and what they need to grow.

Yesterday, I took the kids to visit my grandma’s house, three hours out of town. What a fun way to spend a day - and educational too!

My grandma, who is in her late 80’s, loves to hear all the details about my children’s lives. She also tells wonderful stories of her own childhood.

Grandma’s house is delicious too. We helped her bake her famous buns, and we spent the afternoon mixing dough together and forming bun shapes on the pans.

Not all the buns we made were as perfectly-formed as hers, but they tasted just as good!

Grandma said she had a wonderful time too. I think it feels good for her to know how interested we are in her life, and in the things she can teach us.

If you don’t have a grandparent nearby to visit, consider “adopting” a grandparent. Perhaps there are some older people in your church or neighborhood who don’t get to see their own grandchildren, and would love to spend an afternoon with yours.

An afternoon at Grandma’s house is a fun activity for everyone involved!

By Kitty Rosu

Who said “There’s no such thing as a free lunch?” It’s not true - at least, not if you are a kid! Better yet it’s dinner and they call it Kids Eat Free (or at least Really Cheap Anyways). That’s good news for parents of picky eaters and kids that eat, and eat (and eat!). From national restaurants chains to mom and pops all across the U.S. more and more Kids Eat Free menus are popping up.

Kids Eat Free promotions will run on various days of the week which is nice because there is usually something every night of the week. Many restaurants will use their less busy days (i.e. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday).  The following guidelines should help give you a better understanding of how your kids can eat for FREE:

Not all franchises require their franchisees to follow specific operating guidelines. You might find that one national restaurant in your area runs the promotion while others do not. It’s always best to call before making big plans.

Most kid’s nights will run during the week. The best day seems to be Tuesday, although you should be able to find a restaurant for every day of the week.

Check to see how many kids can eat with each paying adult. Usually it will be one to two children per adult entrée.

Be sure to ask the age limit. At many restaurants, children are considered to be ages 10 and under. At other restaurants you will find that it is 12-13 years old (but don’t tell your tweens that).

Check to see if the restaurant has a specific time for the offer. Some eateries will run kids eat free all day, while others are just dinner hours.

Examples of where you might find a Kids Eat Free Night in your area include Monday night at Quaker Steak and Lube, Back Yard Burgers or Ihop; Tuesday night at Beef O’ Brady’s, Denny’s or Lonestar; Wednesday night at Damon’s, Luby’s; Thursday night at KC Masterpiece. Friday night at The American Café; Saturday night Denny’s and Sunday check Planet Sub, Hooters and Salsaritas.

Some restaurants run their Kid’s Eat Free night a little different. They aren’t free but you will be able to order from the kid’s menu at a discount. Generally the prices are between $.99 and $1.99.  One of the favorites is Golden Corral Buffet which runs their Kids Eat Cheap night on Tuesday.  Kids eat for $1.99 and little ones 3 and under eat free.  Buffalo Wild Wings offers a $.99 Kid’s Menu on Monday’s, and Picadilly’s has kid’s meals on Saturday’s that range from $.99-$1.99.

This is just a small sample of restaurants that offer Kids Eat Free menus throughout the week.

A great website to assist you in finding even more is http://coupondivas.com/ which offers a list of Kids Eat Free Restaurants by day. You can also sign up for their newsletter to receive updates as new offers are added or changed!  Bon Appetite!!

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