“School’s out, School’s out…Teacher let the monkeys out!” our seven year old daughter gleefully sang repeatedly on Friday.

“I’m bored, what can we do?” whined the same seven year old girl on Saturday.

Already?!? I thought.

It is inevitable that once school has ended for the summer children get bored. The weeks leading up to the end of the school year are filled with anticipation of sleeping late, vacations and other fun filled activities-NOT hanging out at home and finding ways to entertain ourselves.

We live within an hour’s drive of a zoo, several amusement parks, numerous water parks, untold how many different tourist activities (all requiring that admission be paid), and at least three malls. Summers past, we have always bought season passes to the zoo and season passes to at least one of the amusement parks for the three of us. We justified these purchases with the idea in mind that these activities were so close that we could take a day trip and buying the passes would actually save us money. This was true as far as admission was concerned. What we never calculated was how much we spent on eating at restaurants, or in the park for three different meals, snacks and the inevitable trip through the gift shop (which could not be avoided since you have to walk through the gift shop to exit the attraction.) We always allowed our daughter to pick out one item; after all, how could we expect her to walk out of there seeing everything and not buy her something? We never thought twice about this or what we were teaching our child about moderation or self-control, but that is a topic for another post.

If you have spent time looking at our website, then you are aware that my husband and I are on a redefine our lives by spending less, getting rid of debt, and learning to save money. Suffice it to say that these decisions have impacted our daughter as well.

In the not so distant past, on such a beautiful day we would have hopped in the car and headed to one of the many attractions nearby. We would have proudly used our season passes (purchased with a credit card) to enter an attraction, spent the day enjoying ourselves while we purchased our meals and snack items (with a credit card), left the attraction with our daughter proudly holding onto her new stuffed animal or overpriced toy (that she really did not need, but that we could not refuse to use our credit card to buy her) and came back home that evening exhausted and ready for bed.

However, since we are redefining our lives, and realizing the error of our ways, this was not an option. So, on such a beautiful day…what could we do? What could we do that did not involve spending money? What could we do that would be frugal and still be fun?

We made bubbles! Yes, bubbles. This was oh so simple, but so much fun.

We used a recipe for homemade bubble solution that I had cut out of Family Fun Magazine several months ago. It worked great. Did you know that blowing bubbles is still fun when you are all grown up?

To make homemade bubble solution mix 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons of dish washing liquid and 2 tablespoons glycerin (you can find this at most drug stores for around $3.00).

Another perk of making the homemade bubble solution was the learning opportunity that was presented. Reading the directions (literacy skills), measuring the proper amount of ingredients (math skills), and mixing everything (fine motor skills) is just the beginning.

Do you want a simple science lesson? Make a bubble blower by rolling a piece of card stock or thick construction paper into a cone and securing it with tape. Evenly trim the narrow end so it measures about ½ inch in diameter. Trim the wide opening to even it out as well. Dip the wide end of the cone into the bubble solution and hold it there for a few seconds to absorb the mixture. Tap off the excess liquid and then quickly dip the cone again. With the cone pointed toward the ground, gently blow a large bubble. Leave it attached to the end of the cone, using a finger to cover the tip of the cone. Next, stick the point of the scissors (that were used to trim the paper) into the bubble. It should pop instantly. Try it again, but dip the scissor points into the bubble solution. They should pass right through the bubble without breaking it. What happened? There are two main ways the bubble pops. First: the watery wall evaporates. The second way is when something dry tears a hole in the wall (ie: you poke it with the dry scissors). By dipping the blades into the bubble solution, the scissors pass right through.

When I did this our daughter was amazed. At that point, nothing was safe! Her hands had to get soaked so that she could see if the same thing would happen! Toes had to be tried as well. Yeah, it got a little messy and we got a little sticky, but it was still fun!

We survived the first weekend of summer vacation without breaking every rule that we had made for ourselves and still had a lot of fun. We never even left the house. Amazing.

We will be posting on other things that we do throughout the summer that does not break our budget. Until then, do you have any fun frugal ideas that you do with your children to break the summertime boredom that seems to be inevitable?

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Here we are going to list some of the Firefox add-ons that have been extremely helpful in saving us time and effort on a daily basis. There are too many add-ons available to count, just don’t get carried away and install too many (it will affect browser performance, I know!). My advice is to stick with only the add-ons that you will be using more than once a day. I look at them as ways to increase productivity, or to save time and money; they must meet one of these criteria before I will install them.

1. Session Manager. This is the first add-on that I use when I open my browser. It probably saves me 10-15 minutes daily. You can create as many sessions as you wish and label them all. I have several, but my core session is the one that I use daily. It includes all the pages I visit daily. Be sure to create a master password before you save a session. It will open in tabs and log you in automatically after you enter your password. Try it out.
2. Scribefire. This add-on will only appeal to you fellow bloggers out there. It opens an interface at the bottom of the page and allows you to post to your blog instantly.
3. PDF Download. This is a great tool. How many times have you clicked on a link only to find it is a .pdf file that takes 5 minutes to download? This add-on stops that. Whenever you click on a link that is a .pdf, it automatically detects the file and lets you choose how you want to handle the file.
4. No Script. If you visit sites that you are not familiar with often, this add-on is a great security feature. It will allow absolutely no script to run on the page without your permission. You only have to allow sites that you frequent often once, and there is a menu if you change your mind about certain scripts.
5. Auto Shutdown. This allows your computer to automatically shutdown once all files have been downloaded. I usually grab any music, podcast, or videos before bed and let them download. Whenever they are finished, my PC automatically shuts down. At the time of this post, the add-on was not found. It is possible that an update is being processed.
6. StumbleUpon. This will add a StumbleUpon toolbar. If you frequently use this application, this is a great tool. All of your stumble options can be managed from the toolbar.
7. Twitterbar. If you use Twitter to let friends know what you are into, this allows you to post to Twitter directly from your address bar by clicking a little green circle.
8. Answers. Provides one click information on words or phrases that you may encounter on the net.

These next two are for the Thunderbird email client developed by Mozilla.

1. Lightning. Adds calendar functionality to Thunderbird.
2. Provider for Google Calendar. Allows Lightning and Sunbird to sync with Google calendar.

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This post is designed specifically for those with kids in mind. (Or…those who are simply kids at heart!) Whether you are looking for something to do on a rainy day or something fun (and frugal) to do with your family this post is for you.

Let me begin by first stating one of our personal philosophies when it comes to children: First and foremost we believe that learning occurs in young children best through play! This means lots of playing…yes, that means mom and dad get in the floor, in the yard, in the kitchen…wherever and play! We know, sometimes it is hard to do that, but honestly if we don’t play with our little ones and enter their worlds of make believe (while we are still invited) then what makes us think that when our children reach their teenage years that they will want us involved in their lives. O.K. Off of my soap box…

Children love messy, icky, and all around gooey textures. With this in mind, let me warn you ahead of time; some of the fun, frugal ideas here are a bit messy. My recommendations are put down an old sheet or some wax paper and let the fun begin. For those of you who are a bit leery of a mess let me give you some motivation for allowing the icky, messy stuff. Allowing young children to experience the different textures and temperatures is very beneficial to their sensory-motor development; this is true for children with or without special needs.

Certain foods and ingredients make for great fun! I am going to list several activities that you can do at home for a minimal cost, but for maximum fun.

1. Make some play dough! I am going to list two separate recipes so that even very young toddlers can get in on the fun.

Peanut Butter Play dough
3 ½ cups peanut butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 ½ cups of honey
4 cups of dry milk powder

In a large bowl, mix together peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar, then beat in honey and fold in milk power. Divide into 15 equal portions and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

The above recipe is great for toddlers who are too young to try to keep them from eating it!

Regular Play Dough
2 Cups of flour
½ cup of cornstarch
1 Tbsp. powdered alum
2 cups of water
1 cup of salt
1 tbsp salad oil

Place all ingredients in saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture thickens into consistency of cough. Remove from heat and let cool until it can be handled. Knead like bread dough until smooth. Add food coloring if you wish. Store in airtight container. Keeps for up to one month.

**Great for those days when kids are WILD and you need to de-stress….the kneading of dough is a natural stress reliever**

    2. Finger Paint! No, I am not crazy! This is loads of fun and there are some great non-toxic recipes that can be used for children of all ages. My favorite is:

Condensed Milk Paint
2 cups condensed milk
4 small bowls

Various plastic or wooden spoons
Red, yellow, green, blue food coloring
Divide the condensed milk evenly into the four bowls.
Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl (create more colors by mixing and experimenting)
Mix food coloring into the milk with spoons.
Put down construction paper and let the fun begin!

You can give your toddler wooden or plastic spoons, cookie cutters, basting brushes or anything that they can “paint” with…of course fingers work great.

    3. Make Goop. This stuff is fascinating, it hardens in the air and turns to liquid when it is held, can resist punching, but a light touch causes a finger to sink in. Try to explain this to a curious child of four and you have yourself a challenge.

 Goop
3 cups of corn starch
2 cups of warm water

Slowly add water to the corn starch. Mix ingredients together with hands. Goop is ready to use when it changes from being lumpy to satiny.

    4. Have children tell you a story or have them act out a story you have told them. This is especially fun when the child is old enough to draw some of their own story prompts. Many people wrongly assume that a preschooler has a limited attention span, but give them your attention and *listen* to them, talk *to* them not at them and I think many would be pleasantly surprised at just how much of an attention span they have and they would be shocked at their creativity.

    5. Sing, dance and use your imagination with your child. Ok, I know this is hard for a lot of us, but I promise you this: young children don’t care whether or not we can sing or dance, they just want us to be involved with them. When doing these things remember that it is irrelevant how crazy you feel or how out of sorts you feel, what is important is that you are showing your child that you are willing to have fun with them in a way that you both can enjoy.

To close this post let me state that having fun with your family in a frugal manner is really rather simple. I believe that it is the pillow fights, the wrestling matches in the living room floor, the make believe princesses and super heroes, and the little things that make great memories. These things will be what children and parents remember most when looking back, not the expensive vacation that leaves everyone exhausted and cranky! So, what are you waiting for? GO PLAY.

What are some of your best memories from childhood? What are ways that you have frugal fun with your family?

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1. Go to your public library. This is a great local resource that is free and is often overlooked when thinking of entertainment. There will be an entire post on libraries later, but for now just check one out if you have not in a while.

2. Go to a local park. This obviously is a weather permitting event, but it is a good option for kids and adults alike. Young and old alike, this is a great place for fun as well as exercise. We like to go for the walks in nature, which for me is a great stress reliever after a week spent in overdrive!!

3. Enjoy a movie theater at home. You don’t have to go out of your house to have a great movie experience. We enjoy turning out the lights, popping popcorn, melting butter, maybe having nachos and cheese, and enjoying an old classic from our collection. Try to keep it as real as possible: go to the bathroom before the movie starts, turn all phones to silent, etc.

4. Go to a museum.  Most areas will have a local museum of some sort.  They can usually be found by contacting your tourism office.  Some of the ones we have visited have charged a nominal fee, while others were completely free.  These museums can be a great place to learn about the history of your town or county as well as be able to view some interesting exhibits and artifacts.

5.  Go camping.  This is another idea that does not have to be planned around the weather.  Most camp grounds are very nice, and have great facilities.  It is always a good idea to check  the comments on a place, or even do an inspection in person if the campground is close enough.  The fee is usually nominal, and the experience is well worth it.  I would also like to add that if you have children, and the weather is nasty, camping indoors has served us well.  It usually amounts to no more than a few sleeping bags in the floor around a fire made out of construction paper.  Kids are very creative when you tell them this is there indoor camping trip, and to make what they will of it.

Do you practice any of these, or have your own ways of
having frugal fun?  Please let us know!!

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