Free Summer Fun for Families

Posted on June 3, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image by Alaskan Dude via Flickr

$50…the cost to fill up my little Hyundai Elantra!

$42…the cost to take a family of four out to popcorn and a movie!

$207…the cost to take a family of four to a Six Flags Amusement Park…and that doesn’t include any food or drinks!

$208…the cost to take a family of four to a Red Sox baseball game…that is just for the cheapest seats and again, no food or drinks!

How about some ideas for Free Summer Fun for your family?

1. Check out your local paper, either the print copy or online…most have a “GO” section where special events are listed…many of them are free like concerts in the park. Here in Colorado Springs, we have a great FREE event coming up on June 11 from 10am to 2pm in Acacia Park sponsored by PBS. The PBS Fun Fest will feature Clifford the Big Red Dog and Curious George plus lots of entertainment and many booths that will offer a variety of crafts and activities for children. I’LL BE THERE…CRAFTING WITH KIDS AND HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME! If you are local to Colorado Springs, please stop by and say hello!

2. Check out your local library. Most libraries offer many programs, presentations and activities for children…and they are almost always FREE! A library card is one of the most precious gifts you can give to your children…another FREEBIE!!!

3. Check out one of our fabulous National Parks…there are several days during the year when admission is FREE…the first day of summer, June 21, is one of those. A fellow blogger has some great info in her a recent post.

How do you stay within your budget during the summer while still providing fun-filled activities for your family? Please share…your ideas might be just perfect for another family.

The next few weeks will be pretty hectic for me. My daughter, son-in-law and grandson arrive today from New Hampshire and will be spending several days with us. So far our plans include teaching our 2½ year-old grandson how to fish, spending a day at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and hiking in Garden of the Gods. I’ll be sure to post some photos.

Then on June 11, I’ll be crafting at the PBS Kids Fun Fest at Acacia Park in downtown Colorado Springs.

And, on June 18^th from 11am to 1pm, I’ll be crafting with kids at the Covered Treasures Bookstore in Monument, CO as part of a FREE town-wide festival for children called Summer Soul-Stice.

Still wishing you had some great activities that are easy, inexpensive and fun to do with your kids. Please go to my website where you can buy a copy of my book at 50% off the cover price during the JUMP INTO SUMMER SPECIAL.

Dollar Store Madness: Where’s Miss Vivian?

Posted on May 21, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Ad for St. Joachim Dollar Store, Boston. From:...

Image via Wikipedia

I took the day off from work today.

I had several vacation days left that needed to be used before May 22.

I thought about turning over and going back to sleep, but then I would feel that I had “wasted” the day.

One of the most important things on my to-do list was to get over to one of our local dollars store to grab some stuff for the upcoming Rocky Mountain PBS Kids Fun Fest on June 11.

The dollar stores are a take-off on the old discount stores like Woolworth’s 5 & 10 and John’s Bargain Stores. I remember fondly many afternoons spent combing the aisles in John’s Bargain Stores in New York City as a young girl…colorful scarves, pencils with fancy erasers, costume jewelry and more!

A plastic tablecloth and items for the bag of craft supplies giveaway were on the top of the list. After walking up and down the aisles several times and asking one of the women who worked there, I came away with 3 bags of stuff, most of which wasn’t on my list. Dollar stores are like that. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a lime green tablecloth, so I settled for red…but now that I think about it, I should have chosen the yellow. And they didn’t have the glue sticks or safety scissors they had last time. So I will probably have to go back tomorrow or head over to a different dollar store location to see if their shelves have what I need.

Do you shop at dollar stores? Are we really getting a bargain or does it just feel that way because everything is a dollar? I don’t know…maybe the same item is 50 cents at a regular store. 🙂

I wanted to pass along a wonderful post by blogger Kathryn of Kid Culture. She writes about a topic near and dear to my heart: Self-Esteem and Respecting Others and gives parents some great tips.

We all want our children to grow up with a positive self-image. There are many things we can do to ensure that…one of the most important is to spend positive time with them. Open Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking to any page and you will find a summary of a great picture book to read to your preschooler, a gentle parenting tip to help you use the story to build self-esteem, an easy eco-friendly craft and a simple healthful cooking activity. This great resource can definitely be a life-saver for busy parents. Grab a copy during our half-price sale and you will be ready for the long hot summer days!

Simple Crafts for Summer Fun: To-Do Tuesdays

Posted on May 17, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Do ducks like the water?

Does the sun rise in the east?

Do kids love crafting?

The answer to all of these questions is YES!

Here’s a simple craft activity from Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. It requires only 5 things…I’m sure you have all five in your home already. Your child will love making this puzzle and will enjoy putting it together and taking it apart…great pre-reading skills!

MAKE A PUZZLE

You will need: A picture (from an old magazine for example), a piece of heavy weight construction paper approximately the same size as the picture your child has chosen (or one side of a cereal box), a pair of safety scissors, paste or a glue stick and an envelope in which to store the pieces.

1. Let your child choose a picture from an old magazine.

2. Paste the picture onto the construction paper or cardboard.

3. Cut the mounted picture in pieces. Depending on the age of your child, this could be a two or three or more piece puzzle.

4. Help your child put the pieces together to form the picture.

5. Store the pieces in an envelope.

I’ll be doing a similar craft in downtown Colorado Springs on June 11^that the PBS Kids Fun Fest in Acacia Park from 10am to 2pm. There will be all kinds of entertainment and many tables of craft activities for children. If you are local, this is a MUST-GO-TO event…lots of fresh ideas for parents and teachers!

KTSC-KFF- Color Flier

Please stop by tomorrow for What’s In Your Child’s Bookcase for a great picture book suggestion for summer reading. And don’t forget to visit my website to take advantage of the Jump Into Summer Half-off Sale.