35 Frugal, Fun and Simple Summer Activities for Kids

This summer I have every intention of doing some of the fun activities I've been pinning and bookmarking on my computer for the last couple of years. I must admit that because I'm not the most creative mom, I don't always follow through with my grand plans for a boatload of activities.

Here are 35 activity ideas that I've collected and shared with you! Some I've done and many I'm planning on doing this summer! These are frugal, fun and simple, and they won't take a lot of preparation or crafty skill. Perfect for our kids and hopefully for yours as well!

1. 7 Activities to do with Glow Sticks
2. Fireworks in a Jar
3. Jumping Grasshopper Craft
4. Make Sidewalk Chalk Paint with Broken Chalk Pieces
5. Sponge Relay
6. Simple Bubble Recipe (No Glycerin)
7. Easy Rainbow Bubble Snakes
8. Campfire Cones Snack
9. Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program
10. DIY Sponge Ball 
11. Reading Map (link to printable under "Make Reading an Adventure" heading)
12. Sidewalk Chalk City
13. Melt Crayons in the Sun
14. Spray each other with a hose
15. Go on a nature walk and/or bike ride
16. Make your own Bouncy Ball
17. 6 Summer Ministry Ideas to do with your Kids
18. Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag
19. DIY Sidewalk Paint
20. Visit all the parks in your area at least once
21. Go on a picnic
22. Complete these printable All About Bees Activities and make some Hunny Bee Cookies and buy some local honey for added fun
23. Campfire Snack (with grapes, pretzels and cheese!)
24. Splash in puddles on a rainy day
25. Grow "Window Sprouts"
26. Make a Sprinkler out of a Pop Bottle
27. Race Soap Boats (or just float them in the kiddie pool)
28. Paint with water on the sidewalk/driveway
29. Have a hula hoop contest
30. Have a Drive Inn Movie Event (great for a really hot day)
31. Go to a free kids workshops at Lowe's or Home Depot
32. Play the Circle Sidewalk Game 
33. Make Mini Marshmallow Shooters
34. Make Solar Smores
35. Make healthy fruit & yogurt popsicles!

Need a few more ideas? Check out four essential items for frugal kids summer activities! And here are some great free and frugal family summer fun ideas from contributor Ashley!

You can print out these ideas and cross them off as you go (just copy and paste into a Word doc) or write each on a popsicle stick and put them in a jar, like this!

Please feel free to pin this post if you enjoy it!! Have a fun and frugal summer!

How Many Clothes do Kids Really Need?

I used to think my children didn't have a lot of clothes. Based on the amount of clothing I saw displayed at garage sales, my kids really didn't have much in comparison, I reasoned.

But when we started to be able to go 2 full weeks without washing anything (except socks and underwear), I began to see that perhaps we weren't as minimalist as I thought.

Seriously, where did these clothes come from? I wondered. I became convinced that they reproduced on their own, like mushrooms. Then I started thinking about just how we filled our drawers and closets.

A shirt here, a dress there. I'd buy things on very good clearance and then forget what we had (because it was packed away in a box) and buy more. Next someone would give us hand-me-downs. Then the kids' birthdays or Christmas would come and grandparents would give clothing as gifts.

It was all coming into our house in a inexpensive manner, but as we go along in our frugal living journey, I'm realizing more and more that a deal really isn't a good deal unless you're going to use it. Our closets aren't overflowing but we're definitely not lacking in selection either.

One of our three financial changes for 2013 is to spend less money on clothes, especially our children's clothes. We are 30 miles from the nearest thrift store and with three children and being pregnant, I don't have a lot of time or energy to browse clothes or go in on days where there are rock-bottom deals, stuff-a-bag sales, etc. Garage sales in our small town don't have a lot of selection and so that's hit or miss as well. 

The best ways to make this change seem to be to pare down and minimize our children's clothing "collections" and to stay organized about what we already have so we don't buy duplicates or too many extras.

In our family we have two boys and one girl (until our next girl joins us on October!) and we don't go many places throughout the week. This means that I'll have a chance to wash clothes that get dirty fairly often. 

Super duper clearance clothes from Old Navy--I'm going to remember & use them!

Based on our needs and our lifestyle, this is what I'm planning on having (per child):

• 2 pairs of dress pants/shorts/skirts, in different colors 
• 4 nicer dress shirts (polos, button up, etc)
• 1 fancy dress outfit (1 fancy dress for my daughter)
• 5 outfits for play that are interchangeable and can get dirty without me minding
• 2 nicer casual outfits
• 3-4 pairs of pajamas
• 1 swimwear item
• 2 pairs of shoes, one dress, one casual (read why I always buy new shoes for my kids)
• 1 pair of play sandals for the summer (like crocs or flip flops)
• Seasonal jackets & outerwear as needed
• Undergarments & socks as needed

I'm also going to be stricter about when clothes go in the wash. At the end of the day, if it's not noticeably dirty or smelly, it can go back in the drawer or closet. This saves on wear and tear from washing as well so the clothes last longer.

Possible barriers to success:

• I'm a clean freak, so I expect the whole "waiting to wash" thing to be a slow process
• I will forget to wash clothes and my kids will have nothing to wear but undergarments (public nudity is not my thing)
• I will wake up one morning and realize I have gone completely insane

Maybe this seems like an extremely minimal amount of clothes and it's going to backfire. Thanks to the rational inspiration of Stephanie from Keeper of the Home, I'm just going to try this as an experiment this summer, so I won't let go of the winter clothes I've already stocked up on for this winter just yet. I want to see if these amounts of clothing are really consistent with our needs.

Already I've had a little success! I was pleased to find after going through my 2 year old son's clothing last week that the only thing I had to buy new for him this summer were one pair each of dress and play sandals. I've saved some of his brother's clothes and bought a few clearance items last year so that was very helpful.

Likely benefits of a minimal children's wardrobe:

• Less storage space used to store clothes for the next season or when saving for the next child down.
• Less time washing, drying and folding (maybe my kids can manage it ALL now!)
• Better record keeping
• Saving even more money!

So the question remains: Will this experiment work? I'll keep you updated! 

How many clothes do you think a child should have? How much is too much? If your kids have too many clothes, what is your plan to pare down?

Shared at Raising Mighty Arrows, Deep Roots at Home, The Better Mom, Time Warp Wife, Raising Homemakers, Family Fun Friday and My Joy Filled Life.

Four Essential Items for Frugal Kids Summer Activities

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be re-sharing some posts that I had last year as part of a series called Spring Into Summer. My blog has grown much, thanks to all of you, in the past year, so many may not have seen these posts. I hope to give you some tools to prepare ahead of time for a fun, creative and relaxing summer. 

I am so excited to have another great guest post, this one brought to you by my friend Stacie at Motherhood on a Dime! 

Summer will be here before you know it...and along with it, kids who need something to do! As the mom of three little girls (ages 4 to 7), I understand the need to keep them occupied and engaged during the long, hot summer days. Here are four inexpensive items I keep in my "summer activity box".

1) Sidewalk Chalk

Here are a few of our favorite ways to use chalk:

• Build a chalk city (this keeps them entertained for so long!!)
• Practice letters and numbers
• Draw and play hopscotch
• Review spelling words

2) Bubbles

Bubbles and summer days just seem to go together. Here are a few bubble-blowing variations you might try:

• Body Part Bubble Pop
• Use pipe cleaners or experiment with other items to make bubble wands
• Make a huge bubble wand from a hula hoop
• Have a bubble-blowing contest (Who can make the largest? Who can make the smallest?)

3) Foil

You can pick up a roll of foil fairly inexpensively at a dollar-type store or use a coupon to get a good deal. Here are just a few ideas for foil:

• Make boats
• Make a foil river
• Use foil (and the sun) to make s'mores
• Tinfoil dinners
• Use foil to make sculptures 

4) Water

Well, I can't actually store water in my activity box, but there are so many fun activities to do with water during the summer!

• Make your own slipe-and-slide
• Water balloon toss (classic!)
• Make your own soaker balls
• Scooping and pouring water in a kiddie pool
• "Paint" outside with a bucket of water and large paintbrush

Do you have any inexpensive summer fun ideas?

Stacie is the mom of three little girls and wife to her college sweetheart. A former teacher, she blogs about kid's activities, bargains, faith, and life over at Motherhood on a Dime. She also loves skimming through Pinterest to find favorite crafts for kids, homeschooling, and organizational ideas.

Shared at Raising Homemakers, Thriving Thursdays, Family Fun Friday and Raising Mighty Arrows

How I'm Using My eBook Bundle Freebies for a Healthy Pregnancy and Baby

Have you used your Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle freebies yet? They must be redeemed by May 19!

Here's how I'm using mine for a healthy pregnancy and faster recovery after baby comes!

For the Fit2B Studio freebie, I'm redeeming my 2 months of free membership and using the pregnancy workouts! They have a big variety of videos plus they have safe workouts for those with diastasis recti (splitting of the abdominal muscles) that you can do after giving birth. I have this condition so I look forward to seeing how they'll guide me though it!
With my $15 credit to TruKid, I actually ordered just one item to make my order completely free (plus only $2.25 shipping)! I purchased their baby wash, which has non-toxic and all natural ingredients. I feel better already about what I'm going to be using on baby come October.

I picked the Facial Mud Bundle for my Redmond freebie. Pretty excited about this since I've been wanting to try the detoxing and healing effects of clay for a long time! (Please read up on this yourself, but from what I've read, Redmond clay is safe for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding.) I also added Redmond clay stomach ease capsules for my husband and I to the order, so that shipping was free. Shipping would have been $12.99 for the bundle alone and by adding a $13.99 item, at least I'm getting something extra plus free shipping.

I'm going to be trying the sourdough starter from Cultures for Health, mostly because I've been curious about it for a long time and have never made one of my own! This will be a healthier choice of bread for our family. According to an article I read recently, true sourdough bread can be eaten by those who are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease.

Woo hoo! So pumped about my free 3 month subscription to Plan to Eat! You can add in your own recipes and they will give you a shopping list and simple drag and drop menu planner. This will help me organize meals during our busy summer and also for after baby arrives (one less thing to think about and I can do it ahead of time!). 

I used my Bee All Natural store credit to get baby diaper rash cream. I've just decided this time that a more natural alternative to zinc oxide is the way we're going to go! (Plus, who doesn't want a free lip balm too?) My order total was $7.20 ($1.25 over the credit for the balm, plus $5.95 for shipping).

At first I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to use my credit to Trilight Health. But then I found their Contract Ease liquid herb mixture for after-birth pains and uterine cramps. Yes, please! Praying that it helps, as mine seem to get worse after each child. My total was $6.99 (shipping cost).

These products have really been helpful for me as we pursue more natural living in our home. How are you using your freebies?

Shared at: Time Warp Wife, Tending the Home Tuesdays and Growing Home.

**This post does contain some affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure.

How to Answer the BIG and Little Questions Kids Ask

Not a day goes by in my house where many, many questions do not get asked. Some of these are questions that are easy to answer, like, "Can we get an elephant and keep him in the backyard?" but others are not so simple.

Some of them are technical questions, like when my 7 year old son asks how many light years apart the planets are in the solar system or when the four year old asks how old she needs to be before she can cut up cheese slices with a real knife.

Others are the big things. You've heard them in your house I'm sure.

Why do people die?
Why did that guy rob the Cenex gas station?
How come my friend John doesn't live with both his parents?
What does God look like?

Yikes! So many questions, so little time to answer them. Kids are curious. Sadly, there are times when I find myself a bit, well, lazy about satisfying their curiosity.

Sometimes it's because I don't know the answer off-hand (like the one about the planets), so I say we'll look it up later. Except we don't.

Other times I don't want to answer because I feel like I've answered the same question a dozen times {such as "why does my sister get more time on the iPod?" (she really doesn't) or "when can I change into my Tinkerbell dress?" (when I say you can).}

And maybe those smaller questions can be let go without detriment. But what about those BIG questions? How can I answer them in the right way? Sometimes the right words escape me at the moment.

As I'm going along in my parenting journey, I'm thinking there are maybe some questions that I need to answer with care and others where it maybe doesn't matter if I give them the deepest, most profound answer in the world.

To be honest, I'm going to forget to answer the "distance between planets" questions sometimes (although after blogging about it, I might actually look that one up!). And the repetitive questions might get a sigh before I respond.

But the BIG ones? The meaning of life inquiries? Those we as parents should definitely be ready to talk about.

So, is it okay to say "that's an important question, let's talk about it tonight"? So we don't miss the opportunity to impart an essential life lesson or teach a spiritual truth in its full explanation? Or should we simply take advantage of those character building moments, redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). Is it possible that the devil will sneak the time away from me later to keep me from helping my child understand the difference between right and wrong (or other issues) in the throes of bedtime madness?

Many times I really need to force myself to stop and answer questions that may seem simple to me but are complicated to my children. It's hard to wrap their minds around why bad things happen or why some families are different than ours.

And it's true, we might not have the time to talk about it later. As parents, we need to evaluate what's really important, but in the moment that isn't always easy to do, especially when we are busy doing other things that seem to need to take prefernce. Yet it IS important to our children, so shouldn't it be meaningful to us as well? Even if the subject manner is boring, it's the conversation that shows our children that we acknowledge their questions and care enough to answer them (or, if we really can't right that moment, make a point to come back to it later when we have learned more about it).

Because if we don't answer their questions, others will. And it often won't be the truth we want our children to hear!

What do you do when your children ask you those big important questions? Do you find it easy to answer them or do you get stumped sometimes like I do?



photo credit: pat138241/freedigitalphotos.net

Shared at: Walking Redeemed, Heart+Home, Time Warp Wife, Deep Roots at Home, Tending the Home Tuesdays and Growing Home.

Mother's Day Weekend Giveaway! The Good Wife's Guide, How to Grow Your Blog and More!

Happy Mother's Day weekend! I hope you can celebrate this weekend with your mom, grandmother, children or someone who has been like a mother to you. Even if you are far away, a simple phone call or Skype conversation can be very meaningful, especially if you include the children (my mother-in-law who is far away loves getting homemade cards from our kiddos!)

Anyway, on to the point of this post! In appreciation of this weekend, I am giving away a few ebooks. Each has a separate Rafflecopter and all that's required is a super-easy click for entry!

These eBooks are part of the Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle from a couple of weeks ago. They are eBooks that I already had or are not needed at this point in my life but I know they can be useful to many of you! They are free for me to gift as I choose (or as Rafflecopter chooses in this case!)

Here are the books in the giveaway:

• The Good Wife's Guide by Darlene Schacht
• How to Grow Your Blog and Manage Your Home by Jacinda Vandenberg
• Plan a Fabulous Party without Losing Your Mind by Mary Carver
• Flourishing Spring: Nourishing Activities for Rainy Days by Michele Augur

Also check out my Facebook post for other eBooks and freebies from the bundle I am giving away this weekend! 

Go ahead and spend a couple of moments entering and then enjoy your weekend! This giveaway is open until Monday, May 13, at 11:59 pm CST.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Top 3 Tips for Packing for a Road Trip with Less Stress

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be re-sharing some posts that I wrote last year as part of a series called Spring Into Summer. My blog has grown much, thanks to all of you, in the past year, so many may not have seen these posts. I hope to give you some tools to prepare ahead of time for a fun, creative and relaxing summer. 


Twice a year, in the summer and the winter, my family takes a trip to visit my in-laws, who live 12 hours away. Since we first starting making this trek five years ago, we've added two more children and countless "stuff" that is needed for our stay. 

Over the years we've learned some important things about packing efficiently and successfully for a road trip. Here are some ideas designed to keep you calm and help you make the most of the space in your vehicle!

Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net

Make a Detailed Packing List - Before you begin randomly stuffing items into suitcases {ahem}, it's important to have a detailed list of what you need. Some things you may want to consider when deciding what to bring along:

• The length of the trip
• The weather and/or potential weather
• What activities will keep kids occupied {lots of ideas in tomorrow's post!}
• What type of food you'd like to eat along the way
• Activities you plan to do while on your trip {swimming, sledding, going to the beach, etc}

What we've found so helpful is to type up a list of the items we bring every time. {Check out this really cute printable packing list!} Then we put in a page protector to be reused for any trip, simply checking off each item as we go and wiping it clean for next time. We add things to the list of course, depending on the destination.

Decide How to Pack and Store Needed Items - We've always had a van to travel in, but this summer will be the first time we've had stow-and-go (woo hoo!). There have been a variety of ways we've tried to pack but these have been the most successful. 

• Packing three to four outfits plus swimsuits, limiting ourselves to one soft drawstring bag for each person's clothes. This suggestion was given to me by a friend and it was a life-saver!

• Roll and stuff heavy sweatshirts and snowpants in the winter. When you roll clothing items you can fit them much more easily into tight spaces or small suitcases!

• Pack using a large tote to store all children's clothing, diapers, shoes, etc. When we do this, we pack non-essentials (things we won't need on the way) near the bottom.

• If staying overnight on your way to your destination, have ONE small suitcase that you put a change of clothes and only necessary toiletries in for each person so you don't have to drag out all your totes and suitcases when you stop.

• Packing activities {books, coloring pages, worksheets, a Trip Clip and "busy bags"} in a reusable shopping bag for easy storage.

• Pack stuffed animals, blankies, and other can't-go-without-them items in another reusable shopping bag so they don't get left behind.

photo credit

Be Prepared so Packing for a Trip as Stress-less as Possible! - I tend to get stressed out easily {blame my Type-A, high-strung personality} and so I'm trying hard to tweak the way we pack so that I don't end up just being a grump before we leave. 

• Start packing 3 or 4 days in advance so you're not doing everything at the last minute {we're still working through this one at our house!} 
• Give your kids a small list so they can help pack. Yup, half the time they won't do it right but that's okay! It might at least keep them busy and it's good reading practice :)
• Eat an easy meal before you leave so there is little to no clean-up. 
• Try to relax! Realize that it will all get done and unless you have a minute-by-minute plan for your trip, leaving a half-hour late won't upset the apple cart too much ;)

What tips do you have for packing successfully for a road trip? I'd love to hear them in the comments!

You may also like: Five Healthy Snack Ideas for Traveling with Kids, How to Travel with Kids and Not Go Crazy

Shared at Family Fun Friday, The Better Mom

Growing Into a Purposeful Mom

About 18 months ago, when I first started "seriously" blogging, I changed the name of my blog to "The Purposeful Mom". At the time, I chose it because I figured I'd always be a mom and so that title would fit no matter what stage of life I was in! 

But I don't think I really know what that would mean for the direction of my blog. Sometimes people equate the word "purposeful" with "boring" or "overzealous". This can most definitely happen, but I prefer to see it in a more positive way, and encourage you to do the same, no matter what stage of your mothering life you find yourself in! 

So, what does it mean to be a "purposeful mom"?  Read my thoughts over at day2day joys!

Four Ways We’re Changing Our Diet to Get Healthy This Summer

photo credit

This past January, I found out that I was pregnant with our fourth child. My emotions were mixed: I love having babies, but I always suffer from extreme “all-day” sickness, rendering me pretty much unable to eat anything but bland food or drink straight water for several months.

About this same time, everyone in our family fell ill from a virus similar to influenza (except me, thankfully!). Once we finally recovered and as the winter months dragged on, we all felt sluggish and tired, probably due to the fact that we weren’t eating very well. Because I could barely stand to be in the kitchen, most of our meals were packaged food. I tried very hard to include fruits and vegetables, but I couldn’t stomach raw foods myself, so that probably went by the wayside a bit too often.

Now that spring has finally appeared (it was snowing up until two weeks ago where I live) and I am finally starting to feel less nauseous, I’m bound and determined to get back to healthy eating habits and make even healthier choices than we were before I was feeling sick. Here are four ways we’re changing our diet and habits to get healthy this summer.

Read about our four life changes over at Untrained Housewife, where I'm a contributing author!

Less Than 24 Hours to Get 95% off a Library of Homemaking eBooks!

The Ultimate Homemaking Ebook Bundle sale is now over! Below I talk about some of the individual books in the bundle that have had a powerful impact on me, so they may be of interest to you as well!

Would you like to know about the next time a sale like this becomes available? I'd love to have you as an email subscriber here at The Purposeful Mom! You'll receive updates whenever I post (usually 3 times a week) and you'll also know right away when another awesome, money-saving ebook bundle is waiting for you!

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When I got my bundle and started digging into it, I was really overwhelmed. I mean, 97 eBooks is a LOT of books!

But then a lot of wonderful things began to emerge from the pages of these thoughtfully penned {or typed!} works and I realized that what is contained in this bundle has the potential to change lives.

To heal marriages.

To restore your trust in God.

To teach you to embrace your calling as a mother, wife, friend, and daughter of the King.

To give you the tools you need to teach your children about the precious Word of God.

To help you organize your home, one manageable step at a time.

95% off each of these 97 books means they are only 31 cents each! $29.97 gets you a beautiful library of books that will teach you, inspire you and quite honestly, make you cry as you grow in your faith through some of the most beautiful stories of redemption and renewal.

Can I share with you some of the books that have impacted me the most? {You can click on the pictures.}

         

The bottom line is, I'd love for you to have this bundle. Yes, it does benefit me as a blogger, but the benefits for you are immeasurable.

• You can split the cost with a friend.
• You can download them to your Kindle device or other electronic device.
• You can read them a couple at a time or gift the books you don't need to a deserving friend. {That's what I'm doing!}

Click here to buy the bundle. Or check out the list of all the books one more time! Once it's gone, it's gone and there will never be anything like it!

Some of the links in this post are my affiliate links. I do make a portion of each sale through my links. Thank you SO much for your support of The Purposeful Mom!