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Kid Frugal Fun: Fall Lacing Activity

by Dana Zeliff on October 1, 20112011-10-01
in Events/Kid Fun

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Looking for fun, educational & frugal activities to do with your child? Mom on Dealz will provide you with weekly activities to keep your children learning while you stay on budget!

Check out the previous crafts here

Fall Lacing Fun

Materials:
Cardstock, Poster board, or Paper
Single Hole Punch
Ribbon
Scissors
Pencil, Crayons, Other Decorating Items

Directions:
1. Draw and cut out desired fall shape (football, leaf, apple, pumpkin, leaf, ear of corn, acorn, etc).
2. Punch holes around the edge of shape about 1 inch from the side and 1 inch spaced apart.

3. Wrap tape around each end of your ribbon to help make the activity easier.

4. Have your child lace the ribbon through the holes of the shape.

Educational Activities:
–Language Arts: 1. Write descriptive words or draw pictures of things you see during Fall (We practiced writing L for leaf on our shape). 2. Make up fun and rhyming Fall songs and sing them while your child laces. Then have them ID the rhyming words. Example given below.
–Science: Discuss weather changes that Fall brings and discuss the shapes and forms of the common natural objects of Fall (leaves, etc).
–Math: Create a pattern in the middle of your shape (such as circle, heart, triangle, circle, heart, triangle, etc).

Leaves around us falling down
Yellow, orange, and sometimes brown

Pumpkins, apples, and some football
I’m so very excited it’s time for Fall!

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Filed Under: Events/Kid Fun Tagged With: Frugal Kid Fun

Free Weekend Activities 09/30-10/02

by Dana Zeliff on September 30, 20112011-09-30
in Events/Kid Fun

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Not sure what to do with the kids this weekend? Take a look at these FREE events courtesy of Keeping Cents to keep your child entertained and learning without breaking the bank:

Hampton Roads locals – make sure to visit the HR Events page for more activites going on this weekend – the Ocean Air Show is this weekend!

AC Moore – Saturday 10/1 from 1-4pm, Celebrate with Crafts Event – FREE Make & Takes: Cupcake decorating and Doodle Yarn Monster, Demo: Plaid New Easy to Paint and enter to win prizes.

Babies R Us – Tuesday 10/4 at 6:30pm, Breastfeeding 101: Get the scoop on breastfeeding and all the products sure to make it easy to feed baby naturally. Sponsored by Medela.

Bank of America – Saturday 10/1 & Sunday 10/2, Free Museums On Us days for Bank of America cardholders! There are over 100 participating Museums, Zoos, Science Centers, and Botanical Gardens across the US.

Bass Pro Shops – Saturday 10/1 & Sunday 10/2, Red Zone Weeekend Event: 11am-4pm Free Family Activities, 12-3pm Free Crafts. Plus, the 1st 100 kids to join in the Tailgating Game fun will score a FREE foam Football!

Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores – Saturday 10/1, Free Demos from 11am-1pm Rit Fabric Dye Frankenstein Shirt, 1-3pm Deval Simply Spray, 3-5pm 3M Adhesives.

Lakeshore Learning – Saturday 10/1 from 11am-3pm, Free Hang Around Spider: kids create a long-legged spider that dangles.

LEGO Stores – Tuesday 10/4 at 5pm, Free Lego Monthly Mini Model Build: Vampire! Quantities are limited to approximately 250 per store.

Michaels – Sunday 10/2 from 1-1:30pm: Crystazzi Earrings Demo, 1:30-2:30pm Make-It Take-It Vintage Sparkle Ring Event with purchase of filagree (Adult event only), 2:30-3pm Decorative Beaded Wire Necklace Demo (Adult event only).

Pottery Barn Kids – Saturday 10/1 at 2pm, Halloween Fashion Show: kids can dress up in their costumes and join in a contest, activities and Halloween parade after the show.

Target – select a city to find free or reduced-price admission to arts and cultural events in your area, sponsored by Target.

The Home Depot – Saturday 10/1 from 9am-Noon, Free Kids Workshop: build a Fire Rescue Helicopter.

Walmart Event Finder – enter your zip code to see what is going on in your area.

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Filed Under: Events/Kid Fun Tagged With: Frugal Kid Fun

Frugal Kid Fun: Rainbow Rice

by Dana Zeliff on September 29, 20112011-09-29
in Events/Kid Fun

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

This Mama Loves Her Bargains has a great craft idea to keep the kids busy.  The weather is still warm enough as we move through Fall to get the kids outside with a fun craft.

Rainbow Rice Activity

I have heard that you can also color rice using food coloring and alcohol, but that requires drying time and the food coloring is not washable. So, I will be describing how we colored rice using Colorations Liquid Watercolors from Discount School Supply.

The supplies were surprisingly inexpensive ($2.99 for each 8 oz bottle) and can be used for tons of other crafts. After making bags and bags of this rice, I still have 80% of my watercolors left in the bottle. The rainbow rice required very little (2-3T) to produce nice vivid colors.

Here’s how we did it:

1. Get some nice sturdy, freezer bags, quart size. Regular plastic storage bags don’t work nearly as well when the little ones are squeezing and pummeling that rice. You want to make sure all that rice and watercolor stays INSIDE the bag. We even doubled up our bags just to be sure.

2. Have the kids measure 1 1/2 cups of rice (regular rice, not instant) into the bag. I just used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and had each child count out 6 scoops of rice.

3. Have an adult add watercolor. This can be messy and you may want to use rubber gloves to keep your hands from getting stained. I just squirted about 3 T of watercolor into each bags, I didn’t measure it out.

4. Have the adult seal the bags, while being sure to squeeze out as much air as possible. This is important during the squeezing phase. You don’t want those bags to bust!

5. Let those little ones squeeze, toss and manipulate those bags until all of the rice is colored!

6. I let my rice dry in the bags overnight. Honestly, I didn’t even leave the bags open to air dry and they were fine to use the next morning.

Here are some fun ideas we came up with:

1. Put the rice in a sensory table/sand table along with some scoops and cups. The kids will have a blast!

2. Make a rainbow of colors and give them to your preschool teacher as an end of year gift. Teacher’s just love getting gifts that they can use in the classroom.

3. Layer your rice in a vase or bowl for a beautiful presentation. You can even add flowers to make a great bouquet!

Idea from Homemade Serenity and shared with us from Mama Loves Her Bargains with photo Credit!

Rainbow Rice Activity

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Filed Under: Events/Kid Fun Tagged With: Frugal Kid Fun

Free Museum Day Tickets Today (09/24)

by Dana Zeliff on September 24, 20112011-09-24
in Events/Kid Fun

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Reminder:

This was mentioned in the FREE Weekend Activities Round-up yesterday, but I wanted to make sure everyone saw it.  The weather in my area is perfect for a museum day too.

To receive your free Museum Day Ticket for two people only, please enter your information into the fields below. Your Ticket will be emailed to you after you submit your information. You must print your ticket and present it to receive your free admission.

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Filed Under: Events/Kid Fun Tagged With: Frugal Kid Fun

Free Weekend Kid Activites 09/23-09/25

by Dana Zeliff on September 23, 20112011-09-23
in Events/Kid Fun

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Not sure what to do with the kids this weekend? Take a look at these FREE events courtesy of Keeping Cents to keep your child entertained and learning without breaking the bank:

Hampton Roads locals – make sure to visit the HR Events page for more activites going on this weekend – the Ocean Air Show is this weekend!

AC Moore – Saturday 9/24 from 1-3pm, FREE Make & Take: Nicole Crafts Pony Bead Pink Ribbon. Sunday 9/25 from 1-4pm, Celebrate with Yarn: Buy a new Yarn & Make a Scarf FREE, FREE Make & Take Yarn Ghost, Enter to Win a Yarn Sampler Basket and $100 Yarn shopping spree.

Babies R Us – Saturday 9/24 from 12-3pm, Getting Ready to Bottle Feed: Come see how Baby Brezza makes bottle preparation a breeze with the Perfect Measure Formula Powder dispenser and the Perfect Temp Water Kettle. Tuesday 9/27 at 6:30pm, Gearing up for Baby Workshop: Get an introduction to all the gear you’ll need for baby. From car seats to travel systems and high chairs to play yards, plus home safety items.

Bass Pro Shops – Saturday 9/24 & Sunday 9/25, Red Zone Weeekend Event: 11am-4pm Free Family Activities, 12-3pm Free Crafts. Plus, the 1st 100 kids to join in the Tailgating Game fun will score a FREE foam Football!

Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores – Saturday 9/24 from 11am-1pm, Free Demo: Jewelry-making with Darice, 1-3pm Free Demo: Simplicity Machines.

Lakeshore Learning – Saturday 9/24 from 11am-3pm, Free Make-Your-Own Autumn Pop-Up Card.

Lowes Build and Grow – Saturday 9/24 from 10am-Noon, FREE: Kids build a Fire Truck that includes stickers and a working siren! Be sure to sign up for this event here.

Michaels – Saturday 9/24 from 10am-Noon, American Girl Doll Event: FREE Make-It Take-It Breakfast Plate and Chef Hat. Sunday 9/25 from 1-3pm, Decorative Charger Event: Make-It Take-It with purchase of charger.

National Public Lands Day and Worldwide Day of Play on Saturday 9/24, Free Entrance to over 100 National Parks that usually charge entrance fees!

Pottery Barn Kids – Saturday 9/24 at 10am, National Geographic Little Explorers Event: learn all about Tigers with hands-on activities, songs and more. Kids will receive a badge for each event they attend and if they attend both events (Lions & Tigers) they will get a special prize.

Smithsonian Museum Day – Saturday 9/24, Free admission at participating venues with ticket.

Target – select a city to find free or reduced-price admission to arts and cultural events in your area, sponsored by Target.

Toys R Us – Saturday 9/24 from 12-3pm, Geoffrey’s birthday: celebrate with parades every half hour beginning at 12:30pm, giveaways and cctivities! 9/18-9/25 FREE Pokemon Zoroark Character Download: Bring your Nintendo DS system and your Pokémon Black or Pokémon White Version games to Toys”R”Us to download Zoroark.

Walmart Event Finder – enter your zip code to see what is going on in your area.

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Filed Under: Events/Kid Fun Tagged With: Frugal Kid Fun

Frugal Kid Fun: Hand Print Apple Tree

by Dana Zeliff on September 21, 20112011-09-21
in Events/Kid Fun

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Looking for fun, educational & frugal activities to do with your child? Mom on Dealz will provide you with weekly activities to keep your children learning while you stay on budget!

Check out the previous crafts here

Hand Print Apple Tree

Materials
:
Green Finger Paint
White Paper
Red Paper or Red Finger Paint
Brown Paper
Glue
Markers

Directions
:
[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Events/Kid Fun Tagged With: Frugal Kid Fun

Free Weekend Kid Activities 09/16-09/18

by Dana Zeliff on September 16, 20112011-09-16
in Events/Kid Fun

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Not sure what to do with the kids this weekend? Take a look at these FREE events courtesy of Keeping Cents to keep your child entertained and learning without breaking the bank:

Hampton Roads locals – make sure to visit the HR Events page for more activites going on this weekend

AC Moore – Saturday 9/17 from 1-3pm, Buy a Carvable Pumpkin and Decorate it FREE with Duck Tape. Use 50% off 1 reg priced item coupon.

Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores – Saturday 9/17 from 11am-3pm Free Demo: ProvoCraft Cricut Machine, 3-5pm Free Demo: Fleece With Flair.

Lakeshore Learning – Saturday 9/17 from 11am-3pm, Free Make-Your-Own Fossil: kids learn about fossils and create their own impression.

Michaels – Saturday 9/17 from 10am-11am Tim Holz Distress Ink Demo (Adult event only). 11am-Noon FREE Make-It Take-It Birthday Card (Adult event only).

Pottery Barn Kids – Saturday 9/17 from 3-5pm, Star Wars Red Carpet Event: celebrate the release of the Stars Wars Saga on Blu-ray. Dress up in your favorite character & bring your camera for photo ops. Plus, enjoy giveaways and a chance to win a Blu-ray box set! Tuesday 9/20 at 10am, Read Along with Curious George: reading and activities for kids. Select stores will have a chance to meet George.

Target – select a city to find free or reduced-price admission to arts and cultural events in your area, sponsored by Target.

Toys R Us – Saturday 9/17 from 12m-2pm LEGO Ninjago Spinjitzu Camp. 9/18-9/25 FREE Pokemon Zoroark Character Download: Bring your Nintendo DS system and your Pokémon Black or Pokémon White Version games to Toys”R”Us to download Zoroark.

Walmart Event Finder – enter your zip code to see what is going on in your area.

Upcoming Events:

National Public Lands Day and Worldwide Day of Play on Saturday 9/24, Free Entrance to over 100 National Parks that usually charge entrance fees!

Museum Day from Smithsonian on Saturday 9/24, Free admission at participating venues with ticket.

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Filed Under: Events/Kid Fun Tagged With: Frugal Kid Fun


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About The Coupon Challenge

Hi! I'm Dana, the writer behind the scenes of The Coupon Challenge, a Hampton Roads, VA based coupon blog. I'm a wife and mother of 2. After getting out of debt we started using our savings to travel together as a family and create memories.

Are you looking for ways to save your family money? I strive to help you save on the products you need, so you can spend more on the things you want. Read More about Dana & Family

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