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!

This week I chose to share one that can help with discipline. As an early childhood educator I believe very strongly in positive reinforcement. Some may feel that this is “bribing” but the reality is that by reinforcing your child’s good behavior with a reward system has been proven to be much more effective than other negative programs.

Materials:
Various shades of construction paper
Markers or crayons
Scissors
Tape or glue

Directions:

1. Pick a background color. You can then draw a tree or cut one out and glue it on the background.

2. With your child, decide whether you want the tree to have leaves, fruit, flowers, etc. and decorate the sky as wanted. Will insisted on a cotton ball cloud.
3. Cut out the shapes of your choice. We cut out 8 but you can pick how many times you would like to reward the behavior. Will chose to make a “normal” tree.
4. Brainstorm with your child a list of rewards they would like for good choices/behavior. These do not have to be physical items, think outside the box. Some ideas are an extra story at bedtime, longer play time during bath, 5 more minutes outside, little girls may want their nails painted, etc.

5. Print these ideas on each leaf, fruit, flower, or whatever shape you chose. Put the completed shapes in a ziploc baggie and set it near the tree picture.
6. Choose the behavior you would like for your child to improve. Tell your child that each time they show improvement, they will get to choose a leaf from the bag and will get that reward.
7. Enjoy filling up the tree! When it’s full, you can save it and start another one with a diffent theme and desired behavior!

This craft can have several educational benefits:
1. Character development-your child will be given a definite goal and directions for behavior that will enable them to grow into a more responsible individual.
2. Language skills-By discussing the project and allowing them to help choose rewards, you are helping them learn how to express their thoughts orally. Also, when brainstorming rewards you can have them write down the list for you. If they are older, they can be the ones to write the rewards on the leaves.
3. Math skills-When making the leaves, be sure to count them out loud. Each time they earn a leaf, discuss how many leaves are on the tree and how many still remain in the bag.

Charlotte with Stretching Your Budget has prepared a great post for you to save money this summer.  My kids and I are going to try this as a fun activity today for Mother’s Day.

With Summer fast approaching, that means more time outside! My kids love bubbles, but we go through so much of them! Whether they use their bubble lawn mower too much or they just pour them out, we us a lot!
So, I thought it would be a cool idea to share with you how to make your own! It’s very inexpensive and super easy to do!
Ingredients:

• Water
• Dishwashing liquid (if you coupon this is always free)!
• corn syrup

Directions:

Stir together 6 parts water, 2 parts Joy dishwashing liquid (this brand works the best), and 3/4 part corn syrup. Store in a covered container. **Try to recycle something to save even more money! I would say a laundry detergent bottle you just finished using!

Another money-saving tip is to find creative objects around the house to make your own wands! Have your kids get involved and search for things to use! Maybe an old wire hanger. Twist it into the shape of a wand. What are some of your ideas?
Image source from petitelefant.com