fun

2 Free Summer Fun Ideas That You Must Sign Up For Now

May 22, 2018 by Stacy Craft 1 Comment

2 Free Summer Fun Ideas That You Will Want to Sign Your Kids Up For Now!

My 4 year old just learned the word “bored.” She loves her new vocabulary word and shows it off often. Since I don’t want her to be bored all summer, I was thrilled to find 2 free summer fun ideas.

Ok, so in all fairness, I actually do not mind if my daughter is bored. I think it is good for kiddos to be occasionally bored.

It is amazing the creativity that can come out of not having every minute of every day planned by an adult. But, I’m also a realist. I need things to keep her entertained over the summer and it is a bonus if those activities are cheap or free.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

2 Free Summer Fun Ideas to Sign up For Now

When it heats up in those early summer months, I usually let my mind drift to the pool. I blow up our inflatable toddler splash pad and set up our awesome Slip N Slide hack.

Even though water is a great way to cool down, sometimes we need a little change of pace. Here are 2 Free summer fun ideas to sign up for so that you will have built in fun all summer long.

Kids Skate Free

For this freebie, go to the Kids Skate Free site and sign up. You can look by State and city to find the closest location to you. This is all facilitated by each individually owned skating center so I am sure the rules change for each one.

For example, the location that we will go has 2 weekday afternoons (2 until 8 pm) and one weekend afternoon that you can attend for free.

Even my 4 year old loves to “skate” now (holding on to the rail and walking on the rink). While she works on mastering the skill, she is building up her gross motor skills, exercising and most importantly at this point getting her wiggles out!

To use this freebie, you need to go back to the site and print off a weekly pass to take to the facility for use. Not a large price to pay for this awesome freebie.
*Update 2021: they now have an app that makes it super simple to show your passes at the door.

It does cost $4 per child processing when you sign up. I am not sure exactly what this goes for, I am assuming that it may be to maintenance the site.
*Update 2021: this year there was no fee! They didn’t even take a credit card at all. YAY!

There is also a rental fee ($2 at my location) if you need to rent skates for your kids. We got skates for my kids at Christmas this year so we will use those. By the way, if you need skates – these have been so cool for my 3 year old. He is a pro on them. Who knew there was such a thing as “beginner” skates.

If you take one child 5 times over the summer, you would save about $36 once you subtract the $4 processing. If you have 3 kids, that is $108! Wow.

Kids Bowl Free

Sign your kids up for 2 free games of bowling all summer long. Complete the form at the Kids Bowl Free site, where you can sign up all your kids that are 17 or under.

There is no processing fee for this, just simply pick your location, register your kids & print your coupons as needed for their two free games. You can do this all summer long! If it is free and an air conditioned location, I consider that a success.

The Kids bowl free site does give you one paid option when you process the free kid memberships. For less than $30 (this was my location and may change by site), I could sign up 4 adults to play 2 games all summer long as well.
*Update: now it is 2 adults for $30.

I decided to do this because my husband and I will probably at least go together once or twice plus all the times I will take the kids solo just to get out of the house. For this one, I could sign up our two older girls, the 4 year old and both of us.

On a Sunday, the cost of a game is right at $30 so if we play two games on one Sunday we make up the cost.

If we go three Sundays over the course of the summer and play 2 games each time, we save $150! I also signed my mom and sister up two because I could sign up 4 adults for that one time fee of $30.

It is unbelievable! Adults can only bowl during Kid Free times but at my location they have WAY more times available than I will ever actually go so it is not limiting to me.

Bowling shoes are required at most facilities. If you don’t have shoes, the rental fee is usually around $3 a rental.

Summer Savings – How Much will I Save?

It depends on how many times you go to these 2 free summer fun ideas.

If you go just a couple of times to each, you can easily save $50 to $100. If you go a lot or have a bunch of kids, you will save even more!

Since we have a big family when my step daughters are with us, I love frugal ideas where we can go and have fun but not spend an arm and a leg.

More Fun Activities to Do At Home!

Need some more summer fun ideas? Try some of our favorites.

Vegetable Soup Water Table Play

4th of July Graham Cracker Flag

Gardening Sensory Bin

Weekly Summer Schedule for Kids

Little Tikes Slam N Curve Water Slide Review

July 1, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Are your kids bored and needing something to do during these hot summer months at home?

The Little Tikes Slam N Curve Water Slide review will tell you everything you need to know about this outdoor water toy before you buy.

We are half way through our second summer with this Little Tikes water slide.

Whenever I am thinking about spending a good chunk of money on a toy, I have questions. Like will it hold up and last?

Will it get played with? Is it going to be a pain for me to deal with? Is it appropriate for the age of my kids?

I will answer all of these questions for you in this Little Tikes Slam N Curve Water Slide Review.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Little Tikes Slam N Curve Water Slide Review

The water slide comes with several features that claim to keep your kids occupied but does it work?

Will they really play with it and will you get a value worth your money?

In this Little Tikes Slam N Curve Water Slide Review I will give you my experience (and my kid’s) with they toy. I think it is important to point out that this is not a sponsored post – meaning that I purchased this water toy with my money and was not compensated for writing this review by the Little Tikes company.

Features on The Little Tikes Water Slide

The inflatable has a rock wall that the kids use to climb to the top of the slide. At the top of the slide, there is a water feature that sprays water down the slide which helps the kids fly down the slide extra fast.

Once they hit the end of the slide, they will dump into the attached pool. The pool area is pretty bit and has a small basketball goal and an included inflatable ball.

Will the Kids Play With It?

My kids absolutely love this toy (6 & almost 3). Today my daughter said “here in America, we are lucky because it is so hot and we can play on the water slide!” Kids are funny.

And there I was thinking how unlucky I was because it was so hot. All about perspective!

But anyway, is very common for them to play in it for 2+ hours in the backyard. Mom Win! Parent Win!

It is so great to sit outside with my husband while they play on the slide. We get to have a conversation and the kids have a blast. It is great for all of us.

And they are so worn out by the end of their play session.

(Here is my almost 3 year old going down on his belly)

Set Up

The set up is pretty easy and can be done by one person without issue.

The biggest obstacle is that it is kind of bulky for one person of my size (5’3) to deal with. But that being said, I have said it up tons of times alone.

Once the water slide is in your desired location, you just hook it up to the included blower and let it do it’s job.

It inflates in just a few seconds.

Durability

We used the inflatable slide last summer and have used it about 3 months this year.

The slide is definitely looking a little less new. But the overall construction is still good.

I would say it is well made and durable. I see no reason that we won’t be able to use it again next year (year 3) with proper care.

Safety Features

The highest part of the slide has netting around the two open areas to help prevent a child from falling from the top.

Of course when you combine heights and water, you definitely need to use caution and watch the kiddos at all time. However, overall I think the product is well constructed to aid in keeping kids safe.

Clean Up

Clean up. The question we all want addressed!

Does it get gross and moldy? Is it hard to empty?

Clean up is actually easier than I thought it would be but it takes a few steps.

The slide auto drains the pool area which is nice. The drawback? It doesn’t really fully drain all the water. You will have to raise the edges and manipulate it a bit to get it completely drained.

Pro Clean Up Tip To Get the Slide Dry:

So it won’t get gross and moldy IF you put it away completely dry. But this thing is big and it is hard to find somewhere to lay it out flat to dry.

Here is what I do: Unplug the blower and let the pool drain most of the water. Help it along to get the rest of the water out of the pool.

Next, blow the slide back up using the blower. It is still going to be wet. Let it stay inflated with no water flowing for 30 minutes or so until it dries out on top.

The last step is to drape it over something like a deck railing to allow the bottom part of the slide to dry.

Put it away until you are ready to use it again.

Not really hard but a bit time consuming. The good news is that it only requires a few active minutes from you. You set it up, walk away and let it dry.

Tips

Now that the Little Tikes Slam N Curve Water Slide Review is over, I thought I would offer a few tips.

Tarp

I don’t do this because our wood deck is big enough to hold the slide.

But many people spread a tarp down before inflating the slide on grass to eliminate grass getting into the slide/mud under the slide.

Towel Under Slide

I’m not sure if this would be an issue on grass but my kids go so fast down the slide, they were getting beaten up when they hit the bottom. I found that putting a folded beach towel underneath the slide before filling it with water helped to give a little pad and made it more comfortable.

Pre-filling the pool partially with water prior to hooking up the sprayer above the slide also helps with comfort as well.

I hope that this Little Tikes Slam N Curve Water Slide review helped you to determine if it would be a good outdoor toy for your kids.

Looking for more Kid Fun?

Stimulate Your Baby’s Brain (With Things You’re Already Doing)

July 29, 2018 by Stacy Craft 5 Comments

You want to make sure your baby is given all the opportunities to learn and develop to their best, right? But if you spend 30 seconds on Pinterest looking at baby sensory play ideas you may quickly realize that you should have started on this project long before you were pregnant.

It is overwhelming and HELLO, you have an infant to care for, who has time for that!

Here you will find 8 ways to simulate your baby that won’t require days of prep. In fact, you are probably already doing all of these.

You just need to capitalize on those activities.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

My baby is 8 months old and I was thinking of sensory activities that would stimulate him the other day. I quickly pushed all the elaborate thoughts away when I considered that:

A. my sink was full of dishes and that needed to change quickly
B. I needed to shower
C. reminded myself that I am a good mom and deserve some grace (and don’t need some fancy sensory activity for an infant).

When I got to “C” it made me think about all the things that we are doing every day with our kids that our actually sensory activities. We just need to utilize the opportunity and focus on it.

BINGO! So now I don’t have to whip out the paint in a gallon ziplock bag and pray it doesn’t pop open anytime soon. I will just focus on the baby sensory play activities that we do in our daily routine and ensure that we are getting the most out of our day.

Stimulate Your Baby With Activities in Your Daily Routine

Just by being aware and focused, you can stimulate your baby throughout the day without fancy toys or over the top set ups.

You will still catch me creating an activity for my little one to occupy his time on a lazy Sunday.I just wanted to remind myself that you can be in the moment and engaging with your baby without being elaborate.

Meal Time

Meals and snacks are a great time to engage with your baby. I particularly like meal time because typically I sit down for a meal at the same time which means that I can really focus on the time together.

Here are some things to do during meal time to enhance the sensory experience and stimulate your baby:

How does the food taste? Does it taste sweet? Salty? Savory? (even if they can’t answer, still ask the question. You can provide an answer afterwards)
How does the food feel? Fruit is soft, Cheerios are crunchy and hard, pasta with sauce is kind of slimy. You get the idea!
What colors do you see? Use this opportunity to not only discuss the colors of the food but also name the item that they are eating. Red Strawberry, brown toast, green beans, white egg.
Here is a 10 second Prep Infant Finger Paint that is edible and you can incorporate during meal time.

Reading

Of course books are a great way to get your child ahead in education. Is is consistently proven that children that are regularly read to perform better (I’m not going to find a study but ya’ll know..).

Did you ever think of other sensory related engagement that you are providing when you read to your baby?

Baby in lap – If you are holding your little one while you read, you are providing a warm touch. Providing comfort and a sense of protection is a great way to stimulate your baby.
Touch & Feel Books – Some of our favorite books are the touch and feel board books. These are great ways to provide sensory engagement while reading to your child. Sandra Boynton is one of our favorite baby and kid book authors!

Outdoor Time

Spending time outside is so good for the soul. I really believe that babies can get “stir crazy” just like we do.

The change of scenery always seems to cheer my baby up if he is having a rough day. So break out the stroller and start your outdoor sensory expedition to stimulate your baby.

Take a Walk – Talk about the things that you see and tell your baby about them. Do you see the big tree with green leaves? Look at the duck swimming on the pond. Ducks make a noise like this, quack quack. The sun is really bright today. I’m glad I brought my sunglasses. Just talking to your kids using real words helps to improve their vocabulary.
Outdoor “feels” – Wind, Cold, Heat are all things that your little ones can feel when outdoors. Of course you will use caution to not expose them to extreme temperatures. I love to take our jumper outside and let our baby get some fresh air. He feels the breeze on his face, watches the trees sway, leaves float by, hears the birds singing.
Park Or Swingset – Once they can sit up, they can use the baby swing, both of my little ones have loved that. Depending on the type of “flooring” at the playground (assuming it isn’t something that could be a choking hazard), I will let a crawler move around the area.

Getting Ready for the Day/Baby Care

Clothing – Your blue jeans are stiff. Your PJ’s are very soft. Let’s put some socks on your feet to keep them warm.
Diaper Changes – I mean this one is kind of weird but it is an opportunity to engage the senses. You may even wish your nose couldn’t sense during this time! The wipes are cold (or if you are a good mom they might be warm.. haha I skipped on the warmer the second time around). The wipes package makes a crinkle sound. I usually say “Shoo Wee” when I take the diaper off and we both giggle. Talk about getting clean and ready to do your next activity.

Bath Time

Taking a bath could go under self care but it is such an awesome baby sensory play opportunity, I had to give it a little spotlight.

All the Feels – Warm water, soft washcloth, hands massaging shampoo in hair. It is a tub full of sensory experiences to stimulate your baby!
Splashing – Babies love splashing in the tub. Talk about the size of the splash. Did the splash make a sound? Did you get mommy all wet?
Introduce Toys – squirt toys are fun to use and you can help if your little one doesn’t have the hang of it yet. I also like alphabet foam letters to spell out words, teach letter recognition (when they are older).

Playtime with Toys

Thankfully the toy manufacturers have come up with plenty of toys to help teach our kids and keep them engaged in something (so that we might have time to shower or make a meal in semi-peace).

You don’t have to make your own playdough from organic figs or use a blade of grass to paint a replica of Eiffel Tower.

Just playing with your kids is a great way to help to stimulate your baby and their little brains.

Toys that Make Noise – Let me introduce you to Elmo in a Box. I have had this song in my head consistently for 4 years and counting. My son now absolutely adores it too, so it looks like I may end up with a decade of “Elmo’s got 5 crayons in a box” running through my head. It really is cute. I promise! Whatever toy you choose, those that make sounds are always a favorite.
Age appropriate baby puzzles – You may end up completing the puzzles for a while but you are introducing the ability to think critically and solve puzzles. Shape Sorters and bead mazes are good starter toys.

Car Rides

My little one usually rides with me to take his sister to school. The car is yet another spot that we can interact together.

Music – My 4 year old loves for us to sing in the car. Of course the baby can’t participate yet but hearing the music and instruments is just fine for now (I’m hoping he can drown out my voice and focus on the professional).
Discussion – I have a lot of one way discussions with the baby during car trips. Something that I heard a lot when my daughter was young from others was that I “spoke to her like an adult.” That doesn’t mean I am not nurturing or even silly at times, but I do typically speak to her in an adult manner. The same goes for this new little one. I detail out our plans for the day or really whatever is on my mind. I really believe that just talking to your kids enhances their future performance.
Windows Down – If you are lucky enough to live somewhere with nice weather, cracking the window in the car can be a nice sensory experience. The heat index has been >100 for the last week so we are currently enjoying the sensory activity of not melting by using the AC!

Playdates

Socialization – playing with other littles is great for kids of all ages. If you don’t have other kids or friends with kids of similar age, check to see what Mommy & Me activities your town offers. I have found great mommy and me activities at local libraries that are for kids as young as 6 months.

I hope this list helps to remind you of all the good things you are doing to stimulate your baby! Just remember to focus on the activity at hand and that baby sensory play doesn’t have to be fancy or formal.

Easy Spring Tray Vignette For the Home with Buying Guide

May 9, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Easy Spring Tray Vignette with Online Buying Guide

Decorating is not necessarily my thing. I like doing it but I feel like an amateur at best. But when it comes to decorating for holidays or seasons, I am a pro. Well, a pro in the sense of adding lots of gaudy, bright colored trinkets and holiday signs around the house that my daughter absolutely loves.

I love celebrating with her so I don’t mind too much that we might not make the cover of Southern Living magazine. Lately I have been trying to create one pretty thing for each holiday and season that can bring me joy like the bright orange plastic pumpkins that delight my daughter at Halloween. This month I created an easy spring tray vignette that I have on a counter in my kitchen.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Simple Spring Tray Vignette Assembly

For this spring tray vignette, I wanted to bring in a fresh green color as my focal point. I did that for two reasons. 1. It reminds me of fresh cut grass and new leaves on the trees that come with springtime. 2. I created a St. Patrick’s Day Vignette a few weeks back and I wanted to reuse some of the items – and you guessed it, there was a lot of green. I like being able to create a fresh decorative area while saving money by re-purposing some on hand items.

Free Buying Guide

Pinterest is awesome until you see something you want to recreated and can’t figure out where to buy the stuff at. I bought everything shown on this spring tray vignette at Hobby Lobby or Amazon. The only exception is the fresh flowers. I got those at our local grocery store, just the cheap $5 bouquet.

Tray – I bought mine at Hobby Lobby and used it in this spring tray vignette and in my St. Patrick’s Day Vignette. However, since they can’t seem to find a cart that will hold a car seat carrier, I totally understand if you prefer Amazon! Here is a tray that is similar in size to mine on Amazon Prime.

Green Vase – Reused this item from the St. Pat’s Vignette. Here is the bottle.

Green Moss Ball – I bought this ball on Amazon & it is was only $5! Prices are always subject to change on Amazon

White Cake Stand with Cloche – what I used to hold the little bird.

Bird – I found one at Hobby Lobby, it fits in the palm of your hand.

Moss in Bird Cloche – I put this moss in the white cake stand so that the bird was sitting on a little nest of moss. You will have a good bit left over since the stand isn’t very big.

Farmhouse Pitcher – I couldn’t find the exact pitcher that I bought but this is an Amazon option – Farmhouse distressed metal pitcher

Flowers – I bought at a grocery store for $5

Books – These were all reused from the St. Patrick’s day Vignette. Sheet Music Book, Antique Book, Small Fancy Green Book.

Total Money Spent

By reusing some things that I saved from the St. Patrick’s Day Vignette and by purchasing the other items on sale, I spent just under $40 to create this spring tray vignette. I am sure I will reuse some of these pieces again for my summer tray that I am planning.

One of the reasons that I like saving money is so that I can afford to play a little more. I love the satisfaction of creating something that I like and finding happiness in looking at it. With delicate fresh daisies in a farmhouse white pitcher – what’s not to like? It just screams happy spring to me.

I even tried it with a Fresh pineapple just for fun but we ended up eating the pineapple so the tall green bottle made its way back on the tray.

What is your guilty decorating pleasure?