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Family Time

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My life revolves around my family. My kids need their individual time with Daddy and with Mommy. Although I enjoy painting my daughter’s fingernails, stacking cups with my baby while she knocks them down, and snuggling with my son, I also enjoy the family activities we do together.

Activities can get expensive when you add in the snacks and meals while away from home. In an effort to save money and have a blast with each other, I seek to find activities that are age-appropriate, fun, and inexpensive for our family. On Fridays I will post about activities we enjoy for our growing family. Come join me next Friday for a family game night post including my Top 5 list of preschool board games.

My Top 5 Preschool Board Games

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My husband and I were raised by families who loved to play games. My family’s game nights included our immediate family. We had our favorite games, but we did not seek to invite others. Our family spent the time playing together.

On the other hand, my husband’s family hosted games nights at their home regularly. In fact, I attended a number of game nights at my in-laws’ house before and after our marriage. Holiday celebrations evolve around game playing at their home. So, our kids have learned to appreciate and enjoy games.

Since our children are young, we play preschool games since they do not require reading. At this time, my top 5 preschool games are:

5.            Chutes and Ladders
4.            CandyLand
3.            Parcheesi
2.            The Lady Bug Game
1.            SORRY!

During sessions of play, my son has learned to count, take turns, consider his options, and recently, strategize. Game playing is a tool to teach while giving that child individual attention. My daughter is learning to take turns and to finish the game she started.

Do you enjoy spending time playing games at your house? What are your favorite preschool games? I’m always interested in new, fun games to play.

Pizza Hut’s Book It Program

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Pizza Hut's Book It Program

Photograph Credit: Pizza Hut

My son’s class participates in Pizza Hut’s Book It Program. His teacher assigns an amount of reading time to be completed during the month (i.e. 300 minutes).

Each day I log the amount of time Hubby and I have read to him. At the end of the month, I add up the minutes and submit my son’s reading log back to his teacher.

When we meet the set goal (i.e. 300 minutes), his teacher sends home a Book It coupon. We can then take the coupon to any Pizza Hut and receive a free one-topping personal pan pizza during that month.

Not only does my son enjoy his pizza, he also sees the rewards of reading. My daughter is also excited about joining the reading program because she would really like to have her own pizza.

I usually hang on to the coupon and use it on a day we need to stay at school.  When that day arrives, I will redeem the Book It coupon at our local Pizza Hut. My son will eat his own personal pan pizza, and I will purchase a $6 full pizza pie for the girls and me to share.

This arrangement is a win-win situation. My kids enjoy eating lunch at school with their friends, and I enjoy a meal with my kids without breaking the family budget.

Rita’s: Free Italian Ice on March 20, 2011

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Mark your calendars for a great, free celebration for the first day of spring!

When:                  Sunday, March 20, 2011

What time:            Noon until 9:00 p.m.

Where:                 All open Rita’s Italian Ice locations

What:                   A free regular size Italian ice for each customer

What a nice cool way to enjoy the start of spring! Check out Rita’s website for a participating location near you: http://www.ritasice.com/events-and-promotions/first-day-of-spring.aspx.

Doughnuts for Good Grades

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As the third quarter of the school year draws to a close, our family will be making a stop at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. At our Krispy Kreme store, each student (K-6th grade) gets to choose a doughnut for each “A” or Satisfactory earned, up to 6 doughnuts.

I first heard about this program from a friend. She mentioned taking her kids to get doughnuts on the day they received their report card. Since our schedule did not permit me to take our son, my husband took our son that weekend.

At the store, my son presented his report card with the first quarter marks. The cashier took the time to acknowledge his hard work and have him choose 6 doughnuts. The kind-hearted child that he is, my son chose doughnuts to share with the family, like the one with sprinkles for his sister and the chocolate cake one for mom. Yum!

If you are preparing for a report card soon and you live near a Krispy Kreme Doughnut store, I hope your store participates as this program has been encouraging and delicious for our family.