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You are here: Home / Archives for Family Activities / Staying at Home

Free Rainy Day Activities – Part 4 of 4

May 25, 2012 by Tracy

In completing this series on free rainy day activities, I have barely touched the surface on the mass amount of possible indoor activities.

The activities shared in this series include: indoor picnics in Part 1, painting in Part 2, and baking, building, and napping in Part 3.

Even with all these ideas, I sometimes cannot think of an activity when my kids are going stir crazy. When these times occur, I turn to games. 🙂

Electronic

Though not my favorite, my children love playing on any type of electronic media. When they tire of their computers, they move to the X-Box 360, Wii, 3DS, or the iPad (when available). Besides playing referee, I spend more time teaching (or working on) sharing than they play. With limits, my children do play electronic games on rainy days.

Puzzles

My girls love to put together puzzles. My oldest daughter sees patterns and amazes me how quickly she puts together a puzzle. She is extremely creative and enjoys putting puzzles together over and over and over.

My toddler enjoys dumping out all the pieces and putting them in a safe place. Of course, if she could remember where the safe place is would help during cleanup. 🙂

My son enjoys puzzles on an electronic device more than working with his hands. Though all my children enjoy puzzles differently, puzzles offer another option for a rainy day activity.

Board

When all my children work together, we really enjoy playing board games. Both girls have a difficult time playing all the way to the end, but my son loves to have someone play board games with him. Besides my top 5 preschool board games, my children have added mouse trap, connect 4, and picture tri-ominos.

Imagination

My favorite games on rainy days are hide-and-seek and create a game. From building a train route and then using chairs to play train to using buckets and balls to compete with each other, my children can get very creative. With a rainy day and a little imagination, indoor fun can keep my children active.

  

Among electronic, puzzles, board, and imagination games, you might welcome the rainy days. Having lots of options for keeping little ones engaged during indoor playtime gives your family an opportunity for making memories and enjoying family time. Happy playing!

Question: What games do your children enjoy playing?

Filed Under: Rainy Day, Staying at Home, Family Activities Tagged With: family activity

CardStore.com: Free Father’s Day Card on June 8, 2012

June 8, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: CardStore.com

With 9 more days until Father’s Day, Cardstore.com is offering a free personalized card until midnight tonight – June 8, 2012.

There is a limit of one free card per account.

After you choose your card and personalize it, you need to register for an account using an e-mail address.

At checkout, enter promotional code LUVDAD2 and check that your total comes to $0 with free shipping to the registered account’s address. If you choose to mail the card directly to the recipient, then you will pay for the postage ($.45).

Do not delay. You only have until midnight to get your free card.

In using time wisely to create your free card, you will save money, energy, and time from running out to purchase a last-minute card to celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, June 17, 2012. Happy creating!

Filed Under: Staying at Home, Family Activities Tagged With: Father's Day

2012 Second Quick Tip Week: Wash the Car

June 29, 2012 by Tracy

In winding down our Second Quick Tip Week of 2012 and the heat of summer in full force, I love to combine a family activity with productivity.

My favorite summer outside activities combine water and work resulting in a nice refreshment while completing the task at hand.

Quick Tip #6: Wash the Car

My children love to play in the water. In fact, you cannot keep them out of it. Yeah, that one puddle in the entire parking lot beckons my children to visit. (I see you’ve been there, too.)

With our white van and our busy schedule, our vehicle remains dirty. So, we combine our water fun with a bucket and micro-fiber cloths.

I pull the car into the driveway and turn on the hose. Besides the fun had with spraying the car (and each other), we emerge from our fun with a clean vehicle. If Daddy arrives home before the fun ends, we finish with two clean vehicles. 😉

In using time wisely with your family and staying cool this summer, enjoy a refreshing activity of washing the car. Happy playing or working (or both)!

Question: How are you staying cool this summer? 

Filed Under: Quick Tip Week, Staying at Home, Family Activities Tagged With: quick tips

What Do You Think?: Establishing a Designated Family Night

July 27, 2012 by Tracy

What do you think? Establishing a designated family night

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Around the blogosphere, many bloggers share their perspective on life. As I contemplate these many ideas (and some are really out there), sometimes I’m not sure what I think.

During this week of What Do You Think?, I share a topic and give you my 2¢. Please share your opinion.

The topics chosen will follow the posting schedule. Thanks in advance for your contributions on this journey to Using Time Wisely!

What Do You Think about Establishing a Designated Family Night?

Tracy’s 2¢: Our family does not have a single night dedicated to family night. I know of a family that declines all invitations on Monday evening to honor their family night. This arrangement works for that family, and I applaud them for building their family unit.

If you have a designated family night, how do you determined what you will do together? My children would choose a movie or play a game. However, my choice would lend more to a theme.

For example, with the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics occurring tonight, I would choose an Olympic theme complete with games, like this long jump contest or online scavenger hunt, medal cookies, puzzles, and mazes.

At this time, our family incorporates weekly outings into our schedule, but the day, time, and activity changes from week to week. I often wonder if establishing a designated family night would help in planning and investing in our family relationships.

Though each family operates differently, I would love a designated family night. However, our schedule changes from week to week. What do you think?

Filed Under: What Do You Think?, Going Out, Staying at Home, Family Activities, Uncategorized Tagged With: What do you think?

*EXPIRED* CardStore.com: Free Grandparents’ Day Card

August 24, 2012 by Tracy

Free Card for Grandparents' Day 2012

Photograph Credit: Cardstore.com

Without Grandparents, Paul and I would burnout. Our parents actively interact with our children and truly help us train and instruct them.

In honor of Grandparents’ Day on September 9, 2012, CardStore.com released promotional code CCK2248 for a free card. I used this promotional code to snag a free Grandparents’ Day card, chose shipping to recipient, and paid nothing.

Free Card Ordering

When I ordered, I chose a photo card, uploaded the selected pictures, personalized the text, and selected checkout. After making my shipping selection (self or recipient) with the correct address, I added promotional code CCK2248 in the promotional code box. My total was $0.00 with free shipping.

Ordering Deadline

This offer is valid until Sunday, August 26. Remember, Grandparents’ Day is September 9. In using time wisely, take 10 minutes to design and order your free card from Cardstore.com today. Happy creating!

Question: What type of card will you create?

Filed Under: Staying at Home, Family Activities Tagged With: grandparents' day, photo cards

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