Kids Activities (Part 2) EVEN CHEAPER!!

Now for the EVEN CHEAPER way to do classes! Sure you can scout living social, amazon local, and groupon, even scoring some pretty sweet deals for your tots, or you can create your own class!

Little Gym and Gymboree both offer free trial classes, for every avenue, be it music, art or dance...so eat those up! All of these little cell-phone snapshots are from free classes at the Little Gym and Gymboree!

Then Gymagine offers Preschool OPEN PLAY! $6 a pop (5.50 with a punch card...5 if you buy during cash discount weeks), and the open play lasts for 45 mins, which is 15 minutes longer than their AcroRoos class for toddlers! Plus it’s also $3 cheaper each child, every time! Then start your own routine! We signed up for classes at first with Kaylee Autumn, which was helpful to me when I had my hands tied up with River Evelyn, infant at the time. This was helpful, because we figured out the coaching routine! At the toddler age, the coach lets them become familiar with the gym equipment at their own pace. So, be a smart parent and do the same! Mimic the coach’s lesson plan:

1. Have your child grab a stuffed animal beanie toy, and try to balance it on their head as they walk to the ladders.
2. Stick their toy at the top of the ladder and encourage them to retrieve it! To climb a ladder: Hand, Hand, Foot, Foot! When they get to the top, have them rescue their animal and drop it to the ground...most will want to chuck it, this is all right for the age. Now climb back down: Foot, Foot, Hand, Hand! Try not to help them unless they get stuck or fall. Some hands on directing to teach them the Hand, Hand, Foot, Foot concept is vital the first few times, but after they have learned, however kludgy they seem, let them sort it out. You are there mainly to “spot” them so they don’t fall off the ladder! Don’t be discouraged if it takes much longer to climb down, children learn this concept slower, especially since there is no toy motivation!
3. Repeat 3 times.
4. Now walk over to the foam block pit and toss those toy animals! Ready, Set, DIVE! Bring the animals back to safety! Gymagine just got a new foam block set, with fun colors to dive into...super snazzy!
5. Repeat 3 times.
6. TRY OUT THAT BALANCE BEAM!! It might take twice, or it might take 2 years for them to be comfortable with the balance beam, but they will let you know when they are ready to let go...an EXHILARATING day to say the least!
7. Time to practice some forward rolls! (Also known as somersaults) There is a trampoline ramp that is perfect for teaching. Have your child climb up. Now hands in the air! Lightly grab their waste, and tell them to plant their hands on the ground in front of them with an, “OKAY, Hands Down!” (you will have to show them what you mean the first couple times)... “And TUCK your head!” Your hands show them where they are supposed to bend, not in the back, but bend at the hips. Plus you are set up for the last step. Use your hands to lift their cutie-butt into a roll! After 1 year of this, my almost-3-year-old can do it perfectly by herself!
8. Use the rest of the ramp to jump with both feet, while hands are in the air! Jump into the pit at the end!!
9. For the rest of the free play time, let them choose what they do! There are ramps, trampolines, bars, batons, pieces for obstacle courses, and balance improving stuff! The monitoring coaches also like to set up things for the children, so they’re always being enriched and growing their skills!

Another do-it-yourself class that is EASY PEASY, is SWIMMING!!

Again, grab a pass! You get at least an hour in the pool, usually more depending on your facility, for the sweet price of $5! I like Lynnwood pool, personally, because the water is the warmest I’ve found, and they have a lovely slide set for younger children, plus a whole slew of water park-like toys that come on halfway through our swim session! Fun activities like this are a great way to get them used to the water on their own terms. There’s walls for holding onto and kicking. There’s a shallow end to sit in and watch themselves kick that water! Blow bubbles in the water! Float on your back! Lay on your tummy in the shallow end! Use the slide to introduce dunking, then try it out for realsies with mom after a while!

Your child will be worn out by the time you’re ready to go, and frankly so will you! It’s a great mom-and-me workout!

Speaking of mom-and-me workouts, YOGA is a wonderful thing to do with your children that doesn’t cost any money at all! Here are a couple of nice videos that are free and help you connect with your child, even as young as 6 months old! Even for older children, yoga is great for balance, flexibility, exercise, and disciplined nature.

There you have it! An onslaught of ideas for doing your own classes! The only exception I have ever made is for ballet, but it is entirely for fun, and though useful in reinforcing following directions, not necessary to their development like any of the other DIY classes you can enrich your child with!

Kids Activities (Part 1)

About once every couple of months I find myself re-evaluating baby/toddler classes for my girls. I sit there weighing the pros and cons, trying to determine if I feel they are ready for a super structured environment, but in the end I end up deciding to wait. Instead of weekly classes where I am chasing my toddler, trying to get her to follow the group, follow the group, follow the group, I opt for “open play” where she learns through self-exploration.

(I apologize for poor pictures, I don't bring my DSLR to class!)

First off, let me just say that each child is different, but our family had decided to wait until the toddler was 3 before settling into hard structured classes, like ballet. However, there have been a few options that worked for her that were in a classroom setting.

At the top of the list, there is Gymboree Play and Learn, where they have classes separated into gym time, music, and art. They even have the option for a family gym class so siblings can play at the same time! We were able to get 5 weeks worth of classes for $40 through online deals...browse and wait, because they always come around again.

Then there is Gymagine, which offers classes for toddlers 18 months and older, but will accept kids into their programs as soon as they can walk steadily. A 30 minute session, once a week will run you $48 a month (plus an annual $27-38 depending on the age of your child), or $40 a month if you purchase 12 weeks worth at a time, plus they have discounts running all the time with pre-registering, and paying with cash. You don’t know it’s coming until it’s posted on the door, but I allot 40 dollars a month for classes per child, so the discount just gives us more money for classes later!

Another popular place to go for classes for your youngster is The Little Gym, however their fees will run you upwards of $100 a month, plus a $40 membership fee. I have heard raving reviews, but have never been able to cough up that insane amount of cash for children’s playtime.

Other places offer homeschool discounts, and paying ahead discounts!! Sometimes, if you pay for a full year, you get 15% off! I have not checked into homeschool rates yet, as we are just starting Montessori at our house this year, some advertise and some don't, but it NEVER hurts to call and ASK!!

One last option is your city’s rec center. Although we don’t live in Kirkland, we use their rec center for classes (although there is an additional fee for being a non-resident), because Everett does not have a very broad spectrum for classes for wee ones. Because rec centers are on city websites, they are generally easy to find, and Kirkland has a beautiful seasonal catalog that offers multiple classes per age group, featuring a variety of activities, with focal points in music, arts, and wiggly exploration! It is great because you can typically find something to fit into your schedule, for around $40 a month without the annual fee!

We are currently signed up for Miss Tiffany Shelford’s Baby Ballet, at Elegance Dance studio! We chose this class because of an online Living Social deal, that made classes only $30 per child and waived registration fees! We were able to stick both girls in the same class, so I thought we would try it out, and it is perfect! Beginning structure, but not regimented like some of the gym classes have to be, a good size group of friends, and a thoroughly enthusiastic and energetic teacher. Plus, you drop off your child for half an hour, as the instructor insists that parents can be a big distraction, and I whole-heartedly agree, unless your child is crying, in which case you can go in and redirect their focus. There is a viewing window so you can always see your child, but they won’t be distracted by you! Added bonus is there is a sibling discount! This keeps my cost under $40 per child per month, and she just recently started offering prepay options for 3 months of lessons, which also lends a discount for those who only have one dancer! Then there are parent viewing days, where you get to sit in class and watch their progress, and a performance at the end of the school year!

We just recently started ballet, because I consider it a steal as far as a semi-structured environment, playtime and learning goes. But if you don’t mind a little less structure in your child’s environment, stay tuned for the Autumn Evelyn version of tot classes! We did classes a little differently before ballet, and we will continue when ballet is over, and when we need a little more activity in our schedule during the rainy season!

AND NOW, FOR THE GIVEAWAY!!!

We had a TON of entries this time! Thank you for posting on Facebook, your compliments and kind words were received and you were counted in this week’s drawing!

And the winner is…

AUTUMN MEYER!!!

If you didn’t win, thank you for continuing to support this blog, just trying to reach out to those who have need for penny-pinching ideas! Sure we spend 40 a month per child for dance, all paid for with research surveys, etc., but we haven’t always been blessed with a budget to allow lessons like that, and those are the cheapest I can find! Keep reading, because I always have new suggestions, and new giveaways!!!

Fall Decorations: What to do with Pine Cones…

So the cheapest season to decorate for, and most lovely in my humble opinion, is autumn. Seriously, all you have to do is collect a bunch of leaves from outside, and throw them into the corner that runs along the back of your counter top! They dry out, curl up and turn color...voila, free decor! Buuuuut, every year those scrumptious cinnamon pine cones come out and they are 5 dollars a bag! So tempting, but here’s the kicker, you could make them for 1 dollar!!

We went up to Leavenworth with my brother over 4th of July, and stopped by Sugarloaf Mountain, a logging site and campground, and came back with a bucketful of pine cones. To save you the big trip, you could head to a Pine-y park nearby, or make a trek down to St.Edwards State Park! A lovely park for kids of all ages, plus it is surrounded by Pine Trees.

Now you stop by Michael’s with a 40% off coupon (sign up for their email and scout the paper, it’s worth it), I don’t even bother to say if, because I always have one, and pick up a bottle of cinnamon “essential oil.” I found my bottle at their end-of-summer clearance sale, but they always have them on stock, in littler, but more pungent bottles for oil diffusers and oil burner sets.

Take your bucket of cones and douse them with oil! Shake them around, then transfer them to a basket, because whatever bucket you shake them in will get pretty dirty! Tada! Shake them up every couple of weeks to refresh the scent. You can also achieve the same scent with cinnamon sticks, so if you happen to have them on hand, toss a couple in, as their perfume will last much longer than oil. Re-douse yearly!

Another cute project to include the children, as if pouring oil on pine cones wasn’t fun enough!, is to make pine cone bird feeders! You all remember these as a kid, now it’s your kids’ turn. The bag of seed I bought was $7 at Target, and will last for a few years.

Take out some pine cones for the children before you cover them in oil. Put a mat or a piece of newspaper down in front of each child, and allow them to roll their cones in peanut butter, then sprinkle seeds on them. My youngest eats more than she gives to the birds, but I don’t care! Haha, high protein content!

So quick and easy, all you have to do is take a ribbon and tie it around the “petals” of the cone to stick it up in a tree, or on a post, or from your gutter, whatever you have! The ribbon makes it pretty, and the birds don’t care how much is on the pine cone if your children don’t have the best aim with their seeds. If you make your own peanut butter, each pine cone, including ribbon, cost 38 cents to make! If you buy your peanut butter from Fred Meyer, as I do on occasion, it costs 56 cents a piece! Still an awesome project on a dime!

How to Cure Strep Throat! Without Antibiotics…

It gets a little unnerving when you learn that produce growers are allowed to use low doses of antibiotics on their plants to ward off diseases, and still carry the “Organic” title. We work so hard to stay away from antibiotics so that when they are really needed, they succeed! So in order to avoid the standard prescription, you need an arsenal of at-home remedies.

First off, let me just say that Elderberry Syrup is a lovely cure-all just with the sheer amount of antioxidants packed into each spoonful! A naturopath would recommend that when you start to feel crummy, and your immune system is getting kicked in the butt, take Elderberry every 2 hours as needed, and a high dose of vitamin C every 4 hours. It’s like superjuice for your immune system! You can find both of those things at Whole Foods, Super Supplements, or online, but to really save some cash, make it yourself! Mama Cook’s blog tells you how to do it, and I can vouch for it!! So read this post at Cook’s Cottage to learn how to make the syrup!

That recipe is great for the flu, a cold, and general illness, plus speeding up the recovery process. But, if you are getting that sore throat, swollen tonsils, and maybe a little fever to go along with it, you need something specific! Remember, the earlier you catch it, the quicker it goes away!

Strep Throat Paste

1 Tablespoon RAW Honey

¼ - ½ Teaspoon CAYENNE (strong batch the first day, weaker batch okay after that)

3 Raw Minced Cloves of GARLIC

Mix it all together and you have a spicy paste! Take ¼ Teaspoon every HALF HOUR! If you miss a dose, take one as soon as you can, then continue with the half hour increments.

The Cayenne doubles as a numbing agent, and will sooth some aching tonsils in between doses. This paste creates a hostile environment in your throat, which will not allow the strep bacteria to live. It’s an official eviction notice! So drink some RED TEA in between doses to flush out the dying bacteria, and give your immune system some help. Red tea, also known as Rooibos tea comes from an African bush and it’s roots, which have healing properties.

One last piece will kick any unwanted throat visitor out the door--Oil of Oregano! Also at Whole Foods and Super Supplements, take 30 drops in 4 ounces of water every 4-6 hours, up to 4 times a day. Since the strains of diseases are becoming stronger, sometimes you need stronger medicine to combat them. Oil of Oregano is expensive, but will last forever, and is a little easier to give to kids who might cry when consuming the Strep Throat Paste.

I had that tickly throat, and I thought it would go away, stepped up my water intake and thought for sure I would be fine. But on day two I had the chills, a fever, and white spots in my throat, it was quick, and intimidating! Sometimes when you’re sick, you just feel like you’re going to die! I was not about to surrender and go to the doctor though, that’s 20 bucks just to get in the door, and at least 10 for whatever prescription they were going to give me!

Instead, I took the Strep Throat Paste every half hour, up to bedtime, plus a 4 oz tincture and water of Oil of Oregano every 4 hours, and a cup of Red Tea with some Raw Honey to sweeten it, every hour or two! That first day of action I felt horrible, swollen, and had no idea if anything was working, all I knew was that it tasted awful, and stung my tonsils a bit...I dreaded every dose.

Day two was a little better. I noticed that most of the paste was hitting my right tonsil, and coincidentally that side was feeling a little better, but only a little. I tried to even out my swallowing, haha, if that’s even possible, and by the end of the day my right tonsil felt almost completely better!

Day three was just getting my left side into the same condition as my right! I also noticed that the paste and the Oil of Oregano do not sting as much when there is no bacteria present! By the end of day three I was good to go! Maybe only 90% better, but my body could handle the rest!

Let me just say that I started this regimen thinking I was going to have to go to the doctor in the end. I was giving it 3 days to start showing improvement, but I’ve got two girls under age 3 and I’m not allotted sick days! With this pocketfull of remedies I was able to continue taking care of the family, and no one else caught my strep! My hubby had to take the stuff, but only for a couple doses, because we caught his scratchy throat before it turned into a full-blown infection! No little girls got it, and I attribute that to the quick acting remedies!!!

It would take a long time to die from strep, remember that when you’re in the thick of it! If you’re not improving after 5 days (assuming you caught your bug late, and your poor throat is inundated) then go to the doctor. Just give this an honest shot! I would not recommend it if I didn’t have such AMAZING results!!!!

This is what I've found online. Whole Foods 365 Brand was $6 for a 1# jar of Raw Honey! But their Oil of Oregano was $16... and their Red Tea was $1.08 per ounce, so it would be cheaper to get just what you need if you're in a pinch, otherwise it's more economical to get the whole bag on Amazon and save it for the future! This tea should be able to be re-steeped up to 5 times!

A Shower Fit For an Autumn Princess!

“Babies are a blessing” my mama always says! That’s one of many things she and I agree on whole-heartedly! So when I learned my brother and his wife were expecting a daughter, I jumped at the opportunity to welcome their little blessing with them! A Royal shower was in order, because nothing less than what was fit for a Princess would do! My sister-in-law accepted my offer, and the planning was underway… somehow though, the date of the Royal Party got pushed back to one week before the little princess’s due date. I was nervous about how close the party was, but decided that it was a grand opportunity to play up the Autumn theme! So I set to work.

I shopped my deals and coupons for prizes for games, cardstock and ribbon for cards, labels, and so on. I hit up Michael’s end of summer sale, where everything was 80% off, and purchased decorations, trays, candles and such! Supplementing with a couple 40% off coupons for items that weren’t on sale, I picked up necklaces to honor the Mother and Mother-in-law, and charms for a necklace that was to be for the expectant mama to wear during labor! I sent out my invitations 3 weeks before the party, because I wanted everyone and their neighbor to celebrate this joyous moment of husband and wife becoming a family!!!

It was an hour to midnight, and everything was prepared for a grand occasion! Flowers had been purchased earlier in the day, instruction cards placed in their appropriate spots to guide guests through the activities of the shower, raffle tickets stamped for the diaper raffle, chairs cleaned, cider purchased, furniture moved, a tea tray assembled, disposable eatery bought, themed napkins acquired, autumn apple butter boiled, sieved and jarred, plus two hearty fall soups, whole wheat herbed foccacia bread, tortilla chips and hummus made! I even made the largest ever batch of Molasses Chocolate Almond Meal Cupcakes, that flopped, and we had scurried off for an emergency dessert replacement. Then I happened to check facebook one more time before retiring for the evening…the princess had made her debut!

My heart skipped a beat, and then it skipped two! I was excited for my new niece, Mercedes Ann!!! And then I was troubled by all of the work for a shower doomed to failure at the lack of the guest(s) of honor!

I slept on my worries and excitement, and woke with determination! I could not back down from a shower that was already set with food and everything, from planning and collaboration for months, the culmination of effort would not turn up idle...the shower would go on!

As the guests arrived, they dawned necklaces for the traditional “Don’t Say Baby” game! A total of 4 guests made an appearance, as everyone else had caught wind of the arrival and skipped the shower, but we continued with our laughter and good food!

Despite the dwindling guestlist, the diaper raffle was still a huge success! We tallied up 10 packages of disposable diapers and 6 fuzzibuns cloth diapers for the new little one! Three guests won prizes for their contributions!

We continued on with talk of our own children, designing some quilt squares for her Royal Highness, writing a word on a framed piece of paper of attributes we pray Mercedes will be blessed with as she grows, and filling out return envelopes for thank you cards to help out the new mama.

Because there was no guest of honor to shower with gifts and love, we all took turns picking gifts up off the table and opening what others had brought. Every gift was pictured and recorded so that the new mama would still know who had sent what, but it was so fun to open all the gifts together! The laughter was contagious as we read cards intended for a mother-to-be!

The last piece of the baby welcoming was a lovely charm necklace. I intended to honor both mother and mother-in-law of the guest of honor with their own necklace first; a pendant of 3 rings to represent the generations, but was only able to bestow one...the other would have to be delivered at another time. I found this charm necklace tradition from my mother, and I still have the ones presented to me for the labors of my girls to pass down. The significance of the charm/bead necklace is that every guest brings a charm or bead that represents the child, and in our case, a blessing they would like to bestow upon her. The mother is then to wear the necklace while she labors to be reminded that those people who brought those beads support her, and pray for her in her time of intense, but beautiful pain.

All of these charms and beads were given to the baby’s grandmother, the next of kin at the shower... it was sweet and joyous! Thankfully, we had also thought ahead to write down our blessings on little charm cards for Mercedes to look at as she grows, little did we know we would need them for the mother to know how much she was blessed too!!

We played one last game before the guests journeyed home from my castle--a baby name game, match the name of the animal to the name of it’s youngster! Then I stuffed their pockets with apple butter before sending them on their way!

It was a satire, this party for 4 guests, but thankfully they all appreciated the humor, enjoyed the company nonetheless, and hey! Everyone left with at least one prize if not more!

BUUUUT!!! Speaking of beautiful babes, I know some of you out there have your own, or know someone with little lovelies...AND there is ONE. MORE. WEEK. For the GIVEAWAY!! A cute Babies and Toddlers Wholesome food recipe book! If you want to be entered for a chance to win, please leave a comment below, or private message me. Just a tip on how to stay frugal, or a question on an area you’re struggling with, even just some encouragement! Good Luck!