Ideas for creating an atmosphere of abundance with little money
emstrength3
Our income is very limited right now and will be for a while until my husband finishes school. I know having an attitude of abundance isn't all about money, but it gets depressing telling the kids every day "We can't afford that right now," about something they want. I try to stay positive and suggest that we can save money for it, but it's hard for a 7 and 4 year old to think about waiting so long for things. They did recently save $18 in change over the course of more than a month to buy some beta fish, so that was really encouraging to them, but we didn't do enough reading and didn't save enough to buy a heater. So one fish died and the other one isn't looking too well while we save more change for a heater. Meanwhile, there are other things they want too.
So I need ideas for ways to create an atmosphere of abundance with little money. What non-money related things can I do?
Emily
So I need ideas for ways to create an atmosphere of abundance with little money. What non-money related things can I do?
Emily
Sandra Dodd
-=-So I need ideas for ways to create an atmosphere of abundance with little money. What non-money related things can I do? -=-
Decorate meals a little. Even if it's just white rice for lunch, can you put a little design with cheese slices? Can you put it in fancy bowls you hardly ever use?
Make different kids' favorite foods, like it was a birthday meal. Make a happy deal of it.
Go to the thrift store / charity shop and look for puzzles or games or maps.
Buy new pillows when they're on sale at Target or somewhere. For $5 each, everyone could have a new, nice-smelling pillow. Used pillow cases at the thrift store. Or maybe only one person needs a new pillow.
Put kids' art up in the bathroom. (Water-resistant, steam-resistant art.)
Keep happy music on. Sing.
Save or ask for some big cardboard boxes for them to play in.
Put sheets or bedspreads over furniture, for playhouses.
The happier they are while the time passes until they get old enough to understand finances, the fewer problems you will have. There are ideas collected here for things to do:
http://sandradodd.com/strew/deblist
http://sandradodd.com/physicality/
http://sandradodd.com/youngchildren
And here are some things to remember NOT to do:
http://sandradodd.com/screwitup
If every choice you make is made in light of lifting their spirits, amusing them, entertaining them, creating joy, then abundance will be easier to reach.
What if you were living in a tent and they only had sticks to play with? Picture that as clearly as you can, and then looking around your house might make you feel more secure.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Decorate meals a little. Even if it's just white rice for lunch, can you put a little design with cheese slices? Can you put it in fancy bowls you hardly ever use?
Make different kids' favorite foods, like it was a birthday meal. Make a happy deal of it.
Go to the thrift store / charity shop and look for puzzles or games or maps.
Buy new pillows when they're on sale at Target or somewhere. For $5 each, everyone could have a new, nice-smelling pillow. Used pillow cases at the thrift store. Or maybe only one person needs a new pillow.
Put kids' art up in the bathroom. (Water-resistant, steam-resistant art.)
Keep happy music on. Sing.
Save or ask for some big cardboard boxes for them to play in.
Put sheets or bedspreads over furniture, for playhouses.
The happier they are while the time passes until they get old enough to understand finances, the fewer problems you will have. There are ideas collected here for things to do:
http://sandradodd.com/strew/deblist
http://sandradodd.com/physicality/
http://sandradodd.com/youngchildren
And here are some things to remember NOT to do:
http://sandradodd.com/screwitup
If every choice you make is made in light of lifting their spirits, amusing them, entertaining them, creating joy, then abundance will be easier to reach.
What if you were living in a tent and they only had sticks to play with? Picture that as clearly as you can, and then looking around your house might make you feel more secure.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Rachel Bostwick
We have a limited budget, too, and here are a few things I do - I am
assuming you have access to Internet, since you are posting to the group.
If you don't, make room in the budget for it - it's important.
If you can squeeze it into the budget Netflix.com has a HUGE selection of
movies and endless episodes of silly shows plus documentaries on almost
anything you can thing of. It's $8/month and far superior to cable
television.
Similarly GameTap.com has a big library of PC games, including fun little
kid games that my kids loved at that age, like Pajama Sam and Freddie the
Fish. Also $10/month. If you could get an older computer that runs Windows
95 or 98 (look around on Craigslist for these for ridiculously cheap) you
could get old WIndows games for 1 and 2 dollars at the thrift store plus
really neat old Multimedia music and science programs.
Library, of course.
Swap toys and games with friends, even temporarily, just for fun.
Find museums that you like and call to see if they ever run free admission
days or if they offer cheaper family admission. Sometimes you can "join"
one museum for a small cost and get access to a whole network of museums
that you can now visit for free.
There are "yardsale" groups for all areas all over Facebook where Moms buy
and sell toys for cheap, meeting in public places and giving and getting
very good deals. You could use these places to sell clothes they grow out
of or things you don't need around the house (people even sell things like
picture frames and vases to make a few bucks on these yard sale sites) and
use the money to buy new things.
Explore new parks in your area. We spent some wonderful hours last year
swimming in a local lake and hiking in beautiful state parks. Nobody is
thinking about what we don't have when we are a mile deep in nature (and
four year old can definitely hike, we go with a 9, 8, 4, and 2 year old).
I had an aha moment last year when I realized how incredibly blessed we
are to have rich local state parks and playgrounds that we are free to
enjoy with absolutely no cost. And a lot of them have really neat nature
programs you can attend.
Sandra said thrift stores already and I second that, we go to the thrift
store on half off day and shop like kings.
Are you on Pinterest? There are zillions of fantastic craft and activity
recipes and ideas on there - when you feel like you want something to do,
just check it out (just don't get addicted - your kids need your time more
than anything else!) Here is one board that I made that has tons of fun
ideas - things like edible finger paint, ice cream lookalike play dough,
monster mail boxes you can make out of old tissue boxes - etc.
http://pinterest.com/zoomdesigns/fun-with-the-kids/
Good luck and have fun!!
--
Rachel Bostwick
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
assuming you have access to Internet, since you are posting to the group.
If you don't, make room in the budget for it - it's important.
If you can squeeze it into the budget Netflix.com has a HUGE selection of
movies and endless episodes of silly shows plus documentaries on almost
anything you can thing of. It's $8/month and far superior to cable
television.
Similarly GameTap.com has a big library of PC games, including fun little
kid games that my kids loved at that age, like Pajama Sam and Freddie the
Fish. Also $10/month. If you could get an older computer that runs Windows
95 or 98 (look around on Craigslist for these for ridiculously cheap) you
could get old WIndows games for 1 and 2 dollars at the thrift store plus
really neat old Multimedia music and science programs.
Library, of course.
Swap toys and games with friends, even temporarily, just for fun.
Find museums that you like and call to see if they ever run free admission
days or if they offer cheaper family admission. Sometimes you can "join"
one museum for a small cost and get access to a whole network of museums
that you can now visit for free.
There are "yardsale" groups for all areas all over Facebook where Moms buy
and sell toys for cheap, meeting in public places and giving and getting
very good deals. You could use these places to sell clothes they grow out
of or things you don't need around the house (people even sell things like
picture frames and vases to make a few bucks on these yard sale sites) and
use the money to buy new things.
Explore new parks in your area. We spent some wonderful hours last year
swimming in a local lake and hiking in beautiful state parks. Nobody is
thinking about what we don't have when we are a mile deep in nature (and
four year old can definitely hike, we go with a 9, 8, 4, and 2 year old).
I had an aha moment last year when I realized how incredibly blessed we
are to have rich local state parks and playgrounds that we are free to
enjoy with absolutely no cost. And a lot of them have really neat nature
programs you can attend.
Sandra said thrift stores already and I second that, we go to the thrift
store on half off day and shop like kings.
Are you on Pinterest? There are zillions of fantastic craft and activity
recipes and ideas on there - when you feel like you want something to do,
just check it out (just don't get addicted - your kids need your time more
than anything else!) Here is one board that I made that has tons of fun
ideas - things like edible finger paint, ice cream lookalike play dough,
monster mail boxes you can make out of old tissue boxes - etc.
http://pinterest.com/zoomdesigns/fun-with-the-kids/
Good luck and have fun!!
--
Rachel Bostwick
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Rach
One more I just thought of - shop the after-holiday clearances and keep a closetful of goodies you can get for really cheap. For example, we hit up the Walmart After-Christmas sale this past week and got play makeup for my daugther and lip glosses for a quarter apiece, an air guitar toy for my son for $2.50, and we got $15.00 gingerbread houses for $3. We have had so much fun making silly Gingerbread this week, and the air guitar (it has butons you press to make the chords and a book of rock and roll tabs with it) will make a fun surprise later.
Earlier this summer, while shopping a clearance sale for winter coats, we found a big lot of Redekai cards - they're kind of like Might and Magic of Pokemon but younger and fairly simple but very edgy-looking and battle-y - for 90% off. We scopped up $100 worth of cards and accessories for $10. We put them away for the kids to play with later, and what a treasure it was to get them out and play a whole new game and so much of it.
A lot of feeling abundant on a small budget is keeping your eyes open for opportunities!
Earlier this summer, while shopping a clearance sale for winter coats, we found a big lot of Redekai cards - they're kind of like Might and Magic of Pokemon but younger and fairly simple but very edgy-looking and battle-y - for 90% off. We scopped up $100 worth of cards and accessories for $10. We put them away for the kids to play with later, and what a treasure it was to get them out and play a whole new game and so much of it.
A lot of feeling abundant on a small budget is keeping your eyes open for opportunities!
--- In [email protected], "emstrength3" wrote:
>
> Our income is very limited right now and will be for a while until my husband finishes school.
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
Also Deb has a great list of things to do in the winter, some for little to no money:
http://sandradodd.com/strew/deblist
I have found in my town many free activities for kids for free,
Free family day once a month at the Art Center with free art activities
Lego and Chess clubs at out library
Free Zoo
Trails
Parks
Free Museums
Library books and movies ( I get lots so kids feel abundance!)
Go read at Barnes and Nobels.
Play Thomas at the Toy Store ( if your kids can walk out without buying- our toy store that has two Thomas tables and one Calico Creatures table also has some really cheap trinkets for around a dollar)
McDonalds Play area with a happy meal or dollar menu.
Pet store to see the animals and feed the fish for 25 cents
Swiming at public lake beach ( free)
Ride our bicycles ( they go cheap or free on craigslist-Heck I have a boy one rarely used to give away!)
Play in a sand box with lots scoops and containers ( ice cream ones are a big hit as they are big) that is really good at the lake beach
Free movie at the theaters ( they have it here !!!)
Visit the local Newspaper
Visit the Helicopters at out Hospital ( Mayo Clinic Helicopters serve many counties for emergency here)
Visit fire stations, police stations, etc
Thrift stores are really great!
I keep an eye daily on Craigslist and Freecycle for free things.
Play arcade at our local gaming store.
I look online for family activities and there is always something free and fun listed.
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
http://sandradodd.com/strew/deblist
I have found in my town many free activities for kids for free,
Free family day once a month at the Art Center with free art activities
Lego and Chess clubs at out library
Free Zoo
Trails
Parks
Free Museums
Library books and movies ( I get lots so kids feel abundance!)
Go read at Barnes and Nobels.
Play Thomas at the Toy Store ( if your kids can walk out without buying- our toy store that has two Thomas tables and one Calico Creatures table also has some really cheap trinkets for around a dollar)
McDonalds Play area with a happy meal or dollar menu.
Pet store to see the animals and feed the fish for 25 cents
Swiming at public lake beach ( free)
Ride our bicycles ( they go cheap or free on craigslist-Heck I have a boy one rarely used to give away!)
Play in a sand box with lots scoops and containers ( ice cream ones are a big hit as they are big) that is really good at the lake beach
Free movie at the theaters ( they have it here !!!)
Visit the local Newspaper
Visit the Helicopters at out Hospital ( Mayo Clinic Helicopters serve many counties for emergency here)
Visit fire stations, police stations, etc
Thrift stores are really great!
I keep an eye daily on Craigslist and Freecycle for free things.
Play arcade at our local gaming store.
I look online for family activities and there is always something free and fun listed.
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
Great Ideas Rach!
Here is also my pinterest board where I save fun with kids stuff. many for very very little.
http://pinterest.com/polykow/fun-with-kids/
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Here is also my pinterest board where I save fun with kids stuff. many for very very little.
http://pinterest.com/polykow/fun-with-kids/
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
And Another Board with ideas :
http://pinterest.com/melissatulip/the-fun-board/
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
http://pinterest.com/melissatulip/the-fun-board/
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Deb Lewis
***So one fish died and the other one isn't looking too well while we save more change for a heater.***
Use your credit card or borrow money and get a heater for the fish and anything else fish need. Making your innocent kids party to neglect and death will be worse for them than being without toys for awhile. And it’s as bad as it gets for the fish.
***So I need ideas for ways to create an atmosphere of abundance with little money. What non-money related things can I do? ***
Don’t take them to the store with you if you can’t get some things they want. Do your shopping when they can stay home.
When we were without cable TV we asked friends to record things they were watching anyway and let us borrow. My sister shares our love of old, bad movies, so would send us a box of movies and a few things she recorded from television each week and we’d watch and send them back. That was fun, getting a package every week, not knowing what fun movies would be inside.
We had friends in Arkansas who would send us pretty leaves and branches with berries, and snake skins, and little dead dried up lizards, and dead bugs, and all that was very exotic and interesting since they had plants and creatures there that we never saw here.
You can get books and music and movies at the library if you’re near one. You can read to them while they play or color.
If you have a printer and some paper you can print lots of things to color. You can print mazes and foldable masks and buildings and all kinds of things.
You can make puppets and masks from paper or paper grocery bags. Make paper airplanes. Make paper mache. We used to cut paper dolls and animals and whatnot out of catalogs and magazines. Sometimes they’d get tied to the train tracks or eaten by monsters and sometimes they’d become part of a collage or a story or a home made comic book.
We cut words from junk mail and glued them to paper to make ransom or blackmail letters. When I was cleaning out my mom’s house I found a few of those that we’d sent to Grandpa. “Dear Grandpa, if you ever want to see The Beans again, be at our house Tuesday with some peanuts.”
Dylan really liked to talk into a recorder. He’d pretend he was reporting on some disaster, usually involving monsters.
Act out some of their favorite books or TV shows. Be as silly or serious as they want.
We went on adventures. We’d pack a lunch and something to drink and go to the park, or start out on a walk not knowing where we were going. I’d pull Dylan in the wagon. We did that in the wintertime too, when it wasn’t too cold, and take the sled instead.
We played lots of games. Maybe you can borrow some board games from friends. You can make up your own Mad Libs and have silly stories. You can make up your own version of Mancala with a muffin tin and little stones or marbles. If you have cards or dice you can make up lots of different games to play with those. There are lots of free games to play online.
Borrow puzzles from friends.
Clear a big space in one room and have a dance party. Play some old music your kids might have never heard. It may only last ten minutes. While you have a big space cleared you can put down some butcher paper or cut open some paper grocery bags and lay on the floor and color.
If you can spare an old bed sheet you can make something new: mummy wraps, little pillows or pouches, clothes for dolls, capes, silly hats. You can decorate the new stuff with markers.
Does your town have a community pool? A playground? Bike trails?
If you have a car and can get out, take food and go for a drive to a big open space in the country and play Frisbee or kick ball or fly homemade kites or just roam around. We used to walk by the river and collect sticks and pretty rocks and feathers. It always felt like we were coming home with treasures.
Do you have friends or family who will come visit and bring cookies? I’d ask grandparents, if they live nearby.
Dylan used to really like playing in a big dishpan of cornmeal. If you can afford that. You can put a cut open garbage bag under the pan and kids, and recycle some of what gets spilled. You can make dinosaur landscapes, bury dolls, all kinds of things. There are recipes online for home made play-doh and other goopy things, if you can manage those ingredients.
I hope some of those ideas give you a place to start. Do what your kids like to do.
There have been times when things were really tight for us. I mean no gas money and beans and rice for dinner every night. And if I had it to do it again I would use the credit card more. Not go crazy but if twenty or thirty dollars made a big difference in the life of my kid then I’d do that. If you’re justifying coffee and makeup or other adult things that aren’t strictly necessary, then make that same effort to justify some things your kids might like, too. Don’t always sacrifice kid things because they seem less important or urgent.
But don’t underestimate how wonderful your happy presence can be for your kids. Be sweet and playful and optimistic and involved. Give them lots of your time.
Deb Lewis
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Use your credit card or borrow money and get a heater for the fish and anything else fish need. Making your innocent kids party to neglect and death will be worse for them than being without toys for awhile. And it’s as bad as it gets for the fish.
***So I need ideas for ways to create an atmosphere of abundance with little money. What non-money related things can I do? ***
Don’t take them to the store with you if you can’t get some things they want. Do your shopping when they can stay home.
When we were without cable TV we asked friends to record things they were watching anyway and let us borrow. My sister shares our love of old, bad movies, so would send us a box of movies and a few things she recorded from television each week and we’d watch and send them back. That was fun, getting a package every week, not knowing what fun movies would be inside.
We had friends in Arkansas who would send us pretty leaves and branches with berries, and snake skins, and little dead dried up lizards, and dead bugs, and all that was very exotic and interesting since they had plants and creatures there that we never saw here.
You can get books and music and movies at the library if you’re near one. You can read to them while they play or color.
If you have a printer and some paper you can print lots of things to color. You can print mazes and foldable masks and buildings and all kinds of things.
You can make puppets and masks from paper or paper grocery bags. Make paper airplanes. Make paper mache. We used to cut paper dolls and animals and whatnot out of catalogs and magazines. Sometimes they’d get tied to the train tracks or eaten by monsters and sometimes they’d become part of a collage or a story or a home made comic book.
We cut words from junk mail and glued them to paper to make ransom or blackmail letters. When I was cleaning out my mom’s house I found a few of those that we’d sent to Grandpa. “Dear Grandpa, if you ever want to see The Beans again, be at our house Tuesday with some peanuts.”
Dylan really liked to talk into a recorder. He’d pretend he was reporting on some disaster, usually involving monsters.
Act out some of their favorite books or TV shows. Be as silly or serious as they want.
We went on adventures. We’d pack a lunch and something to drink and go to the park, or start out on a walk not knowing where we were going. I’d pull Dylan in the wagon. We did that in the wintertime too, when it wasn’t too cold, and take the sled instead.
We played lots of games. Maybe you can borrow some board games from friends. You can make up your own Mad Libs and have silly stories. You can make up your own version of Mancala with a muffin tin and little stones or marbles. If you have cards or dice you can make up lots of different games to play with those. There are lots of free games to play online.
Borrow puzzles from friends.
Clear a big space in one room and have a dance party. Play some old music your kids might have never heard. It may only last ten minutes. While you have a big space cleared you can put down some butcher paper or cut open some paper grocery bags and lay on the floor and color.
If you can spare an old bed sheet you can make something new: mummy wraps, little pillows or pouches, clothes for dolls, capes, silly hats. You can decorate the new stuff with markers.
Does your town have a community pool? A playground? Bike trails?
If you have a car and can get out, take food and go for a drive to a big open space in the country and play Frisbee or kick ball or fly homemade kites or just roam around. We used to walk by the river and collect sticks and pretty rocks and feathers. It always felt like we were coming home with treasures.
Do you have friends or family who will come visit and bring cookies? I’d ask grandparents, if they live nearby.
Dylan used to really like playing in a big dishpan of cornmeal. If you can afford that. You can put a cut open garbage bag under the pan and kids, and recycle some of what gets spilled. You can make dinosaur landscapes, bury dolls, all kinds of things. There are recipes online for home made play-doh and other goopy things, if you can manage those ingredients.
I hope some of those ideas give you a place to start. Do what your kids like to do.
There have been times when things were really tight for us. I mean no gas money and beans and rice for dinner every night. And if I had it to do it again I would use the credit card more. Not go crazy but if twenty or thirty dollars made a big difference in the life of my kid then I’d do that. If you’re justifying coffee and makeup or other adult things that aren’t strictly necessary, then make that same effort to justify some things your kids might like, too. Don’t always sacrifice kid things because they seem less important or urgent.
But don’t underestimate how wonderful your happy presence can be for your kids. Be sweet and playful and optimistic and involved. Give them lots of your time.
Deb Lewis
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Deb Lewis
***I keep an eye daily on Craigslist and Freecycle for free things.***
Yes, Freecycle and Craigslist are great. Especially if you live in a bigger town and don’t have to travel far to collect stuff. In our rural area bulletin boards at grocery stores and laundromats are used the same way.
A friend of mine got a free sewing machine for her daughter by putting an ad in the paper and asking for one.
Deb Lewis
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yes, Freecycle and Craigslist are great. Especially if you live in a bigger town and don’t have to travel far to collect stuff. In our rural area bulletin boards at grocery stores and laundromats are used the same way.
A friend of mine got a free sewing machine for her daughter by putting an ad in the paper and asking for one.
Deb Lewis
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Gwen Montoya
Depending on where you are, there may be lots of free activities at
libraries or state fair grounds. We've watched dog shows and dog agility
practice times at a nearby state fair grounds.
Cultural events can be fun and many are free (the food usually isn't)
Google "free family activities" and your city.
My library offers free cultural passes - which means I check out passes for
local museums
If you are only at home, bake lots. Flour, sugar, and other ingredients
aren't expensive and they can be turned into sugar cookies to decorate and
snacks that make kids happy.
Gamefly.com lets you borrow video games (for all systems, I think?). The
basic cost is about $12/month - much cheaper than buying games.
Gwen
libraries or state fair grounds. We've watched dog shows and dog agility
practice times at a nearby state fair grounds.
Cultural events can be fun and many are free (the food usually isn't)
Google "free family activities" and your city.
My library offers free cultural passes - which means I check out passes for
local museums
If you are only at home, bake lots. Flour, sugar, and other ingredients
aren't expensive and they can be turned into sugar cookies to decorate and
snacks that make kids happy.
Gamefly.com lets you borrow video games (for all systems, I think?). The
basic cost is about $12/month - much cheaper than buying games.
Gwen
On Sat, Jan 12, 2013 at 8:27 AM, Deb Lewis <d.lewis@...> wrote:
> ***I keep an eye daily on Craigslist and Freecycle for free things.***
>
> Yes, Freecycle and Craigslist are great. Especially if you live in a
> bigger town and don�t have to travel far to collect stuff. In our rural
> area bulletin boards at grocery stores and laundromats are used the same
> way.
>
> A friend of mine got a free sewing machine for her daughter by putting an
> ad in the paper and asking for one.
>
> Deb Lewis
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Herb
One thing that was a great benefit to me when my kids were young was having a friend that didn't have much money. I found it easier to find activities to do together that were fun for kids. We spent a lot of time outdoors exploring. We brought lunches to different parks or found free activities around town. We'd have pizza night and a movie at one of our houses. We would make the pizza from scratch...even the dough. That was more fun than just buying it. I think having a friend with not a lot of money was helpful.
I would avoid stores. I see thing I didn't even know I wanted or needed when I go shopping. It's even harder for young kids.
In the future you might look for free fish, heater, tank...ask around. I know I've often had friends that didn't want pets anymore for one reason or another. We adopted a guinea pig when a friend left town. We got a chinchilla that a friend didn't want anymore. I got a very old frog one time. He didn't live long, but we enjoyed him. We've taken in unwanted fish. Ask around and you might be able to find a heater for your fish. You might be able to borrow an old gaming system from a friend and the games. If you know someone that has older kids they might be looking to pass on some items to younger kids.
***So one fish died and the other one isn't looking too well while we save more
change for a heater.***
There are lots of items in my house that stay warm. I think the top of the fridge is one. The TV is warm while on. The floor over our heater is always warmer than the rest of our house....radio, computer etc. You might be able to find a "heater" for the fish if you look around. A small heat input could be enough. Beta fish can live in small quantities of water, so if it's in a big tank you could put in something that is a fairly small volume and that might be easier to heat. A small jar will even work. You could make a bag of rice or beans or something such as that and heat it in the microwave if you have one. That could be a heat source. I would insulate the container the fish is in. Cover the top leaving a hole in the top for air and maybe a viewing window in the front. Leave the bottom uninsulated for heat input. Cardboard and Styrofoam are often easy to find and are good insulators. I would insulate the bag or rice or beans if you use that so that any heat loss goes to the fish and not to the surrounding room. Your kids might enjoy problem solving and finding away to keep the fish warm.
Meg
cfebsleb@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I would avoid stores. I see thing I didn't even know I wanted or needed when I go shopping. It's even harder for young kids.
In the future you might look for free fish, heater, tank...ask around. I know I've often had friends that didn't want pets anymore for one reason or another. We adopted a guinea pig when a friend left town. We got a chinchilla that a friend didn't want anymore. I got a very old frog one time. He didn't live long, but we enjoyed him. We've taken in unwanted fish. Ask around and you might be able to find a heater for your fish. You might be able to borrow an old gaming system from a friend and the games. If you know someone that has older kids they might be looking to pass on some items to younger kids.
***So one fish died and the other one isn't looking too well while we save more
change for a heater.***
There are lots of items in my house that stay warm. I think the top of the fridge is one. The TV is warm while on. The floor over our heater is always warmer than the rest of our house....radio, computer etc. You might be able to find a "heater" for the fish if you look around. A small heat input could be enough. Beta fish can live in small quantities of water, so if it's in a big tank you could put in something that is a fairly small volume and that might be easier to heat. A small jar will even work. You could make a bag of rice or beans or something such as that and heat it in the microwave if you have one. That could be a heat source. I would insulate the container the fish is in. Cover the top leaving a hole in the top for air and maybe a viewing window in the front. Leave the bottom uninsulated for heat input. Cardboard and Styrofoam are often easy to find and are good insulators. I would insulate the bag or rice or beans if you use that so that any heat loss goes to the fish and not to the surrounding room. Your kids might enjoy problem solving and finding away to keep the fish warm.
Meg
cfebsleb@...
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K Pennell
Where we live, almost no museums are free. The science and other kid museums in the area are fairly pricey. I did discover, however, that local libraries offer passes to a lot of these places. You borrow the passes just like you borrow books, and get in for free! Also, if your kids like things like that, check out homeschool days or events. We've gotten in for much less with a homeschool group before.
Thrift stores are awesome! We've gotten great stuff there. Also, we joined freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org/), and have given away and gotten some nice stuff that way.
Thrift stores are awesome! We've gotten great stuff there. Also, we joined freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org/), and have given away and gotten some nice stuff that way.
--- On Sat, 1/12/13, BRIAN POLIKOWSKY <polykowholsteins@...> wrote:
From: BRIAN POLIKOWSKY <polykowholsteins@...>
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Ideas for creating an atmosphere of abundance with little money
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Date: Saturday, January 12, 2013, 10:54 AM
Also Deb has a great list of things to do in the winter, some for little to no money:
http://sandradodd.com/strew/deblist
I have found in my town many free activities for kids for free,
Free family day once a month at the Art Center with free art activities
Lego and Chess clubs at out library
Free Zoo
Trails
Parks
Free Museums
Library books and movies ( I get lots so kids feel abundance!)
Go read at Barnes and Nobels.
Play Thomas at the Toy Store ( if your kids can walk out without buying- our toy store that has two Thomas tables and one Calico Creatures table also has some really cheap trinkets for around a dollar)
McDonalds Play area with a happy meal or dollar menu.
Pet store to see the animals and feed the fish for 25 cents
Swiming at public lake beach ( free)
Ride our bicycles ( they go cheap or free on craigslist-Heck I have a boy one rarely used to give away!)
Play in a sand box with lots scoops and containers ( ice cream ones are a big hit as they are big) that is really good at the lake beach
Free movie at the theaters ( they have it here !!!)
Visit the local Newspaper
Visit the Helicopters at out Hospital ( Mayo Clinic Helicopters serve many counties for emergency here)
Visit fire stations, police stations, etc
Thrift stores are really great!
I keep an eye daily on Craigslist and Freecycle for free things.
Play arcade at our local gaming store.
I look online for family activities and there is always something free and fun listed.
Alex Polikowsky
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Yahoo! Groups Links
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Meredith
K Pennell wrote:
One source of free(or nearly) museums is universities - they tend to be smaller collections, and sometimes you have to do some digging to find them! Also be sure to check with state parks (in the US) for nature centers - many are free to visit And have inexpensive kids' programs periodically. And botanical gardens sometimes have museums - not free, but cheaper than others And there's a place for kids to run around outside and better parking than city museums.
High-end specialty shops can also be a great substitute for museums. Little art galleries, for instance, are a great way to see some really interesting stuff - and rather than wanting to buy it, kids may be inspired to play with some of the ideas, themselves. Ethnic foods stores, too, can be like visiting a museum, only better in a way because it's all things people use in real life right now, not once-upon-a-time and far-far-away.
Oh, and look for "art crawls" - where area artists open up their studios to the public. Usually they have demos, too - almost always a potter of some kind, maybe a glass blower or blacksmith.
---Meredith
>**************
> Where we live, almost no museums are free. The science and other kid museums in the area are fairly pricey.
One source of free(or nearly) museums is universities - they tend to be smaller collections, and sometimes you have to do some digging to find them! Also be sure to check with state parks (in the US) for nature centers - many are free to visit And have inexpensive kids' programs periodically. And botanical gardens sometimes have museums - not free, but cheaper than others And there's a place for kids to run around outside and better parking than city museums.
High-end specialty shops can also be a great substitute for museums. Little art galleries, for instance, are a great way to see some really interesting stuff - and rather than wanting to buy it, kids may be inspired to play with some of the ideas, themselves. Ethnic foods stores, too, can be like visiting a museum, only better in a way because it's all things people use in real life right now, not once-upon-a-time and far-far-away.
Oh, and look for "art crawls" - where area artists open up their studios to the public. Usually they have demos, too - almost always a potter of some kind, maybe a glass blower or blacksmith.
---Meredith
Sandra Dodd
-=-One source of free(or nearly) museums is universities - they tend to be smaller collections, and sometimes you have to do some digging to find them! -=-
I didn't take my kids to all the free museums at the university here. I should have. We went to anthropology, but there are also geology, biology/greenhouse, and the fine arts museum. When I was a student, and when I worked at the university, I went to all of them fairly regularly.
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I didn't take my kids to all the free museums at the university here. I should have. We went to anthropology, but there are also geology, biology/greenhouse, and the fine arts museum. When I was a student, and when I worked at the university, I went to all of them fairly regularly.
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ehulani56
~ I know having an attitude of abundance isn't all about money,
but it gets depressing telling the kids every day "We can't afford that right now," about something they want.~
One thing I did when times were tight was keep a list of things/experiences my daughter wanted. When she'd ask for something, I'd say "Let's go put it on the list."
That way, she knew I took what she wanted seriously, even if we couldn't get it right then. Somehow writing it down made it more of a reality for her than saying that we couldn't afford something but could save money for it.
Saving money for something in the future was too nebulous a concept for her. But the list? That was tangible.
Even at seventeen, she appreciates me making a list of her wished-for things.
Robin B.
but it gets depressing telling the kids every day "We can't afford that right now," about something they want.~
One thing I did when times were tight was keep a list of things/experiences my daughter wanted. When she'd ask for something, I'd say "Let's go put it on the list."
That way, she knew I took what she wanted seriously, even if we couldn't get it right then. Somehow writing it down made it more of a reality for her than saying that we couldn't afford something but could save money for it.
Saving money for something in the future was too nebulous a concept for her. But the list? That was tangible.
Even at seventeen, she appreciates me making a list of her wished-for things.
Robin B.
tanya garment
-=- I would avoid stores. I see thing I didn't even know I wanted or needed
when I go shopping. It's even harder for young kids.
and
If you can squeeze it into the budget Netflix.com has a HUGE selection of
movies and endless episodes of silly shows plus documentaries on almost
anything you can thing of. It's $8/month and far superior to cable
television.-=-
An advantage of Netflix over cable is that there are no commercials.
Also:
For beautiful paper toys to make (for the cost of paper and color ink, or
whatever they charge to print at the library) see:
http://www.thetoymaker.com/2Toys.html
-Tanya
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when I go shopping. It's even harder for young kids.
and
If you can squeeze it into the budget Netflix.com has a HUGE selection of
movies and endless episodes of silly shows plus documentaries on almost
anything you can thing of. It's $8/month and far superior to cable
television.-=-
An advantage of Netflix over cable is that there are no commercials.
Also:
For beautiful paper toys to make (for the cost of paper and color ink, or
whatever they charge to print at the library) see:
http://www.thetoymaker.com/2Toys.html
-Tanya
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