6 ways to celebrate Memorial Day with your family

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Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, but it’s also a day often spent with close friends and family.  If you are looking for something to do with your family this Memorial Day, check out these suggestions below and pick one or two that work for you!

Memorial Day weekend

6. Visit a military cemetery, memorial, or flag garden – Almost every town has one, and it would be a wonderful way to teach your children that there is more to Memorial Day than just hanging out and having fun.  Be sure to look up a brief history of Memorial Day if you don’t know it already, because your kids are sure to ask questions about the holiday.  Perhaps bring small flags to put on graves of veterans, if you are able to find their spots. [Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

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Kids Free Summer Reading Programs 2019

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With spring break behind us, summer will be here before we know it, which means it’s time for Kids FREE Summer Reading Programs 2019 I have compiled for you.  Make sure to also check out the free story times around the Atlanta area, while they’re still in session!  Super-special thanks to Saving Dollars and Sense for sharing this list!

If you like this then you might also be interested in this list of Good Report Card Freebies.

Kids Free Summer Reading Programs 2019

Barnes & Noble Imagination Destination – This summer reading program through Barnes & Noble gives your child the ability to earn a FREE book after reading 8 books and keeping track of them in a reading log.  Even better, this year, Barnes & Noble has expanded the program to teens and adults. [Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Summer Activities for Young Preschoolers

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activities for young preschoolers

As a preschool teacher, I’m frequently asked about ways to help facilitate learning and growth at home, particularly what activities for young preschoolers can parents work on at home.  During spring conferences with my two-year-old class’s parents, this question is second only to questions regarding potty training.   Trust me, I get how long these summer days can be, and being able to fill your child’s days with meaningful, age-appropriate activities can make or break your summer.  (or winter break.  Or spring break.  Or ….Tuesday!)  So what are some activities for your young preschooler, or any time of the year, to do at home? [Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

How Mosquito Prevention Helped My Kids Play Outside

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This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Mosquito Joe.  I’ve received a form of compensation in exchange for this post; however all opinions, experiences, and bad puns are 100% my own.

Y’all may have noticed, I have two redheaded children, right?  What you may not know is all the fun little trivia facts that come along with being a ginger.  For example, worldwide, redheads make up only 2% of the population, while in Scotland they’re 13%, followed closely by Ireland at 10%.

Mosquito Joe mosquito control

Another little tidbit of trivia?  Redheads are more susceptible to bug bites.  In my kids case, they’re magnets for mosquitoes.  Not only are my kids apparently like a nice little dessert for mosquitoes, my daughter also has strong reactions to mosquito bites.  About half the time, a single bite will swell up on her.  The first time we saw this, she was about 3, and she had a bite on her tricep that swelled up the size of a golf ball.  That prompted a weekend trip to urgent care, where we started to learn about her reactions, and how to handle them with OTC allergy meds.  Once, she got a bite a few inches above her eye, and her entire forehead swelled up! [Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

REWARD YOUR KIDS’ HARD WORK: Good Report Card Freebies List!

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Good Report Card Freebies

With summer peeking around the corner, it’s almost time again to share those good report cards!  With those good grades comes great rewards, aside of course, from the vast knowledge acquired represented by said good grades.  Here is a current list of FREE rewards for kids who bring home good report cards!  Consider using them as incentives to motivate your kids to finish the year odd strong!

Also, make sure to look at all the great Kids Free Summer Reading Programs available to your kiddos over the summer break – you know, to ensure good report cards next school year.

Teachers, feel free to share this with your coworkers, students, and parents!

I HIGHLY suggest calling ahead to be sure that your area business is participating in these promotions!!  Also, if you know of other freebies not mentioned here, please let me know! 🙂

Many thanks to Saving Dollars and Sense for compiling such an extensive list!
[Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Staying Hydrated in Georgia Heat

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SweetLeaf water dropsY’all, it’s hot as blazes out there in Atlanta right now.  And when it’s not hot, it’s ridonkulously humid, which just adds a whole new layer of hot to Atlanta heat – am I right??  I’ve given y’all many ways to keep cool this summer, but we all know we also need to keep ourselves properly hydrated when it’s so stinkin’ hot, right?  Have I mentioned I have a terrible habit of drinking entirely too much soda and sweet tea?  Neither of which are good for you in the first place, but both are even more dangerous if you’re trying to stay hydrated.

So, when I was sent SweetLeaf Stevia Water Drops to try out, I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to try to replace the soda and sweet tea I’ve been consuming with something better-for-me.  (Disclosure: SweetLeaf sent me the water drops to try out, in exchange for a review on this here blog.  However, all opinions, commentary, and bad puns are 100% my own.)

Here’s what I’ve learned so far: [Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

The End of Summer

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End of SummerThis was supposed to be the summer of many things. Just like every other previous summer, I started concocting some pretty grand plans for summer 2017 with my kids.

I’d planned to work a little bit each day teaching my rising 3rd grader her times tables, using a fun program I used when I was a public school teacher. Instead, I randomly quizzed her verbally.

I’d planned to work with my rising kindergartner on learning to tie his shoes, since shoes with laces are mandatory for him. That didn’t happen at all.

I’d planned to try out all the cool awesome places around Atlanta I keep hearing about (and -um- some of which I’ve featured here), but we didn’t. [Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Wrapping Up the Month of June at Applebee’s

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June at Applebee's

Apparently this summer has been more hectic than I realized.  I sat down on June 30 to write this up, but July proved to be just as hectic as June!  Hence, a mid-July publication!  

The month of June kept my family busy, our calendars packed, and my schedule quite busy!  First, we renovated the kids’ bathroom,  not because we were sitting idolly by looking for something to do, but because the tub -which was easily over 20 years old- was starting to feel springy when the kids stepped in it, and the shower faucet had developed a steady leak.  Thankfully, when we redid the other two bathrooms in our house a few years ago, we went ahead and bought a sink, tub, toilet, sink faucet, and shower faucet for all three bathrooms because we knew we would eventually have to tackle this bathroom, AND because a family friend got us the products for about half off.

I digress.  So while we were re-doing the bathroom, I stayed home to ensure things were going as they should.  Months earlier, my mom had enrolled the kids in VBS at her church, and my son had three days of Kindergarten camp midweek.  (Yes, my littlest baby is off to kindergarten in the fall!) [Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Summer FUN in Atlanta

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Summer Fun in Atlanta

Summer 2015 is (un)officially under way, now that the kiddos are out of school.  So here are some awesome ideas to add to your summer fun in Atlanta – to keep them entertained, and also to help keep them stimulated, and avoid parking their brains over the summer.  Not all of these are strictly limited to the Atlanta area, so make sure to check them all out and see what YOU can cross off your summer bucket list.  Click on the pictures for further details.

Summer Fun in Atlanta – Master List

Got something to add?  Please contact me and I’ll look in to it.Summer Fun in Atlanta

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Saying Goodbye to Kindergarten

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Saying Goodbye to Kindergarten

It seems like it was just last week I walked my little girl in to Kindergarten.  And yet now, in a blink of an eye, she  was saying goodbye to Kindergarten.  While I knew she was more than ready to start Kindergarten, I still knew this year would be filled with many “new”s: she started a new school, venturing away from the preschool where she was already well-known; which also means she made new friends, whom she embraced with her big heart and they she; new teachers, all of whom she seems to like, her classroom teacher the most!

In the last nine months, she’s become an even stronger reader, mastering even more sight words, gained more confidence as a reader, began to experiment with spelling, finished writing her own book, began formerly learning Spanish, learned how to skip count by 2s, 5s, and 10s, learned how to add numbers in her head, almost mastered shoe tying (gonna keep that on our summer checklist!), and grew by leaps and bounds in ways I never imagined!

I’m not sure what it is about Kindergarten in our present culture that invokes such sentimentality, but I will gladly testify to its strength.  We weep when our babies start Kindergarten, whether they do so as the king of the hill in a preschool setting, or as the littlest guys in an elementary school setting.  We weep because Kindergarten signifies that our little babies are no longer our little babies, and that, with each step they take towards their school, they take a further step away from our safe and comfortable arms, away from our safe world where we can control and protect them.  They take a step further towards leaving the proverbial nest.

Saying Goodbye to Kindergarten

My little girl can now be considered what she calls a “grader”.  Wow.  How on earth do I have a first grader on my hands?!  That I’m not sure, but I do know that, as I watch my little girl grow up -a girl with a heart bigger than any ocean- I’ll mourn the loss of each previous stage, watching small slivers of her childhood slip away, while also celebrating the little person she is becoming.  And she is quite a cool little person.

So, here’s to a wonderful year in Kindergarten, to all the excitement this summer may hold, and to the wonders that await us next year in first grade.

Saying Goodbye to Kindergarten

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Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Atlanta's Frugal Mom is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. In other words, if you click through to Amazon from some of the books or products I recommend and make a purchase, I get a small percentage in exchange for your purchase. It's a small way you can support AFM.