Cha-Ching on a Shoestring™

Living Large on a Limited Budget

Project Summer Frugal Fun Challenge Week 2: New Parks and Free Slurpees (Plus a Giveaway!)

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Project Summer

Welcome to Week 2 of our Project Summer Frugal Fun Challenge. Be sure to complete today’s easy task at the bottom to enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card!  

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We just finished our first official week off from school.

I have to say that so far, our Frugal Fun Notebooks have been a BIG hit.  Every morning at breakfast we have a morning meeting where the boys pull out their notebooks and one person gets to choose an activity from their Summer Fun To Do list.

(Have I mentioned that I used to be a teacher?  I think I get more excited than the average person about ‘Morning Meetings’.)

Has every day been perfect?  No.  Have there been moments of boredom and sibling ‘tension’?  Yes.

But so far, the flexible schedule that we’ve been working on has been a great fit for us and provided some much needed routine.

Today’s activity was riding bikes down to Cumberland Farms to get FREE Slurpees.

 

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Probably could have gotten away with only half a slurpee for my four year old.

One day last week, we visited a new park and made some new friends.

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I even get a turn selecting an activity.

(Which could explain why our van is cleaner than it has been in a long time!  When do kids realize that this is not supposed to be ‘fun’?  Wait…I don’t want to know!  Let me enjoy it while it lasts.)

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Looking for a frugal fun activity this week?  Consider watching the Supermoon sunset on Saturday night?

The Project Summer Frugal Fun Challenge: 

I want YOU to get involved with our Frugal Fun Guide.  I LOVE picturing you using my Summer Fun Planner as a resource.   This is a tool that I hope will help you have a fun and rewarding summer if you have kids (or grandkids or neighbors or nieces and nephews).  And even if you don’t have kids, there’s a little something for everyone!

So here’s what we’re going to do.  During the month of June, July and August, I am going to give away a $25 Amazon gift card to someone who joins the Project Summer Frugal Fun Challenge.

Here’s how to enter: 

Entering to win is easy.  At the end of each Project Summer post this month (there will be many!), there will be one method of entry.  If you choose to complete that task, you will be entered!

At the end of each month (June, July and August) I’ll randomly select one winner from the comments left on each of the posts to win a $25 Amazon gift card.  So that means the more you get involved with the Project Summer Frugal Fun Challenge, the more chances you will have to win!

Here is today’s task:

*By doing so, you’ll receive my Summer Fun Planner in your inbox so you can join in the fun!

Click here to find even more ways to enter to win!

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by Amazon.  The Amazon gift card is from me as a thank you to my readers!

Chick-Fil-A Cow Appreciation Day 2013 – FREE Combo Meal when you Dress Like a Cow!

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Our ‘herd’ a couple of years ago at Cow Appreciation Day

Mark your calendar – it’s BACK!

On Friday, July 12, 2013 Chick-Fil-A is celebrating Cow Appreciation Day by giving away a FREE meal to anyone who comes dressed as a cow!

Wear a partial cow costume and get a FREE entree.  But if you dress up from head to hoof, you’ll receive an entire meal for FREE!

You can download their starter costume kit here.

Project Summer: Our Frugal Fun Notebooks

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Today was a big day.

It was the first day of our summer break.   (Wait…is it a break for Moms?  The jury is still out on that one…)

And a news team from Action News 6abc came by the house to shoot a story about my Project Summer: Frugal Fun Guide.

(Need some motivation to clean?  Invite a news crew over.  My house hasn’t been this shiny in a long time.)

I wanted to give you a glimpse of what I shared before the story airs in a few weeks.

I’ve already told you about my free downloadable Summer Fun Planner and I hope it’s a great resource for you.

This year, I decided to take it another step and create Summer Fun Notebooks for my two older boys (ages 7 and 4).

The goal?  To create a FUN and REWARDING summer with minimal mention of those three dreaded words: “Mom, I’m bored.”   (If you’ve figured out a way to eliminate those words completely, do tell.)

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We created three sections in the guide:

Summer Fun

Reading Rewards

Fun in the Car

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Yesterday we worked on creating our “Summer Fun To Do list” with everything from “Catch lightning bugs” to “Wash the van together” (Mommy’s idea, of course).   The plan is to cross one item off the list each day.

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In the reading rewards section, I compiled all of our reading rewards programs from the library, school, Chuck E. Cheese, and more.  The goal is to read each afternoon together.  Mommy’s hoping to get a few books in this summer too!

And then in our travel section, I added some printable games for upcoming long car rides as well as a notebook for doodling.

I also started adding dates to the calendar with activities from the frugal fun guide.  We won’t get to them all, but it’s nice to have them listed in one place.

By the way, I got all of the items for our notebooks from the Dollar Store  – the Dollar Store Diva taught me well!

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Then we got to work crossing off our first item from our list – making popsicles!

The boys had a lot of fun showing their notebooks to Amy Buckman.  They really like them so far and I’m excited for an easy way to add a bit of a structure to our summer while still making room for flexibility.

Would you like to make a notebook?  Just head over here and find out how to get my free summer fun planner to get you started!

I have an exciting announcement coming up tomorrow that is going to add to the FUN this summer.  I can’t wait!

*Reminder* FREE One Month Trial of Redbox Instant plus Four FREE DVD Rentals

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RedBox Instant by Verixon

 

Just a reminder that Redbox Instant is still offering a FREE one month trial plus  4 FREE DVD credits.

Now that school is out, this will come in handy for upcoming movie afternoons!

Here is the information:

Get a 1-Month Free Trial to Redbox Instant™ by Verizon with a subscription (or “with sign up”). Receive access to a Streaming Library of Hits and 4 DVD Credits every month for rentals at your local Redbox kiosk. Once your free trial expires, membership costs $8 per month plus taxes. That matches Netflix’s Unlimited Streaming package.

RedBox Instant by Verizon

  1. Sign up for the 1 month free trial
  2. Instant, unlimited access to streaming movies
  3. Enjoy 4 fabulous DVD credits at the Kiosk
  4. Stream movies wherever you are

Start your FREE one month trial now.

More FREE and $1 Summer Movies for Kids – Frank Theatres, Cobb Theatres, Marquee Cinemas and National Infantry Museum

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Frank Theatres summer

Frank Theatres Summer Kids Movie Series is back.   From June 11th – August 1st, select Frank Theatres will be offering $1.00 G and PG rated movies on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning at 10 am.  Click here to find a participating theater near you.

Sadly for my local readers, it doesn’t look like Montgomeryville, Pa is participating this year. 🙁

national infantry museum free movies

The National Infantry Museum in Columbus, GA is offering a FREE Summer Kids Series every Tuesday and Wednesday in June and July at 9 and 11 am.  Check out the summer 2013 schedule here.

cobb theatre free movie

Cobb Theatres are offering FREE Family Movies on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in June and July.  Choose between two movies playing each day.  Doors open at 9:30am and movies begin at 10 am.  Click here to find your local Cobb theatre schedule.

marqee cinemas

Marquee Cinemas are offering FREE family movies at 9:30am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Check here to find the specific movies for your closest location.

Check out more FREE and $1 Kids Movies this summer plus a LONG list of FREE activities for kids nationwide!

 

 

 

Chuck E. Cheese Reading Rewards Calendar

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Chuck E. Cheese offers a Reading Rewards calendar for kids.  Kids who read every day for two weeks will earn 10 FREE tokens the next time they are at Chuck E. Cheese.

Other calendars include:

Potty Training

Daily Chores

Table Manners

Magical Music

and more!

Check out more free Reading Rewards programs for kids that I’ve shared.

 

Mark it On Your Calendar: FREE LEGO Police Car Build at Toys R Us Stores (6/15)

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Free LEGO Police Car Build at Toys R Us Stores 

LEGO fans, here’s an event to mark on your calendar.  Join LEGO and Toys “R” Us for a FREE LEGO City building event on June 15th from 12-2 pm at Toys R Us.

You will be able to build an exclusive Classic LEGO City Police Car!

Event is intended for children ages 5 and up. Event materials available while supplies last and are available only to participating children. Limit one per child.

As always, I recommend calling ahead to be sure your local store is participating.

Check out more FREE Summer Activities for Kids that I’ve rounded up.

FREE LEGO Mini Build Tonight (6/4)

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FREE LEGO Mini Build

The first Tuesday of every month, LEGO stores invite children ages 6 to 14 to learn how to build a special LEGO model – then take that model home, for FREE.

Tonight’s (June 4th) FREE mini-model is a LEGO Fisherman Model. This event will start at 5pm at most LEGO stores.

As always, I recommend checking with your local store to verify date and time.

Check out more FREE summer activities for kids that I’ve shared.