Play it again, Mama: 10 Inexpensive Things to do with Your Kids Today

1. Break out the sidewalk chalk.  Practice letters or write a welcome home message for Daddy.  Trace shapes and identify colors.

2. Blow bubbles with the baby.  Babies love bubbles.  Talk about colors, texture, and vocab such as drifting, floating, and clear.

3. Explore a new neighborhood park.  Take advantage of the swings, slides, and monkey bars.  Not only will your child work on new skills, but you may also find a new group of mommies that you connect with.

4. Plant something.  Check out your $ store and plant some flowers.  Talk about taking care of plants and the science of how things grow.  Encourage observation skills, observing how things grow.

5. Take that stale loaf of bread and feed the birds.  Your toddler will have hours of stories to tell after that.

6. Start a kitchen band.  Break out the pots and pans, wooden spoons and spatulas.  Afterwards, take some Tylenol and settle down for a nap.

7. Create a masterpiece.  Sure you can spend a lot of money on art supplies and eventually you choose to do so.  But for now, just invest in a $.97 set of watercolors and use the back of your printer paper.  Discuss colors and motion.

8. Drop in to the library.  Pick up movies, books, and utilize some computer time.

9. Go for a bike ride.  What a great way to get outdoors and spend some time bonding with your child.

10. Wash the car.  Roll up your sleeves, break out the dishsoap and hose, and enjoy this spring weather.

Frugal ways to spend time with my kids work for me.