Use up the batter

Ok this one seems pretty simple, but really, think about it.  How many times do you use all the batter?  If you follow most muffin recipes, you end up with a little extra at the end.  Don't forget that spatula! It can scrap the batter to give you a whole extra muffin or cupcake! Sometimes I've even gotten two extra muffins!  

Too often we throw things out because it doesn't seem like there's much.  But, those small things add up.  Every time I make muffins, if I were to throw out the little bit that I could scrap  to make one more muffin, after 12 times of making muffins or cupcakes, I'd have another whole set of muffins!

Really, I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but those little things add up and thats where you start saving money.  

Enjoy today's little quick tip

Blessings 

 

Travel Snack Prep

 

It's getting close to travel season and with traveling comes trying to keep the kids happy while you or your spouse is driving.  One way to help keep them happy is to keep them fed.  Let's be honest a fed kiddo is a happy kiddo.  

We went on a long trip this summer to see family in Indiana, for the most part my girls travel well, they've just always had to travel so that helps, but this was going to be a long trip.  So I prepared snack bags for the trip to and from (honestly, who wants to pack snack bags leaving your trip).  That was my best decision, it made packing to come home so much easier! So anyways, here is my how-to on prepping snacks for a long trip or any trip for that matter!

1. Make a schedule - 

Below are my schedules for there and home of our trip this summer.  These are the real scratch lists. They don't need to be pretty, just something that you can reference as you go.  Those longer trips can be harder to keep track of what everyone ate when, this really helped me.  Now, honestly did I follow this schedule like it was set in stone, did we not buy Cheetos at the gas station at one point, no.  Things changed, we had lots of rain, the schedule got bumped up a bit here and there, BUT, I was able to have a guideline to follow, I had a roadmap per say to help me. It was nice to have a reference of what we'd had or had available as we went.  

2. Make a list of snack options - 

I wanted to make sure that even though we were traveling, we were able to get some healthy snacks in along with some treats.  While treats are fun and exciting, it's those healthy snacks that keep everyone sane as well.  Snack ideas: cheese sticks, carrots, applesauce pouches, various cracker snacks, fruit strips, fruit snacks and raisins.

Repacking your own snacks is where you can save some money. Cheese sticks, raisins, and any of the cracker snacks are really easy to prepackage yourself instead of paying for them to be prepackaged.  

• Cheese sticks: you can easily buy a large block of cheese and cut your own, throw in a cooler bag and voila your own cheese sticks for cheaper.  Check out my post here: Cheese Sticks for more details. 
• Raisins: Yes it's fun to have your own individual box, but if you buy the large container you can pour your own individual baggies full.  You can also mix in some peanuts or cashews too if you are able. 
• Cracker snacks: So first of all our youngest is gluten free, so she needs her own individual cracker snacks.  Also, if your house is anything like mine, no one likes the same snacks, so I just grab a few larger containers of the snacks we usually eat and divide up smaller baggies of them for each kiddo.  It beats spending more for the prepackaged + spending even more, because we all want different prepackaged snack bags. 

3. Purchase the items needed 

Now that you know what all you want, it's easier to buy your snacks. It's really easy to go shopping and then get a bunch of items because you didn't plan ahead and end up with more than you need or items you weren't planning on.  Also, now that you know what snacks you are planning on saving with making your own, you can pick a few fun items too.  For example, yes it would be cheaper to buy applesauce and use my reusable pouches; however for the 12 hour drive it was not feasible to try and do, and honestly I didn't want to balance that.  So for this trip I saved on the cracker snacks and bought applesauce pouches.  We also bought fruit snacks and fruit strips as a fun treat. Things we don't have often, so it makes it fun.  You'll also note I had cereal listed as the first snack.  For this particular trip we took off early, so I let my girls pick ONE special box of cereal to share.  I then poured it into baggies for them.  Again a special treat, but we limited that one to one option and they only got the one bag full.  

4. Gather all your supplies, label and start packing 

Now, with all these different snacks I'm collecting, I do use our reusable baggies as much as possible.  I don't have any fancy ones we got ours from Walmart.  They work well, except the zipper sticks after I use them in the freezer, so if you are in the market for them make sure they are freezer safe.

Anyways, back to gathering your supplies.  I did use regular ziplock bags to hold all the snacks, because I wanted to write on them with Sharpie each kiddos name and either "THERE" or "HOME",  so I knew what bags were for when.  

Then I loaded each bag up.  I started with my schedule and figured out how many fruit strips I'd need for there, then put them in each kiddo's larger bag, then I did the same for the fruit snacks, applesauce pouches and raisins.  Then I took the cracker snacks and decided how many times we'd need a cracker snack and made up their individual bags of their cracker snacks choices and put those in their larger bag.  Then I repeated the process for the the trip home.  Again, seriously, this was my best decision, BECAUSE, I was having too much fun hanging out to want to pack like this while there the night before we came home.  And that worked out great, because it was already done.  

The cooler items, like the carrots, cheese sticks or other veggies I packed the morning of. I got them ready, carrots in one bag, cheese sticks in another, etc.  But, then packed them in the cooler in the morning.  

When I loaded our larger snack bag, I made sure the "HOME" bags were on the bottom and the "THERE" bags were on top. Then I didn't have to dig so much.  

5. Tips & Tricks I learned after 14 hours on the road: 

1. Pack few extra snacks - you never know what might happen, pouring rain FOREVER or just extra hungry i.e. bored kiddos. I had a bag at the bottom that was leftover items we got; applesauce pouches, fruit snacks, fruit strips and we used a few of them. 
2. Snack/hour - really even if you don't end up having a snack that often, if you are going for a longer trip plan snack/hour. 
3. Have those fun snacks intermixed. Whatever is a fun snack for your household, us it's the fruit snacks and fruit strips.  I made sure to have those a few times for our long trip.

So if you are traveling for 5 hours or 20, I hope you find something here that you can use to help make that trip a little less costly, but still being able to have some good snacks along the way.   

Blessings on your upcoming travels 

Breadcrumbs Re-visited

Way back I wrote about how I use breadcrumbs.  If you didn't see it you can check out that post here: Bread Crumbs. A pretty simple concept, but a process that can save you money over time.  If you've already started saving those bread crumbs from your toaster drawer, then this won't be a huge change as well. 

If you're like our house your kiddos don't eat their crust very often.  Most days, I will eat their crust, but there are days I just don't want to.  I started adding the crust pieces to my bread crumb jar.  I keep my bread crumb jar in the freezer so after a few days the crust pieces are easy to break down and crumble.  

This is just one more way you can get bread crumbs.  This has been really helpful with our family's recent shift in being more gluten free.  We don't all need to be gluten free, but my youngest has done better when she's not eating gluten.  With that, she also doesn't like the crust.  We now have a bread crumb jar and a GF bread crumb jar in our freezer.  Instead of having to buy GF bread crumbs, we were able to make our own without spending any extra money.  That is huge when GF food is just so much more pricey. 

Hope this helps you save a little 

Blessings, 

Saving on fruit

So you're in the store and you ask your kiddos, "what fruit do you want this week? Apples, bananas, grapes etc?"  They say bananas so you buy bananas and then later that week you see that the bananas are already turning. 

Happens to me so many times! And lately, I feel the bananas are turning faster.  Fresh produce just isn't as good as it was.  I think we're still catching up from COVID and things being shut down, the produce just takes longer to get here and while it's been waiting it's starting to ripen sooner.  But, that's my short opinion.  

Anyways, I've learned over the years that I could freeze them and keep them to make banana bread later.  That has worked well for us.  We like a good banana bread for breakfast in the fall and winter.  But, I wanted to help them last a little longer on the shelf or something. 

Thanks to The Cross Legacy I have! She has so many great ideas on helping keep your produce last longer. I've recommended her blog before, but I wanted to do so again.  This time of year we try not to go to the store as often, just because life gets busier with school and sometimes the weather isn't nice.  Currently our local grocery store is about 15min away in another town.  So, finding ways to help make less trips to the store has been very helpful.  

Amy Cross has many tips on how to keep lots of produce fresh longer than what you'd normally be able to keep it.  Check out her blog for more info!  

School lunches

Let's talk school lunches.  While sometimes purchasing hot lunches are more convenient they can add up. We've done both hot and cold lunches over the years.  I am not against hot lunches, if you are able to do them go for it.  Or if you qualify for free/reduced lunch then that is more affordable.  However, if you are the in-between and are paying for hot lunches at full price, but want to try and save a little this post is for you. 

     This post includes affiliate links, which means if you click on the link I get a portion of any sales at NO COST to you.  See my disclosure page for more details. 

Recently, we've tried to budget our lunches more and therefore have limited our girls' hot lunches.  So of course, that means that I needed to start thinking about cold lunch ideas.  With subbing, I wanted ones that are quick and easy to make, preferably the night before and with one kiddo gluten free, I needed to make sure that was considered as well.  

Now, I will say, as I stated in the beginning, getting hot lunch is a convenience you pay for, so the times I am subbing long term, we may let there be more hot lunch options.  But otherwise, we will do cold as much as possible. Here are a list of some of our favorite cold meal options that do save money. 

There are a lot of different options when it comes to fruit and veggies.  I do try and use the fruits and veggies that are in season because they are more affordable. 

Fruits: apple slices, applesauce, grapes or mandarin oranges 

Veggies: carrots, celery, frozen peas, green beans (from the garden) or cucumbers 

*Also, for the cheese sticks we don't buy prepackaged cheese sticks, but instead we buy a large block of cheese and cut it up into smaller cheese sticks.  You can check out that post her: Homemade Cheese Sticks. 

1. boiled eggs  + cheese stick* + veggie + fruit 
2. tuna salad on crackers + veggie + fruit 
3. peanut butter cracker sandwiches+ cheese stick* + fruit + veggie 
4. peanut butter on celery + cheese stick* + fruit 
5. peanut butter + jelly sandwich + veggies + cheese stick 

How do I know these are not as expensive as a hot lunch.  Well let's break it down. Bare with me we are going to do some math.  Our current school lunches are around $2.50 so let's see what each cold lunch I've planned adds up to.  Now, I will say prices can vary, especially with the fruits and veggies, but if you shop the sales + what's in season that makes a big difference. The following are Walmart prices because that's what we have close at the moment.  Another way to save, would be if you have a Sams Club or Costco nearby, because some of the things you can get in bulk and then it's cheaper. 

Option 1: boiled eggs + cheese stick + veggie & fruit 

1. eggs = $7.47/60 eggs = .12cents/egg 
2. cheese stick = $7.32/32oz = .25cents/cheese stick 
3. carrots $1.24/1lb bag = .25cents/serving 
4. applesauce $3.52/48oz = .32cents/serving 

SO, if you were to take the first lunch meal your total would be .94 cents.  IF you were to double your egg and cheese stick, it would still only be $1.31. This is also with regular prices of carrots and applesauce, just think if you were to stock up on applesauce when it was on sale. With that, we don't buy the individual applesauce cups/pouches.  Those cost more.  We buy the big applesauce container and pour out in a small cup for the lunch boxes.  You can do this ahead of time the night before, or if you have enough containers and fridge space, you can make ahead what you would need for the week.  Then it's just grab and go in the morning.  Here are some more prices for the rest.  I would encourage you to mix and match your options, but add up the individual prices to make sure.  

1. crackers = $3.88/120 = .03cents/cracker = .26cents/4 sandwiches or .32cents/5 sandwiches 
2. tuna salad = $3.52/4 pack = .44cents/serving (1 day's lunch) 
3. peanut butter = $5.92/40oz = .17cents/serving (1 day's lunch) 
4. bread = $1.78/20 slices = .09cents/slice = .18 cents/sandwich 
5. jelly = $2.92/17oz = .12cents/serving 
6. apple slices = $5.28/3lbs = .66cents/apple = .33cents/serving 
7. grapes = $3.78/bag = .38cents/serving 
8. mandarin oranges 
9. celery = $1.34/stalk (about 8 slices/stalk) = .17cents/slice (2 slices for each serving) 
10. frozen peas $2.28/2lb bag = .21cents/serving 
11. cucumbers $1.97/bag = .28cents/serving 
12. green beans + free from garden 

Using the more expensive fruit and veggie option here are what the totals could be:  

Option 2: tuna on crackers + veggie & fruit 

    

    tuna crackers .76 cents/5 sandwiches + apple slices .33cents + cucumbers .28cents = $1.37 

    tuna crackers .76 cents/5 sandwiches + grapes .38cents + cucumbers .28cents = $1.42 

Option 3: peanut butter on crackers +cheese stick + veggie and fruit 

    peanut butter sandwiches .49cents/5 sandwiches + cheese stick .25cents + grapes .38cents + cucumbers .28cents = $1.40 

Option 4: peanut butter on celery + cheese stick & fruit 

    peanut butter on celery .52cents + cheese stick .25cents + applesauce .32cents = $1.09 

Option 5: peanut butter and jelly sandwich + veggies & cheese stick 

    peanut butter sandwich .47cents + cucumbers .28cents + cheese stick .25cents = $1.00 

Now let's talk drinks.  If you can find a water bottle that will fit in your child's lunch box, that is the best and most affordable option.  However, if you can't there are options for drinks that still will keep your lunch more affordable.  

1. Orange juice packs $4.46/6pk = .74cents/bottle 

2. Apple juice packs $3.96/6pk = .66cents/bottle 

3. Milk at school .35cents 

So one last adding. Again I'm taking the most expensive of each item so there will be times that it will be less.  I also wouldn't plan orange juice for each one, but would rather make sure water or milk were their first options, with the orange juice and apple juice here and there.  But, I wanted to show you how even with the more expensive drinks, the whole lunch is still cheaper.  Some buy 15 cents others more.  

Option 1: boiled egg(2) + cheese stick + veggie + fruit + orange juice = $1.80 

Option 2: tuna on crackers(5 sandwiches) + grapes + cucumbers + orange juice = $2.16

Option 3: peanut butter on crackers + cheese stick + grapes + cucumbers + orange juice = $2.14 

Option 4: peanut butter on celery + cheese stick + applesauce + orange juice = $1.83

Option 5: peanut butter sandwich + cucumbers + cheese stick + orange juice = $1.74 

With that, if you wanted to toss in a homemade cookie here and there, you'd be able to and still stay in budget.  

That was a lot, I hope it gives you some help if you are trying to save some money this school year.  It's definitely something that takes a lot of time to organize, but if you get most of the items ready ahead of time, it won't take long afterwards.  For example with the cheese sticks, we've made them so much now I'm in a rhythm of cutting up the block within the first day or two of buying it from the store.  Then I freeze most of them and have them ready when needed. Pick a couple things to start and do a couple cold lunches if you can, then add more in as you're able. 

Also, don't forget, even if you do hot lunch here and there, the times you are making cold lunches saves you and that adds up over time.  

One more thing before I finish.  Anything you can do ahead of time to help the morning be more efficient the better.  As I said with the apple sauce, if you can make them ahead for the week, then you or your kiddo can just grab one and go. Check out the amazon link below with great options.  

You can also do this with the cheese sticks, throw in what you'll need for the week in the fridge and then they can grab in the morning.  Make a menu for the cold lunches for the week so everyone knows what they are having.  The veggies, fruit, eggs and cheese sticks can all be ready to go for the week.  A little bit more time in prepping saves those busy mornings. 

Don't forget to check out the links below: 

1. The first link are the cups we have and I really like them. We had bought the lunch box containers that they came with and so  they fit in our lunch box well. 

2. The 2nd option I haven't tried yet, but when I was looking at buying more containers this one stood out. I like how they are stackable.  I also like how I could get three different colors, so each of my girls could have a color and know what one to grab in the morning. AND, I could use them for fruit, veggies, the boiled egg and maybe even the crackers with pb.  

3. This option would be nice to pair with one of the other two above options.  Then you have a space for the large meal (sandwich, crackers, etc) and two smaller containers for the veggies, cheese stick or eggs. 

 

Back to School!

 

It's back to school time! Time to get all those school supplies ready!  Ok, I have always enjoyed back to school shopping; all through my school years, and as a teacher and even still today.  But, there are many ways to save during school supply shopping time.  Here are just a few ways we save each school year. 

1. Check what we have first 

Every year we go through our box of school supplies that we had from the year before. Yes, we have a box, and after this post you are going to want to start a box too! It's really simple, find a small box and a space where you can keep it.  This will be used for all the extra school supplies I'll talk about later.  So, anyways we check the box to see what we already have that we don't need to buy more of.  For example, erasers, pencils, glue sticks.  

2. Make a list for each kiddo of what they need from their school list (after you've checked off what you already have) 

This is key! Either mark off on their actual list what you already have OR make a new list.  Otherwise when you get to the store, theY are going to want said item you already have or you are going to forget and buy more than you need of something that won't last, you know the fun folders or something like that. Believe me, I've been there! 

3. Buy extra 

Ok, now's the time to buy extra.  Think about the whole year, our teachers always put an extra folder on the list and I add at least one more.  I know one of my kiddos, she is hard on her school supplies.  These weeks when they are on sale is the time to buy them, otherwise mid year I'm going to need to replace a folder at full price! What!? No thank you.  So buy extra, whatever they don't take to school goes in the supply box, when they need more you go there first. At the end of the year whatever you didn't use, save for the next year.  Prices usually go up a bit each year, as we've seen these last couple of years, and guess what buying extra the year before saved you having to pay that increase!! It does add up! 

Some things we buy extra of: 

• notebooks
• folders 
• glue bottles
• glue sticks 
• erasers (I buy the big pack and split it up, then buy another pack for extra)
• pencils   
• pens 
• lined paper 

So as you are preparing to get those school supplies.  Remember to think ahead: 

1. Retake stock of what you have

2. Make a List 

3. Stock-up! 

Happy school shopping! 

Homemade Scavenger Hunts

    Summer is the time for traveling.  And traveling with kids can be an interesting combination.  A while ago I posted about our busy folders that we use for church and traveling.  If you missed it you can check here: Busy Folders . Recently I added a homemade BINGO/scavenger hunt to our busy folders and wanted to share.  

Have you tried BINGOS/scavenger hunts while you travel yet?  They are so fun and they really work great for all ages.  It's a fun new twist on the old games we used to play, you know before DVDs in the car. 

You can search Pinterest for travel scavenger hunt ideas or even download printable ones, or you can make your own.  

Some of our favorite themes and ideas include: 

Fall ~ colorful trees, leaves

Easter ~ flowers, crosses, Easter eggs, bunnies 

Christmas ~ Christmas lights, Christmas trees, manger, snow,  Santa 

Summer ~ flowers, trees

Special places ~ We travel to a couple different cities often and there are certain things our girls want to see.   I include these on the scavenger hunt list as well.  They make for easy spots to mark to keep it going and not drag on. For example, when I was little and we traveled to Missouri and my sister and I always watched out for the green bridges. So if you have a normal route you can think of places to add, this makes it more personable. 

Items you could include on all or a basic list: red car, motorcycle, semi, street lights, highway sign, speed limit sign etc.  I have included our Christmas and general one for you to use.  Just click on the image and right click to save then print. 

Tips and Tricks: 

Pictures for younger kids vs. words 

Markers to cross off the items 

Going further: 

If you want them to be reused; print on cardstock and laminate or use dry erase pockets.  Then use dry erase markers & a reusable towel. This is great for themed scavenger hunts like; Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter etc. 

Save on Shampoo

    

     This post includes affiliate links, which means if you click on the link I get a portion of any sales at NO COST to you.  See my disclosure page for more details. 

    Have you made your own homemade shampoo before? I've switched to making my own for a few of us in our household.  My favorite is one I found from the book "Just the Essentials" it's a great book on ways to use essential oils around your house and to be more chemically free in the process. I'd say it's a must read if you are looking for a way to start swapping out your household cleaners/hair care and more for a more natural approach. 

    While there are many homemade shampoo ideas out there, one thing I feel has worked well is investing in some foaming soap pumps.  Have you seen these yet or tried them?  They save you so much on soap.  As I said we use the shampoo Adina listed in her book, we were struggling with some dandruff and her recipe worked great! But, it was hard to not get too much shampoo and then not be able to wash it out.  I found these foaming soap pumps and they made all the difference.  In order for the pump to work it needed a little more liquid, so I doubled the recipe + added about 1/3 cup of water.  With just 1-2 pumps that's all we need for shampoo.  Plus it makes our shampoo last longer, which saves money.  

    The nice thing about this set of foaming soap pumps is it comes in a pack of two.  I put one in our girls' bathroom for their hand soap.  I also added water to it as well.  I've made my own hand soap, but also have used Myers hand soap. I start with filling about 1/3 of the bottle with soap and then the rest with water.  I haven't replaced it in forever! 

    So whether you are making your own shampoo or looking for ways to save on shampoo or soap, I hope this post helps. 

Summer Bucket List

   

 

    So I was listening to a podcast the other day and they were talking about their summer plans and how to make the most out of your summer.  Side note, it's a great podcast; Legacy by Gretchen & Elisabeth, you should check it out!  Anyways, one of the things they mentioned doing was a bucket list with your kiddos.  

I loved this idea! I'm always looking for ideas for the summer.  We can be busy with different summer rec activities, but it can be easy to get too busy and not do the things you wanted to do.  So they mentioned make a list of the activities you want to do and then cross them off as you accomplish them. 

I recently sat my girls down and we did just that!  We came up with all kinds of things to do this summer.  A couple were things they've been wanting to do, but each summer we run out of time.   I'm really excited to cross off some of these things this summer! 

While I was starting this post it reminded me of what my girls and I did last year.  We needed to change up our schedule a bit last year so we took each Friday and visited a different local town's park.  We live in a small town with lots of towns nearby.  Sometimes we drove 20 min, sometimes we drove almost 45 min away, but we planned each Friday with a different park/town in mind.  It was so fun! My girls have always wanted to go to the different parks when we go to the different towns for other things and so this was a great way to do just that! 

So here's to the start of summer and making a bucket list or making a park list, or something in between!  Whatever you plan, I hope that you are able to make it a fun summer! 

  

Summer Learning

    

    Summer is almost here! But, don't let this summer get away!  Summer is still a great time to keep learning. Here are a few ways keep our kiddos brains moving during the Summer. 

1. READ

I can't stress this one enough! Taking time to read is so beneficial to your kiddos in the summer. Whether you read to them, or they read on their own.  Whatever it takes, find some time to read this summer. A couple ways we like to include reading is:

• The Summer Reading Program at the library ~ check out your local library and see what they have for their summer reading program! 
• Making a Summer Reading List or a goal of how many books to read in the Summer 
• Setting aside a specific time during the day to read; for me it was after lunch, I told my girls after they ate they needed to go find a book to read (or look at for the younger one) so I could clean up the kitchen/eat my own lunch or talk to their dad while was home for lunch. 
• We also tried to pick a book series to read through. Each night before bed we'd read a few pages or a chapter.  We've read Little House on the Prairie, The Chronicles of Narnia and even some Boxcar Children books (we haven't read all of them yet). 

2. Make a Summer Learning Folder: 

So I've done Summer Learning Folders almost as long as my oldest has been in school.  I think I started them the summer after she finished 1st grade.  They can be as easy or as complex as you want to make them.  

Items you will need: 

1. 3 ring binder; grab a few of those cheaper 3 ring binders, you know the more flexible flimsy ones.  

2. Lined paper or notebook

3. Math games or flash cards 

4. Reading workbooks or Language arts books - we really like Summer Solutions. 

Then start making your Summer Learning Folder: 

First: make your schedule

    How often are you wanting your kids to work from their binders?  Everyday? 2-3 times a week?  For me, I gauge this based on what all we have going on.  When they were younger I made a specific schedule; Monday: Math, Tuesday: Lang. Arts Wednesday: Writing, Thursday: Math & Friday: Free day. I have found it's easier now that my kids are older to say 2x a week you need to do a language worksheet, 1 time a week you need to do a math activity and so forth.  Here's what our schedule looks like for this summer: 

Weekly: 

15-20 min doing 1 math game OR complete 1-2 math worksheets 

2 Pages from Reading/Lang workbook 

20 min reading/day = 2 hours for the week 

Write a letter or card to someone 

Then get your copies made or your supplies together: 

Reading: This year, I chose to order Reading/Language Arts Summer Solutions to use.  So each of my girls will have a workbook they can work from for Lang. Arts. 

Math: For math, we have different Math games they can play; 

UNO, TRASH, Usborne's (now Paper Pie) Learning Palette, I have Game 24 & Colorku on my wishlist, plus flash cards to keep it fun. We just have a designated drawer that has all the math games in it. 

 I also, will print a few math worksheets for each one to have in their binders. Then when it's math day or a day they choose to do math, they have many options on something to do. A couple sites I use: 

•  K5 Learning: I really like this site, they have lots of options for many different grades and subjects.  Plus for math they include answer keys for each worksheet, which is so helpful as my oldest is doing fractions!
• Education.com is another good one; this one you need to set up an account and you can only download 1 worksheet/month for free.  But, once you have them downloaded you have them.  OR you can pay to have more download options.  

Writing: I've tried to have them write a letter to a friend, family member, etc. once a week or depending on how the summer is going 2x a month. Or if you have a kiddo who likes making up stories, they could work on story for the summer or write a play.  Anyway to get them writing.  I make sure their binders have lined paper in them for the whole summer.  

Finally, I have a grid in the front that they can color a box each time they do an activity.  I've done it for each activity as below: 

Summer Learning Folder Log
	Math	Reading Workbook  (2 pages)	Wrote a letter/card/part of my story
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

And then the Reading books one: 

Summer Reading Log

For each book you read you can color in a space.

Name: __________________________                              Month: ___________________________

1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28
29	30	31	32
33	34	35	36
37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44
45	46	47	48

But, this year I was thinking of finding a fun picture they could color and have done if they did something each day. 

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That's it! If you have your binders fully packed, then it helps to make sure your kiddos can be consistent in doing something each day.  My goal is that they spend about 15-20 min a day doing something that is helping them learn or keep what they learned from the last school year present. 

Oh also a if you need it have a fun incentive if they complete the goal.  Some ideas include:  

• Each week go out for ice cream
• Visit a different pool/park each month it's complete
• Have a big celebration at the end of the summer 

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