Free Websites that Teach Your Kids about Money

Teaching kids about money, where it comes from, how to make it grow and how to use it responsibly is one of those things that many of us mean to get around to doing, but don’t often seem to complete. In fact, money lessons should never really come to an end. As society, the economy and technology changes, it is important for us all to keep up, and pass on the skills, knowledge and advice to our children. Fortunately, we don’t have to do this alone. There are a few really good websites out there that will help us teach … Continue reading

Five Free Fun Ideas Your Family Probably Isn’t Doing

By now you know how to save money on family fun, but are you really taking advantage of all of the fun family free stuff that is out there? There are plenty of things to do, to see and to learn that can be geared toward the different talents and interests of yourself, your kids and the family as a whole. If your family isn’t doing them, you could be losing out on a lot of free fun. 1. Join free classes and clubs. There are a number of free classes and clubs out there, just waiting for someone to … Continue reading

Six Critical Skills for Frugal and Eco-Friendly Kids

These are frugal times, and these are times when environmental consciousness is rising. How can you prepare your kids to live as adults when times are more frugal and much more ecologically conscious? This generation of parents has lost a lot of the skills that our grandparents had. I know I have, and I’m trying to regain them. Here are six ways that you can help your children become frugal adults. By modeling these skills and allowing your kids to help, you’ll give them great know-how for the future. Preparing Food Prepared food is something that is easy for kids … Continue reading

Does Money Make You a Better Parent?

When you become a single parent you quickly learn that there is never enough money. Your kids learn this lesson too, much earlier than you want them too. It’s hard for your kids not to have the things everyone else has, it’s also hard when you are the one who always has to tell them no. Many studies that are done on single parents focus on income as a reason children from single parent households struggle. This may be true, but not having everything handed to you and learning the value of hard work gives our children life skills they … Continue reading

Encouraging Kids to Make Their Own Cash

In most homes, “encouraging” is easily interchanged with “threatening.” After all, how many parents relish seeing their fully capable teens sleeping in until noon and then lounging on the couch watching TV or texting when they could be gainfully employed at a decent summer job? Aside from the freedom to purchase expensive jeans, apps, music, and other teen-related must-haves, there are a slew of additional benefits that your child can gain from a summer job, including: learning responsibility, managing time well, honing math and reading skills, communicating, prioritizing, budgeting money and working on interpersonal relationships. However, before your child can … Continue reading

School Store Helps Kids Learn Important Life Skills

A school in Arizona is doing something really interesting in order to help students who are in the special needs program to learn much needed skills. They have created a school store where other students can purchase inexpensive and interesting school supplies. This is a great opportunity for kids to practice socials skills and to learn life skills. Kids who have certain kinds of special needs, (such as ADHD, or an autism spectrum disorder), struggle with social skills. Many special needs programs will include lessons on the proper way to respond to certain social situations, as well as a way … Continue reading

Make Learning About Money Fun For Kids

When I was a little girl my brother and sisters and I played a lot of board games. We played more cards than board games, but we still played board games. In Monopoly we had to figure out the value of property and how to get a complete set. You didn’t learn a lot about finance, though, even if you were the banker. One of my favorite games to play was The Game of Life. The Game of Life was not an entirely accurate representation of what adult life is about, but it was pretty close. You went to school, … Continue reading

Home School Blogger Intro

I started as a home schooling blogger on Families.com about a month ago. My introduction post is a little overdue, but I wanted to share with others a bit about myself and my background as a home schooling single mother. My two oldest daughters went to public school all the way through high school. A move to a rough area of Baltimore had me quickly pulling my three youngest out of school and home schooling them myself. It was a decision I wish I had made with my older girls. Live and learn though, right? For the most part I … Continue reading

Starting A Collection For Fun and Learning

When home schooling kids there are so many things you can do that incorporate fun and learning. Then again, not having a structured curriculum often leaves you coming up blank with something new to do. This is where starting a collection comes in handy. I always tried to get as much education out of even the smallest activity. Think about it, just baking a cake can incorporate math, nutrition, history, time management, safety, and even spelling. The educational value and fun factor involved with starting and maintaining a collection is unlimited. Each of my three home schooled girls started a … Continue reading

Frugal Fun Resolutions for the New Year

Being frugal can be fun, just as long as you keep some fun in your life. Sure there is joy in the fun of finding the best deal and feeling like you are stealing, but being frugal day after day, can be a downer if you shut the joy out of your life in your pursuit of frugality. With that said, here are my frugal resolutions for 2010. Frugal fun resolutions #1: Find free community activities to do and do them at least once a month. There are movies in the park. There are free museum days. There are local … Continue reading