Inexpensive ways to entertain/feed children

[savingdogs]

I noted on another thread about raised gardening beds that children sometimes have fun with things not meant to be their playyards.

The raised bed had poles reminscent of a covered wagon and my kids would have thrown a blanket over this and voila! a fort. They were fort happy and a pile of old blankets were toys to them.

I also noted a wood sand filled box (covered at night against cats) makes a great inexpensive toy for kids.

Any other cheap ideas like that out there?
My kids are teens now so I'm more interested in cheap ways to feed them.

But I have another winning idea to share...when you are having a birthday party for a group under seven, make it western themed and tell them to come in a costume from the old West. This makes it fun for them to begin with and is an easy costume for your guests to throw together, who doesn't have a pair of boots or a cowboy hat?

In any event, you serve hot dogs and beans, have a red checkered table cloth and for one of your party favors and games, take a spray can of gold paint and collect some interesting shaped gravel or stones. Spray paint them gold (on both sides, turn them over after they dry a few times) and then hide them about your yard before the party.

Then have a "gold rush" "hunt for gold" and hand out paper sacks that they have decorated with their names.

Kids have enjoyed the gold colored rocks better than store bought party favors.

I'd used this theme on each of my three children and were the best birthday parties I've thrown. We have great photos of the kids posing for pics from these. We had guests like the gold rocks so much they were not interested in anything else at the party.

 

[savingdogs]

Oh, I forgot another idea that worked well for me.

I would call it toy rotation.

Lots of young kids have just too many toys to focus on any particular one. We did not spend a lot but somehow my kids all ended up with a pile of toys too large for the toybox.

So reserving a few especially-used favorites, I'd take a box and "hide" the kids toys in three groups (kind of seasonally). I'd rotate the boxes whenever the kids were bored or the season changed and put away toys that had been laying around not getting used. When I pulled out all the "new" toys, they would act like it was Christmas morning! But what was left would fit better into the toy box.

It also gives you a good chance to sort things for giving away or recycling as they grow and change. I'd often make up a box like that right before a birthday or Christmas to make room for new toys, too, you just have to have an attic, basement or closet to store you toy "collections" for particular age groups.

 

[abifae]

Books. Libraries are free and even tend to have story times for smaller kids. Read to them. Answer all their crazy questions

We just had a few toys when I was growing up. We weren't big TV watchers. I don't really remember TV at all til almost high school. We just ran amok outside.

I'd invent obstacle courses and force other kids to run them while I yelled at them. LOL. The real question is why they did it. We played lots of militant games heh. Things that wouldn't ever be allowed today.

We made roller skate obstacle courses too and ran races a lot.

I dunno. I think once you dump kids outside, they find their own free entertainment. I'm not sure why people are so scared to do it now. We all looked out for one another.

 

[tamlynn]

My son is happy with a shovel and a place where he can dig freely.

Both the kids have been completely entertained lately with making sock dolls. I gave them needles and thread, buttons, batting, etc. They are only supposed to use socks with no mate, but I suspect they are not too worried about that rule.

 

[tamlynn]

Oh, the best bday parties we have had were at the beach! Who wouldn't get excited about a treasure hunt at the beach? We got there early and buried the treasure (make sure you remember exactly where it is!). We brought a 2x4 for the kids to walk the plank, brought a rope for tug of war. People could bring siblings, parents could stay, and I didn't have to clean my house before or after.

 

[Wildsky]

I dunno. I think once you dump kids outside, they find their own free entertainment. I'm not sure why people are so scared to do it now. We all looked out for one another.

Oh I can tell you. We used to live in San Diego and never let the kids out of our sight, and that means they're inside more because the parent has chores to do, dinner to cook etc.
We moved to the middle of nowhere so I can leave my kids outside and play and not worry about weirdo's out there, here they can walk to school on their own if they want, never ever in a million years would I let them do all that in San Diego.

There was a case right before we left San Diego of some weirdo jumping OVER someones back yard fence and exposing himself to the 5 year old girl playing there!
As frustrating as it was, my kids were never outside without myself or my hubby RIGHT there with them, no turning your back, no doing anything but playing with the kids or keeping your eyes fixed firmly on them!

 

[Wildsky]

My time consuming treasure hunts consist of me writing notes and leaving them all over the property

You start at the end, place a prize, then write the note on where it is, then go hide that note, and write the next one on where you just hid that clue/note and then hide that one....
and keep going.................
the last piece of paper/clue you hand to the children and watch them running screaming all over the garden!

The last time I did that I hid the "Prize" (cookies) in the house! they were running around outside for at least half an hour........

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I agree completely, kick em outside if it is safe to do so in your area. I cannot wait to see the baby goat's reaction to the kids jumping on the trampoline

I've shown mine a few things they can safely forage, wood sorrel is one they really like, they picked the greens for the salad we had this weekend. The do know not to eat anything they haven't had me look at. They love running around the place, picking things & bringing them to me to look up in our new forager's book.

I set them to digging in the spots where our trees will be planted. Go ahead and do some fun pre-work for mama

 

[Woodland Woman]

I have been trimming a lot of trees lately and my kids have been using the branches to jump on and make obstacle courses. They have been entertained for hours. In a couple days they will be hauling them to the gully.

 

[Wildsky]

I have been trimming a lot of trees lately and my kids have been using the branches to jump on and make obstacle courses. They have been entertained for hours. In a couple days they will be hauling them to the gully.

Our hay bales work similar to that, you will often find my kids on the hay bales, along with the dog (who surprised us all by climbing up like it was nothing)

Last year I had my hubby set the haybales so that there was an opening in the middle, it became a fort of sorts for a few months!