Start collecting objects that can be reused. Small baby food containers, empty toilet rolls, twist ties from bread bags, small cardboard boxes, and old birthday cards are some ideas. Put them in a box with some markers, glue, scissors, and heavy cardstock and let your child’s imagination flow.

Teach them about volcanoes and then make a volcano from clay or playdough. You can make a playdough that you can dry, or simply reuse when finished. Or get some paint and paper and create a volcano through painting. Volcanoes are just one idea; you could use any subject to teach through crafts.

Scrapbooking is a fun activity with kids and can be really simple. Find some items that they can add to a scrapbook, like the confetti from their birthday party, the cards they received, and a balloon. Use these objects to decorate the scrapbook page and include the pictures from their party. Show them how to journal to help them record their thoughts from that event.

Make a craft box with different types of crafts they can use. Include paper, markers, crayons, paints, glues, tape, wood sticks, and other items. Back to school sales are a great time to stock up on some of these supplies.

Allowing your kids to create with crafts gives them an outlet for the creativity that we want to bloom inside. Make sure you marvel at their creation, and they will love you for it.

Take a mini vacation with your family. Find a place that is within two hours driving distance. Book a hotel room for the night or weekend, and take off with your kids. Taking a break from your home is fun for the kids.

Find a hotel that has a swimming pool or other recreational activities for the kids. We planned a trip last summer to a mountain resort that had miniature golf, an alpine slide, and rock climbing. We spend the day outdoors with our kids and had a great time.

Plan an in-room movie night. Rent a pay-per-view movie and make a quick run to the nearest grocery store. Stock up on some fun treats, and have a movie night in the hotel room. Maybe you already do this at home, but a change of scenery, and the addition of several beds to sprawl out on, makes this a fun event.

Eat out for your meals. Since you aren’t taking a longer vacation, you can spend a little more money on food. Find a fun local restaurant to eat dinner. You can always turn your mini vacation into a learning experience for the kids as well. Read up on some of the local history and talk about it over dinner. It will them learn more about the places nearby your home.

Mini vacations can be a lot of fun and can be planned quickly without a great deal of effort. Have fun with this idea and try out some places that you haven’t been to before.

Monitor how many snacks your children eat in a day. The rule at our house is a snack at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. I don’t have whiny kids wanting treats all day, because they know when they can have them. However, if they want something healthy like an apple, a bagel, or some fruit, they can have it without asking.

Add more vegetables to the dinner table. Try a variety of vegetables, and keep trying them even when your kids say they don’t like them. Taste buds change over time. Have them try one bite each time you serve something they don’t like.

Make food more fun. Serving dinner that your kids can adapt to their own tastes makes dinner more fun, and gets them to eat better. Try taco soup with a base to include tomatoes and pinto beans and let them add their own ingredients: cheese, sour cream, chips, olives, corn, etc. They probably won’t notice that there were tomatoes in there.

Healthy eating takes time but is worth it in the end. Your kids will adjust and eventually won’t miss the candy and chips that they used to munch on. And everyone will benefit from the change.

Do you have an emergency plan in place for your children? Do they know where to go if you have to get out of the house quickly? Plan a location that is away from your house that can be a meeting place for all family members. Make sure your children understand the circumstances in which they would leave the house and wait at your meeting place.

Do your children know what to do if there is a fire in your house? Most parents figure that their children know to get out, but is it something that you have ever practiced? You only have a few minutes when the fire breaks out before all the oxygen is gone from the air and you need to have everyone out before then. Practice escape routes with your children.

If there is an emergency in the home, do your kids know who to call? Do they know how to dial 9-1-1? Can they tell their address to the operator on the phone? It is a good idea to have emergency information posted above the phone in your house. Write down the emergency numbers, and your address. Even adults have forgotten their address in a crisis.

When you have an emergency, it is too late to plan. Make sure that you and your children have a plan in place to protect your family in an emergency. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Before you begin shopping, get out all the Fall clothes and go through them with your children. You can make this fun by having a fashion show. Let your children model their favorite outfits. Find out what fits, what is worn out, and what can be used for the new school year. Make a list of what your child has, and what they need. If you have pants without a matching shirt, make a note of specific colors that you need. Don’t forget underclothes and socks as well as any accessories like belts.

Try to take as few children with you as possible. This is a great time to invest in a babysitter if you have little kids that aren’t in school yet. Nothing makes shopping a drag like a whiny, tired child.

Start your shopping trip by going out to breakfast or lunch. Besides giving your kids an extra treat, it will give you the energy to make it through the day.

Give your children a budget amount to shoot for. Allow them to make the choice of buying the jeans that they really love but are expensive, or getting two other kinds of pants and a shirt for the same price. This is a great opportunity to teach them about money and how to get the best deal.

No matter how many children you are buying for, using these tips can make back to school less of a chore. You might find that shopping for your kids can be fun.

First, help your children understand that seeing something on the internet doesn’t make it real. Friends that they meet might not really be children. Help them to understand how the internet makes everyone anonymous. Anyone can create a web site and make their information appear as fact.

Help them set up an email account that you can control. Limit the emails they send out, make sure they are to friends that they know. Set up an email filter so that unwanted email isn’t viewable to them. Decide on rules regarding registering for things on web sites, you may not want them doing this.

Set a limit on computer time. Experts advise that children have no more than two hours of television, electronic games, or computer use in a day. Monitor their time on the computer to try to keep within these guidelines.

Show them how to search for things they are looking for. There are several great search engines for kids. Some popular search engines that cater to children include www.yahooligans.com and www.ajkids.com. If you allow them to search for information through a search engine, monitor their web browsing to make sure they don’t end up where you don’t want them.

The internet can be a great tool for children, and provided a wealth of information, games, and other fun activities. Monitor their computer time, and watch where they are surfing. Always make sure that your kids are following safety rules when on the internet.

Give your children an allowance that is age appropriate. For our kids, they get half of their age in allowance. So, on their birthday, they always get a 50 cent raise. We provide chores during the summer and expect them to help out when needed during the school year. Set some rules for earning the allowance and an amount for your children.

Now that they are earning some money, teach them about saving it. Many banks have savings accounts for children. Help them decide how much money they want to have to spend and how much to put away. Make them a chart that keeps track of their money so they can watch it grow.

Let them spend some of it and be silly. Part of the fun of having money is spending it. I had a friend who would not allow their child to spend any of his money. He had over $100 in the bank but couldn’t use it. Letting your kids spend their money teaches them the value of things and how to use money wisely. Make sure your kids only spend what they have. Don’t loan money against the allowance they will receive. Our boss doesn’t give a paycheck advance, kids need to learn this too.

Teaching your kids about money will provide them a valuable tool for when they are older and get their first job. Make spending and saving money a success for them.

Break down the job into different areas. For example, have your child pick up all the books in the room. When that is done, have them put all the clothes in a pile. Breaking down the mess into small messes helps make the job more manageable.

Make a game out of cleaning. Set a time limit for different items and see what they can clean up the fastest. Write down the times and find out which items was the easiest to clean.

Pull everything together in one big pile. Have your child pick out the biggest item from the pile and put that away first. Or find everything that is the color red and put that away. Sometimes just cleaning up in a different way is all it takes to get the job done.

Setting rewards and punishments can work sometimes, but helping your child learn how to manage the mess and get it cleaned timely is the key to success every time. Teaching them how to clean their room saves you from harassing them every day to get it cleaned. And it can give your child a great sense of accomplishment once they are done.