50+ Free or Cheap Weekend Time Busters For Families

By Harmony Campbell Creative Harmony Copyright 2012

CONTENTS 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... Tic-Tac-Toe Boards Read And Respond Sheets Guess The Word Game Blanks for Guess The Word Game INTRODUCTION History Battle Reenactment Art Watercolors Art Homemade Kitchen Art Music Homemade Band Music Water Music Travel Going On A Trip Literary Fun Family Story Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies Bake Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies Bake Brownie Dry Mix Cook Easy Things To Teach Your Kids To Cook Yummy Fun Dried and Candied Fruits Cook Walking Tacos Yummy Fun PB & J Contest Cook Fried Cinnamon Sugar Donuts Fun Bird Feeder Fun Treasure Hunt Newspapers Fun Treasure Hunt Kitchen

10... Fun Treasure Hunt ABC

11... Fun Treasure Hunt Outside Fun Treasure Hunt TV 12... Bake Muffin Mix Yummy Fun Snack Mixes 13... More Snack Mixes 14... Yummy Fun Granola Bake Mint Chocolate Cupcakes 15... Yummy Fun Popcorn Spice Cook Personal Pizzas Crafty Fun Paper Bead Necklaces 16... Crafty Fun Decoupage Literary Fun Fact Collecting Crafty Fun Homemade Goo Yummy Fun Homemade Hot Chocolate

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READ AND RESPOND

Date ______________ Summary _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Name of Book ___________________________________________ Author _________________________________________________

Date ______________ Summary _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Name of Book ___________________________________________ Author _________________________________________________

Date ______________ Summary ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Name of Book ___________________________________________ Author _________________________________________________

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Cut out the cards below and shuffle them. Get in teams of two. To start, pass out all the cards to one team member. That team member will draw the pictures so the other one can guess. Each team tries to guess the most in 1 minute.

car shoes baby angel snake flower tv boots boy carrot ponytail sailboat brain bicycle church fish mailbox

boat pie hairbrush tree circle bus watch rat tricycle highchair parachute bowling tongue Screw driver rooster cheeseburger doughnut

farm pizza house spider Hockey stick clock Candy cane Baseball cap teepee heart octopus Bow tie eye unicorn month fire ostrich

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Make your own cards

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Hello, I hope you're enjoying your e-book so far. One of the hardest things for me as a mother of four boys was coming up with things to keep them busy. When they're not kept busy they occupy themselves with tv, video games and fighting. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not the person that thinks tv and video games are necessarily bad. We have those things, but as an artist and creative person I believe that kids should be exposed to more hands on activities that get their imagination and creativity flowing. Creative parenting doesn't have to be hard. It's simply supplying some structure to the fun. It's parenting with a purpose. My goal is to give you products and resources that offer real help with creative parenting and getting the most creativity from your children. Most of the recipes in this book are my personal recipes. Enjoy! Be sure to stay in touch on Facebook, Twitter and e-mail so you can receive the latest products and information I have to share with you. Also, don't hesitate to ask of you have any specific creative parenting questions. Your partner in battle Harmony (Shellie) Campbell Feel free to share this e-book with a friend Www.harmonycampbell.net

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History Battle Reenactment Pick a famous battle and do a reenactment. Do it with: people or playdoh Art Watercolors Paint with watercolors or add drops of food coloring to water if you don't have watercolor paints. Art Homemade Kitchen Art What food products do you have to make art with? Macaroni, rice, food coloring, marshmallows, candy sprinkles...etc. Music Homemade Band What items do you have to make music with? Pots and pans, empty cans, glasses Music Water Music Fill glasses with different amounts of water and tap the sides with a spoon to see the different sounds it makes. Travel Going On A Trip Play act a trip. Where will you go? How will you get there? What will you do once you get there? Literary Fun Family Story Start a story and take turns telling what will happen next. Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies Buy a package of chocolate chip cookies and bake cookies. Let kids measure and mix ingredients. Bake Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies Make the chocolate chip cookies above, but substitute cup of the flour with cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Add peanut butter chips instead of or with the chocolate chips.

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Bake Brownie Dry Mix. Blend the mix and place 3 cups each in gallon baggies. Makes 5 batches. Mix: 6 cups all-purpose flour 4 tsp baking powder 4 tsp salt 8 cups sugar 1 (8 oz) can unsweetened cocoa powder To Make Brownies: Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 8x8 pan. Combine mix from baggie, cup melted butter, 2 slightly beaten eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, up to 1/3 cup water. Add water slowly till you get everything just moistened plus a little. Mix till smooth. Pour in pan. Bake 30-35 minutes for done brownies, less for more gooey brownies. *I keep made up and we have it on hand when we're in the mood for brownies. You can add whatever nut or topping you like. Cook Easy things to teach kids to cook: * grilled cheese * pancakes * egg sandwich * mac and cheese * peanut butter and jelly sandwich * tuna salad * soup from a can

COMING SOON - Teaching Kids To Cook With specific lessons for some of the above foods and more, and each recipe is included in a personal cookbook with room for your own recipes. Also includes advice on explaining the unexplainable and things you just know, conflict resolution, getting them to listen and more.

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Yummy Fun Dried & Candied Fruits If you don't have a dehydrator you can dry in the oven on 225. Cherry Pineapples Drain canned sliced pineapples and maraschino cherries on paper towels. Dry 8-10 hours. Candied Strawberries Slice strawberries into 3/8 inch slices. Sprinkle lightly with strawberry gelatin. Dry 4-10 hours til crisp. Orange Crisps Slice unpeeled oranges in 1/8 inch slices. Dry 812 hours til crisp. Honey Banana Chips Slice bananas in thick. Dip in cp honey and cp lemon juice. Optional: sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Dry 10-20 hours til Cinnamon-Apple Rings Slice apples into inch thick slices. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Dry 6-10 hours til crisp. Cook Walking Tacos 3 lbs ground beef, 1 packet taco seasoning, 1 big bag Doritos, Bag of shredded cheddar, Taco sauce Optional: refried beans, rice, sour cream, lettuce, tomato Cook ground beef and add taco seasoning according to the package directions. Place everything out and assembly according to your preference. **When my kids were small, I would crunch up the chips in a bowl and put in other ingredients and mix it up and let them eat it with a spoon. Yummy Fun PB & J Contest Supply peanut butter and different flavors of jelly and some other options like bananas, chocolate chips, etc. Cut the sandwiches into small pieces and take turns scoring each one on a scale of 1-5. Put cups in front of each one to place the scores in. The highest score wins.

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Cook Fried Cinnamon-Sugar Donuts Need: small cans of canned biscuits, oil, cinnamon and sugar. Heat oil in pan. Open cans and flatten with a can or glass. Cut out a hole. A syrup bottle lid works great for this, and you can cook the holes too. Mix 1 part sugar to part cinnamon. If you fix 4 cans, usually a cup of sugar and cup cinnamon is enough. When oil is hot, cook each til both sides is golden brown. Drain oil on a paper towel and roll in sugar mix while still warm. Fun - Bird Feeder Smear peanut butter on and into a pinecone. Roll it in bird seed and hang from a tree. Fun Treasure Hunt Newspapers See who can find the most in 2 minutes. * a car * obituary of someone over 80 * the word HOSPITAL in bold * a celebrity story * picture of a flower * picture of an animal * ad for a 2 bedroom house for rent * money sign Fun Treasure Hunt Kitchen * measuring cup * wooden spoon * mixing bowl * can of veggies * ladle * coffee can * spice * broom * empty jar * sponge

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Fun Treasure Hunt ABC A ______________________________ B ______________________________ C ______________________________ D ______________________________ E ______________________________ F ______________________________ G ______________________________ H ______________________________ I ______________________________ J ______________________________ K ______________________________ L ______________________________ M ______________________________ N ______________________________ O ______________________________ P ______________________________ Q ______________________________ R ______________________________ S ______________________________ T ______________________________ U ______________________________ V ______________________________ W ______________________________ Y ______________________________

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Treasure hunts are a fun way to kill some time. You can make different variations to keep it interesting. Check out my website for my book Tons and Tons Of Camping Fun where you'll find lots more reproducible treasure hunts. www.harmonycampbell.com

Fun Treasure Hunt Outside Optional: add the words in parenthesis for more fun * rock (grey) * branch (small) * flower (yellow) * leaf (green) * bird (red) * dog (barking) * truck (semi) * car (black) Fun Treasure Hunt TV When it comes on, the first person to claim it gets it. * someone laughing * pizza * cell phone * a doctor * a baby * the number 7 * an 800 number * a white dog * weatherman * someone dancing * .com * monthly payments * commercial for a college * coffee * Facebook symbol * blue jeans

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Bake Muffin Mix 8 cups all-purpose flour 3 cups sugar 3 Tbl baking powder 2 tsp salt 2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tsp ground nutmeg Put 2 cups each into gallon baggies. Makes 4 batches. To Make, Combine: Baggie contents 1 beaten egg 1 cup milk cup butter Mix well and add fresh fruit of your choice. Preheat oven to 350. Pour batter into pan with paper liners or lightly sprayed. Fill full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Makes 12 regular size muffins. Yummy Fun Snack Mixes Make and have kids put into sandwich baggies in -1 cup sizes. 2 cps pretzel sticks 3 cps Honey Nut Cheerios cp M&Ms cp Craisins 2 cps pretzel sticks 2 cps Cheerios 1 cp mini marshmallows cp M&Ms cp raisins

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 cp dried cherries 2 cps whole grain Rice Chex cp roasted unsalted Pistachios 3 cps Kashi-Go Lean Crunch Cereal 2 cps whole-grain cheddar Goldfish 2 cps cheddar mini pretzel twists 1 cp dried apple rings cp roasted, unsalted peanuts 1 cps Honey Nut Shredded Wheat 1 cp dried mangos 3 cps Triscuit whole wheat thin crisps cp roasted almonds 2 cps animal crackers cp dried blueberries cp roasted pecan halves 2 cps popped popcorn 3 cps popped popcorn 1 cp Golden Grahams 1 cp mini marshmallows cp M&Ms cp raisins cp mixed nuts 2 cps pretzel sticks 2 cps Cheerios 1 cp raisins These mixes are just suggestions. You can come up with many of your own mixes. You could supply the items and let the kids pick and choose want they want in their own baggies. Let them put their name on some of the baggies they made up but not them all so others can enjoy their concoctions.

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Yummy Fun Granola Makes 20 cp servings 6 cps old-fashioned rolled oats 2 cps shredded unsweetened coconut 2 cps pecan halves 1/3 cp canola oil cp packed brown sugar cp crunchy peanut butter cp honey 2 tsp grnd cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla extract Heat oven to 350. Combine oats, coconut and pecans in a bowl. In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon and vanilla and stir til smooth. Pour over the oat mixture and stir til well combined. Line a large baking pan with foil. Spread the mixture in pan. Bake til browned, 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Stir well. Bake Mint Chocolate Cupcakes * I can never make enough of these Chocolate Cake Mix Powdered Sugar Peppermint Extract Green Food Coloring Bake cupcakes according to directions on box. While baking, mix 3 cups powdered sugar, 2-3 Tbl peppermint extract and enough water to make a thick but creamy icing. When cupcakes are cool, remove about a inch circle from the center almost to the bottom. Fill it with icing, and enjoy.

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Yummy Fun Popcorn Spice Sprinkle onto popped popcorn BBQ 2 tsp dried parsley 2 tsp paprika tsp hickory smoke salt tsp onion powder tsp garlic powder Cajun 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp garlic powder 2 tbl Salt tsp black pepper Optional: pinch of dried cayenne pepper Italian cp finely grated Parmesan cheese tsp dried oregano tsp salt tsp black pepper Optional: tsp crushed red pepper flakes Cook Personal Pizzas You will need: small pizza crusts, pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, and you choice of toppings. Place all toppings out and let kids assemble their pizza. Crafty Fun Paper Bead Necklaces You will need: old magazines, knitting needle or skewer, glue, beading wire or stretchy string Cut out lots of thin triangles from the magazine pages. Start at the widest end and roll the strips around the needle or skewer. Glue the end. Let dry. When you have enough beads, assemble the necklace.

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Crafty Fun Decoupage Decoupage is basically gluing paper to other objects. I suggest you go online or to the library and get the basics and ideas. Literary Fun Fact Collecting Keep a fact journal and see all the facts you can collect throughout a year. Write the source of each fact for future use. Crafty Fun Homemade Goo You will need: cornstarch and food coloring Put 1 cup cornstarch into a bowl and slowly add cup water, constantly stirring. Add food coloring and mix well. Add more cornstarch to make a thick (but kneadable) dough. Make one for each color you want. Yummy Fun Make Homemade Hot Chocolate 10 2/3 cups instant nonfat dry milk 2 cups powdered nondairy creamer 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder 4 cups powdered sugar Mix well and best stored in glass jars. To Make: Mix 3 heaping tsp with a mug of hot water and marshmallows.

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Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this e-book. Be sure that you stay in touch so you can receive info on future products. Also available on my website: Faith's Kitchen A quarterly subscription product that's theme based and filled with lots of activities, games, ideas, advice, recipes, encouragement and more. BONUS: with paid subscription 100+ conversation starters Tons And Tons Of Camping Fun 160+ page Family Camping Planner filled with games, activities, recipes, checklists, reproducibles and more. To get further info on either of these products visit us at www.harmonycampbell.net

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deuteronomy 4:9

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