Tag Archives: summer

Christian Books for Kids

One thing I love about summer is that we can pray and learn about God’s words more often.  This is one opportunity that I don’t want to miss. Usually in the morning, we open the day with prayer and read a few bible stories for my youngest (if we have time). Then, sometimes in the afternoon, my eldest kid reads a few bible stories or catechism questions and answers before having his computer time.

Having appropriate Christian books along the activities helps the kids to pray and learn about God’s words. Therefore in this post, I’d like to recommend some Christian books that we use for the kids daily.

1. My Little Prayers

children prayer bookMy kids and I truly love this book. At first I borrowed it from the church library to help my son learning to pray because he always prayed the same 1-sentence prayer every time, every where.

Every morning when I pray with the kids, we use this book. It becomes a habit that my little one will grab this book instantly and start her prayer song of “Day by Day” by St. Richard of Chichester.  She learnt it from the prayer book, not perfect yet but we know it’s the song..:-)

My son also loves this book. He likes to read a few prayers when it’s his turn. And I am glad nowadays that he is able to say more thanks in his prayer, thanks to the book. So I really recommend this book. You can purchase the book by clicking the button below.

 

2. Children’s Picture Bible

children picture bible by carol watson

Since my 6-year-old son outgrew his children’s bible, I was looking for one that would interest him.  So I was glad that I found this picture bible book, from our church library.

This children bible is great for kids who can read on his own. It contains one short bible story per 2 pages with small/large pictures depending on how long the story is.

The bible contains stories from Old and New Testaments, retold by Carol Watson in a way that’s appropriate for the kids to understand. The length of each story is about right, not too long to make the kids lost interest to read nor too short or too simple for the bigger kids.

The stories included are the popular ones we often read, plus the less-known stories such as Nabot’s Vineyard, Ezekiel, The Transfiguration, and many more.

He usually read this on his own. But sometimes we read it for our family prayer time because the story is very easy for us to understand.

3. Big Truth For Little Kids

catechism book children for kids

This book contains a series of questions and answers from the first Catechism. It also includes application stories from the truths taught  in the catechism.   This book will give kids a good guideline to learn catechism.

But you may want to ask what is Catechism? And why we need to teach the kids catechism?

From Dictionary.com Catechism is

an elementary book containing a summary of the principles of the Christian religion, especially as maintained by a particular church, in the form of questions and answers.

In the book, the author said that “catechizing children is an effective way to teach them a framework of biblical knowledge that helps them develop a Christian worldview”. To me, just lightly teaching some short stories from the bible or from Sunday school is not enough. It’s also very important for the kids to learn the principle of Christian doctrine and give them a strong foundation of Scriptural knowledge.  But learning catechism is not a substitution for reading bible or learning verses. They go hand in hand.

That’s why I just started to include this book in our routine weekly. Usually my son and I read and memorize a group of questions and answers twice a week. To finish the whole book is quite a project and takes time. But as long as we keep doing it, we’ll finish it. You can purchase the book by clicking the button below.

 

There are many other christian children books that we like but for now I’d like to recommend just these 3 great books that we use daily. Glory be to God!

Do you have other Christian children book you’d like to share? I’d like to hear it please.

Santee Drive In Theater for Movies with Kids

I rarely watch movie at a theater just because I have kids and leaving them with a sitter is not my idea. So I am glad that I found Santee Drive In Theater, where I can come and watch the latest movies together with the kids.

santee drive in theater booth ticketI believe there are only 2 drive-in theaters in San Diego, one is South Bay and the other one is the Santee Drive-in in San Diego’s East County. It now shows movies in digital format on its two screens. Movies are shown daily, year-round, and only cash is accepted. $8 per adult (13+) $4 for kids age 5-13 and free for  under 5.

The line was not bad when we came on Friday night. We arrived around 8 pm and waited for 5 minutes to buy the tickets. Then we went in to Theater 1 because  that’s where they had the kids’ movies (Ice Age : Continental Drift and Brave). They have 2 movies per theater and you can watch up to 2 movies if you can stay late, for just $8.

Theater 2 at the time we came, had Amazing Spiderman and Men in Black 3.  It’s in the opposite direction from Theater 1.  If you face forward you can see Theater 1, if you face backward you can see Theater 2. So actually you can watch 2 movies at the same time, depends on which direction you face.

santee drive in theater lining up cars

 

santee drive in  theater one

Here are what you need to bring so you can enjoy the movie: FM radio, chairs, pillows, blanket, snacks, backup batteries for radio, and water. Movies are broadcast on FM radio only so you must bring a working radio to hear the movies. If you have a minivan or suv, you have to park in the Yellow Lines only. The employee there will direct you.

One more thing you need to know from their website: Customers are allowed to sit outside their vehicle in chairs only. Sitting or laying on the ground or on the roof of any vehicle is not allowed.

santee drive in theatre screen movie

Before the movie starts, remember to have the kids go potty first. Ladies room’s line can be long so it’s even better to do your business before leaving the house.

santee drive in theatre in the backseatWatching movie at Santee Drive In Theater is like having a camp under the star. There are a lot of peoples around you in their cars lining up and doors opened up, sitting or walking. There are many kids roaming around, some are crying some are giggling. But don’t worry, when the movie starts the chit-chat stops and all of a sudden all you can hear is just the sound of the movie amplified through all those radios. Feels like it’s inside a theater.

Actually, I was quite hesitant to come for the first time. My experience watching movie in a theater with kids equals to difficulty in keeping them quite or sit. Also I was not sure how it worked and what should I do. Luckily it turned out to be an enjoyable time I had with the kids, especially because it was a nice and warm evening as well. As soon as we finished Ice Age, it was already 10.30 pm. Since it was very late for the kids, we decided to head home.

I love it. So I would recommend Santee Drive In Theater if you’d like to come with all family or friends. Visit Santee Drive In Theater website for information about the movies schedule, price, policy and address.

Have you ever been to Santee theater? What was your favorite moment there? Share with us.

U Pick Blueberries in Temecula



What one activity you can do in summer?  U Pick Blueberries! That’s what we did on one afternoon at Temecula Berry Co.  The blueberries farm is located in Temecula, about 48 minutes up north from Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, CA.

u pick blueberries in bushes

To avoid the hot weather, we arrived around 4.30, late afternoon. The farm closes at 6pm everyday.  There were plenty of parking spaces and not too many people.  It was easy to spot the u-pick blueberries farm with its 2 red barns.

u pick blueberries near  San Diego

Each kid had a small bucket for picking. After you pick the blueberries, they will be put in a pint-size plastic container, just like the cherry tomatoes clam container you usually find in a grocery store. Each pint is $5. One full small bucket can fill about 2 pints.

ready to pick blueberries

After getting the buckets at the front desk, we headed to the farm and walked to the farthest rows of bushes since these were less picked and had more blueberries. To get good blueberries, lift the branches, get down, pick the dark blue ones (the red and green are sour and not ripe yet).  Also avoid blueberries with shriveled or cracked skins.

u pick blueberries in a bucket

We got 2 pints in total. After paying and washing the blueberries, we ate almost all of them. They were very good, plump and sweet. The kids loved picking and eating the blueberries. They ate like they were in a race..:-)..

Temecula Berry Co also sells Honey and no-preservative Blueberry Jam for $5 per small glass container. You can visit their website at www.temeculaberryco.com.

So have you tried blueberries picking yet? Share your story with us.

Kids Bowl Free at Your Local Bowling Center


Can the kids bowl for free? Yes you can all summer long, thanks to Kids Bowl Free program.

kids bowling for free summer

What Is Kids Bowl Free

Select bowling centers and schools around the country are participating in the first ever Kids Bowl Free program. This program gives a registered kid, 2 free games per day all summer, courtesy of the participating bowling centers along with the schools and organizations.

How To Get Free Bowling Games

Signing up is very easy. It takes only a few minutes.

  1. Visit www.kidsbowlfree.com and choose your state to start registering. Click on the map on the right side of the homepage.
  2. Choose your local bowling center and click the link.
  3. Start registering for your kids by entering Parents and Kids information. Click join button.
  4. After signing up, you’ll get confirmation email and email to the coupons. The coupons are sent out weekly each Sunday morning. Click the link in the email and print.
  5. Take the coupon to your bowling center and play for free. You need to pay the rental shoe fee. In this case with Poway Bowl, I paid $4 per kid.

How To Get The Coupons

There are 2 easy ways to get the coupons:
1. Click on the link in the email sent to you, or

2. Visit www.KidsBowlFree.com and log into your account, print the coupons and redeem.

When can I go to Redeem the Coupons?

Each bowling center has their dates and times posted in the right column on their registration page. These are the times when you can come for the free games. Limit 2 games per kid per day. For Poway Fun Bowl, the dates are June 8th – August 19th from 11 am to 3.30 pm.

Free Kids Bowling Summer

The Family Pass

The Family Pass was created to allow for adult family members to enjoy bowling along with the kids throughout the summer as well. The Family Pass starts from $24.95 and includes 2 games per person per day.

The Family Pass covers up to 4 adult family members. You may have 1, 2, 3, or 4 adults on the family pass. The price of the pass covers all 4 members.   You may purchase the family pass at later time or anytime during the program.

Here’s the Deal: Enter code summerfun20 to save an extra 20% off the already great price of $24.95  This code will expire on June 29th at 11:59pm ET.

Review

When we went there on Tuesday, there was no line and there were many empty lanes. We redeemed the coupon and got the shoes on the front desk. Paid $4 for one kid. The lane was automatically closed after we finished the second game. My son was happy and so was I. And I’ve already planned for the next visit.

20 Summer Activities For Kids in San Diego



Summer activity del mar fair 2012

Visiting Del Mar Fair is one of many great summer activities for kids. Photo is Del Mar Fair seen from far.

After hours of searching (I started before the school ended), finally I came out  with a list of 20 activities for this summer 2012 that we plan to do with my little two kids. They are 6 1/2 and 2 1/2 years old.

Each activity needs to be free or low-budget, new or we like it so much that we need to do it again, local in San Diego, family friendly, great for learning experience, and above all it’s fun.

20 Summer Activities for Kids in San Diego

  1. Visiting Little Italy
  2. Watching movie at Santee Drive in Theatre
  3. Riding the rides at Del Mar Fair 2012
  4. Beach Picnic
  5. Exploring Old Town
  6. Visiting Queen Califia Magical Garden
  7. Watching fireworks at Sea world summer night
  8. Joining VBS June 18-22 at RBCPC
  9. Kids Bowl Free at Poway Bowling Center
  10. U Pick Blueberries in Temecula near San Diego
  11. Stargazing at Sycamore Canyon/Goodan Ranch Park
  12. Visiting San Pasqual Historic Park (due for closure on July 1st, 2012)
  13. Celebrating 4th of July 2012
  14. Learning Chinese and Indonesian
  15. Brushing up some lessons and Bible verses
  16. Swimming
  17. Making wind turbine
  18. Making mobile airplane
  19. Baking cookies
  20. Library Summer Reading Program

Whenever  we have done one activity and I have posted a review, I’ll change the item list to a link so you can click and read in detail our experience and see some photos. I’ll also add more if I find other interesting summer activities. So it might be over 20 over time.

So do you have a list of your summer activities for kids? Share with us in the comments!