This is something my kids love to do. Mostly we just use the bread machine, as kneading bread dough is a lot of work, but the final shaping is done by hand because I don’t like the shape of loaf that my machine makes.

To me this is somewhat better than free, once you have a bread machine. You’ll save money on bread and know exactly what you put into it. Bread has gone up in price in the past year or so. Homemade bread can be very cheap to make.

It can even be something of a science experiment. Yeast can be interesting to watch grow over a few hours. You can make your own starter for sourdough… although that takes a number of days. It’s easy to get the kids involved in checking on and feeding the starter. I wouldn’t suggest having it replace the family pet, of course.

Don’t forget the delightful smell of bread baking. It’s a great way to make the house smell wonderful too.

Just because today is Halloween doesn’t mean it’s the only day you can get use out of your costumes. Kids love dress up, and they love it even more when parents get involved.

Head out on a family walk and collect leaves as you go. You don’t have to go anywhere special to do this; pretty much any neighborhood is going to have a good variety of leaves you can pick up.

Leaves can be collected and glued to pages, or used in craft projects. You can teach your kids how to identify various leaves, something mine find truly fascinating.

Of course, you’ll need to know something about leaves yourself. You don’t want to go hiking off on a trail and find out you’ve picked poison oak or poison ivy. That’s not a fun way to make a day memorable… until you can laugh about it some years down the line.

Take some time and write letters to family members or friends. It’s a great habit to get the kids into, and you don’t have to limit yourself to thank you notes.

Just think of all the people who would love to hear from you in a letter. Grandparents. Friends who have moved away or you’ve moved away from. Pen pals.

You can of course just send emails, but there is something about a handwritten letter that’s a little extra special. If your handwriting is as poor as mine is, you’ll have to take extra care to keep it legible. That’s the problem with typing everything.

For children still mastering their writing skills, this is a great and fun way to practice. They can even write to friends who are in the area. Kids get such a kick out of getting mail, and you can build up a habit between your kids and their friends.