Get Ready for Kindergarten with PBS Kids (+ Dinosaur Train Giveaway)

by Kate on August 23rd, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Giveaways

The magic that is Dinosaur Train is not limited to your television. PBS Kids has developed a wealth of information and educational games for kids on the Dinosaur Train website. The site offers a lot of great ideas and activities for parents (and teachers) to engage preschoolers while helping develop skills important for academic thinking and, specifically, basic scientific thinking.

Hands On Learning with Dinosaur Train

I love the Hands On activities on the Dinosaur Train website. My son gets frustrated and bored very quickly if I try to do straight lessons with him. So, I am excited to do some of the Dinosaur Train website because everything is FUN and, much to his surprise, your child will learn something along the way.

Here are some fun suggestions from PBS Kids:

Hands On: Dinosaurs A to Z. Help your child practice the letters of the alphabet while learning about the diversity of dinosaurs that once lived on Earth with the “Dinosaurs A – Z song.”  Basic supplies needed include 26 index cards (4×6 or 5×7), a thick marker, crayons, lyrics to “Dinosaurs A to Z” song and the Printable page of all 26 dinosaurs in the song.

Hands On: Dragonfly. Help your child learn some basic insect anatomy by creating a model of a dragonfly, and learn that some animals seen in the world today also lived at the time of the dinosaurs.  Basic supplies needed include  construction paper, wooden popsicle sticks, strong tape, pipe cleaners, colored markers, glue and glitter (and photographs of real dragonflies from books or the Internet).

Hands On: A Colorful Hypothesis. Help your child understand and apply the term “hypothesis,”  investigate and make predictions about the science of color, using household basics including food coloring, clean food jars/containers, colored markers and a cookie sheet.

Back to Kindergarten Month

August is Back to Kindergarten Month at PBS Kids and they want to help you and your tot get ready for back to school with a generous prize package of Dinosaur Train products.

Win! A Dinosaur Train Backpack Full of Dinosaur Train Products for Play, Learning & Fun!

How to Enter: Visit PBS Kids’ Dinosaur Train Activities and let me know one thing you’d like to do with your kids.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Giveaway ends September 5. Open to US residents only.

Disclosure: Tthanks to the PR company for providing the giveaway prize. Opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this post.

Savvy Savings & Scholarships is Going National

by Kate on August 22nd, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Blogging

You may have noticed the Savvy Savings & Scholarships widget on my sidebar for the past couple months:


(And if you haven’t, you really should take a peek and click around over there —–> There are some great sponsors to check out.)

I want to bring your attention to Savvy Savings & Scholarships because it’s such a cool program – and it’s growing. Starting mid-September the program is going national!

What is Savvy Savings & Scholarships?

The Savings: Each week, we offer parents a significant savings on a fun, family-friendly activity selected by our Savvy Source editors. Once enough people have signed up to purchase, the Savings and Scholarships offer becomes active.

The Scholarship: Beyond giving parents in our communities a great deal on a fun activity, we donate 5% of each purchase to a preschool of the purchaser’s choice. We also donate 5% of each purchase to a scholarship fund created to help parents afford preschool for their children.

What This Means for You

If you live in a major metropolitan area across the US, make sure you check the widget each week to see the local savings. You can register now now to make sure you don’t miss a deal. You could save 50% off karate lessons for your daughter or half price zoo membership  – the deals are new each week, but they are always worth a look and always family-friendly activities. As I mentioned, the program is expanding in a few short weeks so they’ll be even more opportunities for great savings – and scholarships for your local preschool.

If you blog, you can sign up to host the widget on your blog. In addition to offering readers valuable savings while earning money for local schools, you can earn a commission for every sale made through your widget. Talk about win-win-win!

Disclosure: I am a Savvy Ambassador compensated to spread the word about the program. I was not paid to write this post, and opinions are my own.

Everyone Wins! Energizer Charge Smart Charger & $15 Target Gift Card

by Kate on August 22nd, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Blogging

As you know, I was truly lucky and honored to represent Energzier as a Smart ChargHer at BlogHer. In addition to receiving a very generous sponsorship, of the perks was that I received a Energizer Recharge Smart Charger.  I am kind of ashamed to admit that until receiving it, we relied totally on disposable batteries. And a lot of them. I have to tell you, I feel a lot better about the idea of powering my little ones’ toys, my big one (husband’s) electronic gadget toys and other household necessities with rechargeable batteries. I love that after making the switch we won’t use and toss batteries any more.

Energizer Recharge Smart Charger

But, the Energizer Recharge Smart Charger isn’t your average battery charger. Here are a few of the features that set it apart:

  • Countdown timer shows how long until batteries are charged
  • Battery Fuel Guage shows charge status
  • Bad Battery Alert detects alerts and shuts off charging when a  non-NiMH or old NiMH battery is inserted
  • Large visual display can be viewed from across the room
  • Charges 2 or 4 AA or AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries
  • Charges batteries at a safe, steady rate which improves the    long-term health of the NiMH battery
  • For approximate charge times, download the user manual.
  • Energy Star® certified

Win a Smart Charger & a $15 Target Gift Card!

If you have a blog, can get your very own Energizer Recharge Smart Charger AND a $15 Target Gift Card to stock up on Energizer Rechargeable Batteries (or back to school supplies!) for a $35 total value. Interested? Of course you are!

To win, simply write a blog post about one of the following topics by August 27:

  • Why you think an Energizer Smart Charger would make your life easier
  • Recapping your encounter with our Smart ChargHers at BlogHer (if you attended)
  • Review of any Energizer charger and/or Energizer rechargeable batteries you own

This opportunity is NOT restricted to only BlogHer attendees, so please feel free to “Spread the Swag” and share this giveaway on Facebook and Twitter. If you share on Twitter please use the hashtag #EnergizerSC.

Blog Post Guidelines

  1. Blog articles need to be posted by August 27, 2010 (limited to the first 200 bloggers who post their article – the opportunity is still open as of today!)
  2. Postings must be at least 200 words and images are encouraged (grab the Image of the Smart Charger to use – I’m also happy to email you more detailed information and images if you let me know you’d like them) and I’d love if link to this post so readers can learn more about the opportunity
  3. E-mail the link plus preferred shipping address to wendyb@blickandstaff.com
Disclosure: I was provided a generous sponsorship to BlogHer by Energizer but was not compensated for this post.

Back to School Lessons Vol. 2

by Kate on August 21st, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Parenting

This is the second post in a series of back to school advice for moms. Check out the first post about making the first day of school easier for moms and teachers.

***

School is fast approaching, and some of you probably are already in the throws of the first days! There are so many things that you can do as a mom to help your child’s teacher have a successful start to the new year.  Here are a few more tips to be a super mom in the eyes of the teacher.

Problem: Schools can never be clean enough. Janitorial staffs are always spread so thin and teachers barely have time to clean their own desk, let alone 30. After last year’s H1N1 scare, we all want our child’s classroom to be clean.

How to help: Even if it isn’t on the supply list, send your kid to school with a little bag with these three things for the teacher: 1 box tissues, 1 pump hand sanitizer, 1 tube of sanitizing wipes.

Yes, I know you spend a ton on school supplies, but these are things you probably buy anyway, so pick up an extra and send them to school. Tissues especially are impossible to keep in a classroom. I had a team of 120 kids, each one was required to bring a box of tissue at the beginning of the year. We ran out of them by December break without fail every year! Guess who bought them for the rest of the year? Me.  I was always in LOVE with the mom who would just randomly send a 3 pack of tissues to school with her son or daughter for me in the middle of January. Seriously, things like this make a teacher cry with joy. It’s the equivalent of your husband doing the dishes and laundry for a month without being asked. ‘nuf said!

Problem: Your child’s legal name is William Jeffery Smith, and he has gone by Jeff since he was born.

How to help:  Prepare your child to be called by his legal name at first and politely correct the teacher.

Ok, this is one that I thought about forever when naming my children. I didn’t want to have my kid be the one always having to correct the teacher. On the first day of school I always said to my class before I called roll the following statement. “The names I am calling are the legal names that your parents gave you. Please after I call your name, tell me what you are called on a daily basis, and don’t be upset if I call you your legal name for a while until I get it memorized” .  The list we are given has to by most state laws have the child’s legal name. Even if it’s always been known the kid goes by something else, that legal name is what will show up on everything, so get used to it. So until the teacher has scratched out the name and written “Jeff” on every list, tell little Jeff to expect to be called William for a while, and to be polite about it.  The teacher will get it eventually! Oh, and when there is a substitute teacher, Jeff will almost always be called William, so again, prep little Jeff ahead of time that this will happen!

Problem: Forms, forms, forms!

How to help: You need to GO INTO YOUR CHILD’S BACKPACK!

Your child will have so many things for you to read, sign, initial all through the school year, but especially that first two weeks. Don’t simply ask if there is anything Mommy is supposed to sign, chances are your little student has forgotten that paper that was handed to him at 9 in the morning. Every evening, sit down with your little student and go through his backpack together. Ask questions about all the papers, and make sure you read everything and see if there is anything you are supposed to sign. Have a designated folder pocket where little Johnny knows those papers are supposed to (in theory!) make their way back to Mrs. Smith in the morning with Mommy or Daddy’s signature.

Next week’s topic: Time savers in the morning and evenings on school nights. What do you do to get out the door in a timely fashion?

Infantino Firefly Soother Review and Twist & Fold Discount Code

by Kate on August 20th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Baby, Reviews

We were lucky enough to receive a special bonus product with our Infantino Test Drive product (more on that later!) for this month.  We were excited to see the Firefly Soother appear in a package on our doorstep! As you can see, the Firefly Soother is a great, bright, vivid crib toy for babies to use to soothe themselves to sleep.  It has different music and sound settings to create the perfect melody for your little one to fall asleep to.

About the Firefly Soother

The Firefly Soother has a nice mix of music, lights, and motion with soothing rhythms and nature sounds to help your little critter drift away to night-night.

Our Experience

From the moment I took it out of the box, I knew The Firefly Soother would be a hit! I had to first explain to my toddler that it was going in baby sister’s room, and not his.  Once he got over the disappointment, we were able to check out some of its cool features. Immediately I noticed the bright eye catching colors and gentle characters. There is enough to look at without being overstimulating so your little one can nod off to sleep.

Some specific features that I found to be a plus are:

  • Bedtime bugs dance and glow with colorful lights
  • Smart and simple buckle system fits most cribs
  • Transitions from a soother for infants to a comforting nightlight for toddlers
  • To be used attached to crib or on a dresser out of reach as a nightlight. Not to be used as a floor toy.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… I would certainly purchase this soother, I liked the sounds that it makes. I find it much easier to attach to the crib than other similar products, yet it is still safely attached.

Or Not to Buy… I can’t seem to figure out how to turn it completely off so the little one isn’t able to press the big button and turn it on herself when I don’t want her to.  I am sure if I take a harder look at the instructions I will figure it out. But that takes time, right? :)

For More Information on Infantino Products, you can find them on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Shop! The suggested retail price of the Firefly Soother is $39.99, and it can be purchased at Step2.com. Special Discount for our readers! August 19 – 21 – you can get 25% off Twist & Fold Activity Gym at Target. Please enter  the code TGTINFNT at Target.com when purchasing!

WIN! If you haven’t yet entered, check out the Infantino Facebook page and blog to enter for your chance to win one of five bouncers. The giveaway will be live through 9/1/10.

Disclosure: “I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for Infantino and have received various Infantino products to as part of my participation.”

Skuut Wooden Balance Bike Review & Giveaway

by Amy on August 20th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Giveaways, Reviews, Shopping, Toddler, Toys

Learning to ride a bike can be an overwhelming task for a preschooler, and the Skuut wooden balance bike by Diggin Active Inc. is just what little ones need to help them get moving. The Skuut teaches tots how to ride a bike without fear and most importantly, without training wheels.

About the Skuut

The Skuut is a wooden bike for children ages 2 – 5. It has no pedals and no training wheels. Children kick off the ground as if running, thus pushing or “skuut-ing” themselves and the bike forward. The Skuut is perfect for learning balance, steering, coordination and independence. Having mastered balance on the Skuut, the transition to a traditional two wheeler bike is easy.

Our Experience

The Skuut arrives partially assembled (yay!) with instructions and the tools you need to finish the job. All we needed to do was attach the handlebars and cute red seat, and my daughter was Skuuting in about 15 minutes flat. I was so happy to see that the seat height is adjustable because in addition to my just-turned 4 year old, I also have a 1.5 year old who is just dying to get on the Skuut as well.

My daughter is right at the age where she is anxious to be able to ride a bike without training wheels. The Skuut is the perfect way for her to practice balance and gain confidence as she gets closer and closer to riding that big girl bike. There really wasn’t a learning curve with the Skuut — she got on and started to walk the bike forward while sitting on the seat, and eventually worked up to a run and lifted her feet up to glide. Each time she’s on the bike she is able to glide for longer periods of time, and when she starts to tip she simply puts her feet on the ground to catch herself. 

It’s so simple and intuitive, the way riding a bike should be.

The Skuut is a walking bike, running bike and a push bike, all in one.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… The Skuut wooden balance bike is a classic, eco-friendly, and affordable gift for preschoolers. Priced just under $100, the bike is a wonderful investment because it teaches the child a skill and builds confidence at the same time, not to mention makes the transition into a big kid bike a breeze.

Or Not to Buy… The Skuut is recommended for children ages 2-5, but I have a hard time imagining my newly 4 year old using the bike for any longer than a few months. I think the Skuut is the perfect 3rd birthday present, as I think the child would be able to hop on the bike right away and have well over a year to use it and benefit from having it. That said, my 4 year old is enjoying it tremendously, but I do think it’s best suited for the younger end of the age range specified on the bike.

Shop! Visit the Skuut web site at www.skuut.com to find a retailer in your area. You can also visit Diggin Active for other cool active toys for your tot!

Win! A Skuut Wooden Balance Bike!

How to enter: Visit Skuut.com and tell us your favorite feature of the bike.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.   

Giveaway ends September 3. Open to US mailing addresses only.

Disclosure: Thanks to DigginActive, Inc. for providing a sample product for the purpose of this review and the giveaway prize. Opinions here are my own and uninfluenced by receipt of product.

mOmma: Innovative and Fun Mealtime Products for Infants & Toddlers

by Kate on August 19th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Baby, Reviews, Toddler

It’s no question that mealtime with kids can be challenging. Very challenging. So when a new product comes along to make eating more enjoyable for all involved. The mOmma line of feeding products are unlike any others we’ve ever used and are a welcome change at the dinner table.

About mOmma

Innovation, technology, movement and colors. mOmma is the newest revolutionary line of baby products that encourages baby to discover their surroundings with products that are unique in shape, movement and color, thus transforming each moment of your baby’s mealtime into a moment of growth, learning and pleasure.

mOmma  Feeding Products

We received a number of samples from the mOmma feeding line, including two sippy cups and a tableware set. I was immediately intrigued and impressed by the cool lines and rounded shape on all the products. The bottom of the sippy cups are rubber and roly-poly so they rock back and forth, but never fall over. The cute and squat shape of the cups can be deceiving, but they actually hold 9 ounces of fluids like most other children’s cups.

My daughter has been using the Non-Spill Cup and my son staked his claim on the Cup with Straw. The rounded double handles are perfect for pudgy little baby hands but even my kids have enjoyed using the cups. My daughter, however, actually gets a bit frustrated by the shape and the fact that it won’t fit into the more narrow round shape intended for traditional sippy cups on some high chairs. I think if she were a bit younger the rocking motion might be more entertaining. I have been happy with the straw cup but have found the sippy cup to leak a bit.

The rounded shape is also reflected on the unusual but very cool spoon and fork. I love that these rock and don’t tip over because that means the part my daughter eats off of – the top – never has to touch the table (or restaurant table) and keeps it more sanitary. (Unless, of course, she throws it on the floor which she’s known to do.) The plate and spoon combination can be used as soon as you introduce solids to your little one, so my daughter isn’t really the target audience. But, as she continues to improve her dexterity and fork-and-spoon-ability, the set has been a cool addition to our dining table. And, we have had fun rocking the utensils on their rounded ends. The spoon and fork work well with the two-section plate which even has raised, rounded sides so your little one can push and collect food against the side of the plate. The top makes it perfect for tossing in your diaper bag since it will stay nice and clean.

mOmma Messiest Momments Photo Contest

mOmma, the beloved line of Italian baby and toddler feeding products, is kicking off the mOmma’s messiest mOmments photo contest from August 2 – September 10, 2010. Proud parents can enter a photo of their tot’s messiest mealtime moment for a chance to win a prize pack of mOmma product for themselves and a friend (total value: $104.50).

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… mOmma feeding products are unique and ideal for infants and young toddlers learning to use utensils – the Developmental Meal Set of Plate, Spoon & Fork is my top pick of the collection. I love the rounded shapes and that all the products come with protective covers to keep them clean and make it easier to toss in your diaper bag. All mOmma feeding products are BPA-free and phthalate-free as well as dishwasher safe.

Or Not to Buy… mOmma products are innovative and you’re going to pay a bit for it – they are more expensive than many other infant feeding products.

Shop! Visit mOmmaUS.com for more information on the complete line of fun and functional products for babies and toddlers.  You can also purchase directly at the site or on Amazon. The Non-Spill Cup is $13.25, Cup with Straw is $12.25 and the Developmental Meal Set with plate, spoon and fork is $22.

Disclosure: mOmma provided samples for the purpose of this review facilitated by Team Mom. Opinions are my own. Others may have a different experience.

Ralph Lauren Celebrates the New #RLGang Storybook (+ Exclusive Ralph Lauren Discount Code)

by Kate on August 19th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Blogging, Shopping

While at BlogHer, one of the events I was most eager to attend was the Ralph Lauren party to celebrate the launch of The RL Gang – the new Ralph Lauren Digital Storybook. The RL Gang brings to life the fall collection of children’s clothing through the story of the adorable (and very stylish) child models on a first day of school adventure. The storybook is narrated by Harry Connick, Jr. and provides a way to explore the clothes through their interactive closets.

I saw these little models in person at the party and they are seriously as cute as can be. Not to mention the clothes. Which are to die for. I think Katherine has my favorite clothes. After checking out her closet, I am pretty convinced I love everything. And wish they all came in my size.

#RLGang Twitter Party

What: Ralph Lauren #RLGang Twitter Party
When: Thursday, August 19th from 8-9 pm EST
Why: Talk about the new Ralph Lauren digital storybook, a children’s book that gives Moms a unique way to explore Ralph Lauren clothing and their new fall line. You’ll also be entered to win a back-to-school outfit from Ralph Lauren for your child or one of six $50 AMEX gift cards.
Hashtag: #RLGang
Host: @MomCentral and @RalphLauren
For More Information: Visit Mom Central

Exclusive Ralph Lauren Discount Code

As a Ralph Lauren brand ambassador I am thrilled to be able to share an exclusive discount code with you to help with back to school shopping. The code RLG_SHOPPINGM is good for 10%-off full price Ralph Lauren Children’s and Baby products now through Friday at www.RalphLauren.com. Shop fast!

Disclsoure: I attended an event sponsored by Ralph Lauren and Mom Central and received Ralph Lauren products as a thank you.
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