Back to School With Crayola {GIVEAWAY: CLOSED}

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When I was growing up, going back to school was ALL about the school supplies. I anxiously awaited the back to school ads in the Sunday newspaper the way that most kids look forward to the big holiday Toys R Us catalog. I'm pretty sure that I've been an arts and crafts supply hoarder collector afficianado since birth. It was always my mission to convince my grandmother that she needed to buy me several extra boxes of Crayola crayons (that I didn't have to share with my sisters!) since she was getting such a great deal. Years later, as I back to school shop for my own children, I still find myself filling my shopping cart with an abundant pile of those bright yellow boxes.

 

You could definitely say that I've been a lifelong Crayola fan, so I was thrilled when they offered to send me a box of some fun new products to test out.

 

 

Look at all these great back to school supplies!

The brightly colored Wild Notes notebook was instantly appealing to my boys, and they were even more excited to discover that it comes with a special pen that allows you to write in multi-color. 

 

 

My boys were hooked by the entire set of Wild Notes products that we received which included the single subject notebook, a wire-bound set of index cards and two cute pads of sticky notes (along with a Wild Notes "magic" pen for each product). Although Wild Notes weren't designed with toddlers in mind, my almost-2-year-old had a blast doodling on the index cards, and I loved that the Wild Notes pen was virtually mess-free since it only works on the Wild Notes papers.

The next product that we pulled out of the box were the Crystal Effects Window Markers, and we haven't put them down for an entire week! They are just SO cool!

The markers work with solar power to crystallize before your eyes. The ink goes on lightly colored and transparent and within a few moments it begins to look like shimmery ice crystals. I've never seen any other markers with effects like this before, and the novelty still hasn't worn off after a week of solid use! 

See what I mean? You definitely want to try these out if you have a sunny window to draw on. They wash off very easily, so you don't have to worry about making a big mess or leaving stubborn marks on your windows.

 

The big boys also loved the Dual Sided Dry Erase Board (one side is black and the other is white) and dry erase crayons, but I found the crayons to be kind of messy in that they're very soft and tend to get a bit "crumby." I was surprised at how well they showed up on the black side of the board though, and the color saturation was much stronger than I anticipated.

 

We haven't had a chance to use the fabric markers yet, but the kids have been trying to talk me into letting them decorate one of their old pairs of jeans since the markers are formulated for dark fabrics. I think I might even need to join in with a pair of my old jeans too!

 

 

WANT TO WIN SOME OF THESE CRAYOLA GOODIES? 

 

Crayola has offered to give away an additional back-to-school gift pack to one lucky Mom's Crafty Space reader! The prize pack contains:

• Crayola Bright Fabric Markers
• Crystal Effects Window Markers
• Crayola Window Mega Markers
• Wild Notes Index Cards
• Wild Notes Sticky Notes
• Wild Notes 1 Subject Notebook

Giveaway will close at 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, September 6th. Winner will be announced the next day. Good luck!

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Disclosure: The information, products and additional Crayola Back-to-School gift pack was provided by Crayola® through MyBlogSpark.

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Dinner Conversation Jar & Topics

 

 

This article was originally printed in the August 2012 issue of Sacramento Parent magazine, but I love this idea so much that I wanted to share it with all of my non-local readers as well! 

 

Do your dinner conversations with your family consist of you asking, "How was school today?" and your child mumbling "Fine?" Make dinner time more engaging for everyone by creating a "Family Dinner Conversation" jar. Decorate an old glass jar or box to make it feel special, and then sit down with your family and have everyone write down a few questions and conversation starters.

You can download this printable here to get you started!

 

Over dinner have your family take turns choosing a slip of paper from the jar and have fun laughing and learning more about each other as you answer silly questions and ponder different scenarios. Sharing with family is what dinner is all about!

 

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30+ School Lunch Ideas for Picky Eaters

 

My big boys went back to school last week, and this year they are both attending school all day long. That means that this year I get the dubious honor of preparing school lunches for two picky eaters each day. Lucky me?

 

 

In order to make my life a little easier, I sat down with these guys and complied a list of all the foods that they will eat at lunchtime. Naturally they don't agree on 100% of the foods on the list, but at least it's a start! I thought it might be worth sharing if you also find yourself staring vacantly into the pantry and then whipping up the gazillionth peanut butter and jelly sandwich of the year. Variety is nice.

 

 

We use Easy Lunchboxes which are currently sold out until late September, but I highly recommend them if you can get your hands on a set. They fit perfectly into kid sized lunch boxes and the divided portion sections eliminate the need for a bunch of different plastic baggies (less mess, less waste - yay!). Our lunch list is actually made up of two lists - one for the main compartment (entree) and one for the two smaller compartments (side dishes). Chose an item from the main list and two from the side list, and you've easily created a healthy meal that is sure to please the pickiest of eaters! 

 

 

Main Dish:

 

1.       Turkey & cheese wrap (in a tortilla)

2.       Ham & cheese bagel sandwich

3.       Peanut butter & jelly/Peanut butter & honey sandwich

4.       Cream cheese & cucumber sandwiches

5.       Cream cheese & jelly wrap (in a tortilla)

6.       Chicken nuggets

7.       Pasta - ravioli, tortellini, or spaghetti w/ choice of sauces

8.       Pizza - on bagels/english muffins

9.       Hard boiled eggs or egg salad sandwich

10.   Tuna sandwich

11.   Quesadillas

12.   Deli meat & cheese kebabs

13.   Mac n cheese

14.   Muffins (zucchini, apple, banana, etc.)

15.   Chicken skewers & rice cubes

16.   (DIY Lunchables) Crackers, meat & cheese

17.   Breakfast for lunch - waffles, pancakes, french toast

18.   Breakfast burritos - eggs, bacon, cheese, potatoes

19.   Peanut butter and banana sandwich on graham crackers

20.   Mini burgers/turkey burgers

21.   Taquitos

22.   Pot stickers & egg rolls

23.   Build-your-own mini pizzas (Lunchable style) - english muffin, sauce, cheese & pepperoni

24.   Calzones (aka Pizza Pockets)

25.   Grilled cheese sandwich

26.   Chicken burrito

27.   Bagel dogs

28.   Mini bagels with cream cheese

29.   Pizza quesadilla

30. Fruit nachos

31. Pinwheel sandwiches - turkey & cream cheese rolled up

32.   Fruit & cheese skewers

 

Side Dishes:

1.       Applesauce

2.       Fruit - strawberries, bananas, grapes, blueberries, melon, pears, etc.

3.       Veggies - carrots, celery, broccoli, peppers, etc. - add a side of ranch, peanut butter or hummus for dipping!

4.       Veggie Straws

5.       Whole grain goldfish crackers

6.       Cheese - string cheese, Babybel, etc.

7.       Pretzels

8.       Craisins or raisins

9.       Nuts - peanuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, etc.

10.   Dry cereal

11. Crackers - Ritz, saltines, graham crackers

12.   Yogurt

13.   Popcorn

For more inspiration be sure to check out my Pinterest board devoted to school lunches!  

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Playhouse Fort Frame

I've been dreaming about building this playhouse since I first saw it on Reimuja, and I knew that it would make the perfect blank canvas for my boys who are always scheming up ways to create bigger and more elaborate forts. With the addition of some blankets and pillows it makes a wonderful reading nook, and when you cover the frame with sheets it becomes a castle,  clubhouse,  pet shop,  pirate hideaway or anything else your child can imagine!

 

When my handy hubby informed me that he would be spending last Saturday working on some DIY projects around the house, I immediately added this simple playhouse frame to his to-do list for the day. I figured it made perfect sense since he already had his chop saw and tools out and ready for action! He grabbed some 2x2's from the hardware store along with some long furniture bolts and got to work.

It only took a couple of hours to create, and that included the time to build it, un-build it to take it upstairs to our playroom and then re-build it (obviously it could have been built in-place much more quickly, but we didn't want to wake up the napping toddler tornado). Hubby built ours quite a bit larger than the inspiration since our big boys are TALL kids, and we wanted them to be able to use it for awhile. I think it's around 65" high since I can stand up in the middle of it myself (though I'm only 5'2"!), and the base is 4'x5'.

Our cal king-sized sheets only cover the roof and one wall panel at a time, so I'd like to make a slipcover out that will easily cover all the open areas. I'm still debating between using a heavier fabric that will lay better vs. a lighter fabric that will still allow more light in...decisions, decisions. I'm leaning towards drop cloths since I know they will stand up well to my rough-and-tumble kids as well as the fact that they come in large sizes that will make my job even easier.

Even with one of the sides left open, it's such a cool and inviting hidout perfect for my little boys to snuggle up with a few good books and let their imaginations run free.

 

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Back to School In Style With Old Navy

 

I can't believe that it's already time to start thinking about heading back to school! This summer seems to have flown by incredibly quickly, and we only have two weeks until my big boys will be going back to school.

This year Sutton will be starting kindergarten, and he's less than enthusiastic about it. I've been trying to come up with some ideas that will get him excited about going off to school, and the first thing that I thought of was to let him choose his own back-to-school gear. Giving my kids the power of choice always seems to work wonders, and having special "school-only clothes" might make him more excited about heading off to class. He was more than happy to take me up on the offer!  

My boys wear uniforms to school, so one way they get to show off their style and personality is through their choice of footwear. These Patterned Slip-On Pop Kicks from Old Navy are totally trendy, and perfect for slipping on quickly during the school morning rush.

Our uniform bottoms can be any (non-athletic style) khaki or navy shorts or pants, and these Old Navy Cargo Shorts are ideal for my boys so that they feel like they get to wear "normal" shorts while still adhering to the uniform policy. Love it!

Of course, the boys still need fun clothes for afterschool too, and these Extreme Graphics Tees immediately caught both of the big boys' eyes. We love the bold colors!

As a busy parent I really appreciate that Old Navy offers everything that my kids need from clothing and uniforms to lunch boxes and backpacks (with loads of cute options to choose from!). I love knowing that I've saved time and money while still allowing my kiddos to remaining stylish with quality pieces. You can bet that my kids will be going back to school in style thanks to Old Navy!  

        I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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"Tie Dyed" Ribbon Cat Toy

Meet Lucy, the newest member of our tribe. When my boys approached me about getting a kitten of their own, my only stipulation was that it had to be a female cat to help balance out the boy:girl ratio around here (even our two older cats are both boys, so I'm completely surrounded by testosterone!).

Lucy is incredibly playful since she's still a kitten, so when I saw these rainbow ribbon wands I knew that they would make a great cat toy to keep her busy paws occupied. The colorful ribbon is created using the same process as our Sharpie tie dyed shirts, and since my boys were already familiar with the process they were able to whip this project out in about half an hour.

Start with some white satin ribbon and color sections of it with permanent marker. 

Using an eyedropper, slowly drip rubbing alcohol on to the inked ribbon until the color bleeds into the next. Since we were going to use this with our pet, I waited for the alcohol to dry and then rinsed the ribbon in cold water to make sure that no alcohol lingered.  

Screw an eye hook into the end of a 12" piece of 5/8" dowel, thread your ribbon through and knot. 

Find a cute little furry friend and have lots of fun watching them try to swat and chase the colorful toy you've created!

   

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Babba Box by BabbaCo: Review & Giveaway {Closed}!

Congratulations to Jaimee!

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Do you always wonder how other parents find the time to come up with creative ideas and craft with their kids? Do you have time and enthusiasm, but no creative spark or supplies? BabbaCo by Jessica Kim has come up with the perfect solution to these problems with their monthly Babba Box. Each Babba Box is geared for children ages 3-6, and is packed with fun activities centered around a new theme each month.

We recently had the opportunity to review a Babba Box, and we were so excited to open it and discover that our theme was By the Seashore. We love the beach and nature, so this box was totally perfect for us.

Each box contains 4 components:

CREATE: 2 to 3 projects kids do with their hands. ALL the physical materials included!

EXPLORE: A theme-based product where your child will engage with the world & nature.

STORY TELL: Carefully curated books to stimulate your kids' imaginations.

CONNECT: Interactive learning with prepaid downloads approved by BabbaCo experts.

All the directions and everything you need is included! We also had a snack sample in our box (Apple-2-the-Core dried apples), which were really yummy and perfect to keep in your beach bag. Simon snatched the bag out of my hands and wouldn't give it back until he had eaten them all!

Simon had fun with the crayons and ocean themed coloring sheets while the older boys and I worked on the other projects.

Our EXPLORE project was all about creating a message in a bottle, and Sawyer was quick to grab it up and start writing a special message for me. The project information sheet not only included the basic directions, but it also had a ton of fun facts about sailors and how messages in bottles came to be.

He read me my special note, "Mom, I love you. You are special to me." and then rolled it up and put it in the bottle. After awhile he told me that I might want to keep the note somewhere dry for a little bit while he tried another experiment...

...and he created a beach-in-a-bottle for our nature shelf. After awhile it got turned back into a message-in-a-bottle, and they've been having a lot of fun putting silly notes for each other in it.

Our first CREATE project was to make our own Sea Turtle Race Game. Sutton couldn't wait to do this one! We added colored stickers to the game board and to the wooden game pieces and then took turns rolling a colored die to see which colored turtle got to move ahead one space. The first turtle to reach the end won the race (and I loved that the game was one in which we all worked together instead of competing against each other for a change!).

Our other CREATE project was a wooden seashell picture frame. First we played a sorting game and arranged our shells by different type on the included sorting sheet. I asked the boys if they wanted to paint or color their frames, but they both decided that they liked the wood color "because it looks sandy-ish." Next we used the included glue to attach the shells on to the frame - Sawyer was very meticulous with his shell spacing while Sutton was much more free-form with his design. The rectangular frame is the one that came with the kit, and I added the heart frame and a few more shells from our stash so that both of my big boys could complete their own version of the project.

 Now we just need to add photos from our last beach trip!

Everyone agreed that our STORY TELL book was a great one! Sneakers, the Seaside Cat by Margaret Wise Brown (author of Goodnight Moon) is a sweet book about a curious cat's adventures at the beach and his funny encounters with a few seaside creatures. I love that each Babba Box comes with a book to add to your library! We've already read this one a few times, and I'm sure that it will stay in our current bedtime rotation for  quite awhile.

I was truly impressed with the quality of the items in our Babba Box, and I was glad that all of the activities were so well received by all of my children. The age level was completely appropriate for my 5 & 6-year-olds to complete with minimal assistance, and even my almost-2-year-old was able to lend a hand with my help. For only $29.99 per month (and even less if you pre-purchase a year-long subscription) the Babba Box is an ideal solution for busy parents who want to sit down and create, explore and story tell with their children. BabbaCo does all the prep work for you - from coming up with the themes and ideas to gathering supplies - to truly make a simple and fun experience that you can share with your child.

WANT TO WIN A BABBA BOX OF YOUR OWN?

You're in luck! BabbaCo is offering up one of their boxes to one lucky Mom's Crafty Space reader. Giveaway ends at 12:01 AM EST on Tuesday, August 14th. Winner will be announced the following day.

Can't wait? Get 20% off of your first Babba Box with code MCS20OFF



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