Giveaway + The Selfish Parents' Guide to Gift Giving at School (Part 1)

I eyed this for years before I bought my own.  Technology allows us all to have our own laminators now.  It's great!

WHAT: My list of things your teacher or school therapist may need but won't ask for.... (will also help your child in the process hence "selfish")
NOTE: Important! If you are a cash gift giver- I'm sending you my cyber high-five now. Still, you can't ignore a good deal when you see one. 
INVEST: These prices reflect some deals I found right now!

PROMOTIONS: Look for coupon and sales alert inside this story
GIVEAWAY: Do you have your own laminator? Well, you can now! Win best-selling Scotch Laminator (U.S. only) on Amazon!

Shop ARK and Be Victorious!

Constructive Plate $14.95
Garden Fairy Plate $14.95
Constructive Utensils $ 17.49
Garden Fairy Utensils $17.49

Cool idea, actually, brilliant, genius idea, you say.... but the price is too high?  If you thought that then you are not alone.  So I tried to think of some questions that help me decide whether or not to cough up $32.44.

1. Do you fight at the table?
2. Do you think "Neanderthal" when you see your kid eat?
3. Does your child have trouble writing? Writing and self-feeding are connected skills.
4. Do you worry that your child will still eat like this even when he is an adult?*
5. Does your child use his other hand to assist his fork in bringing food into his mouth? Think shoving spaghetti in mouth vs. slurping it in.
   
6. Would you want to buy this for your favorite niece or nephew or your best friend's kid who could really use some encouragement at the table?
7. Does your child insist that his foods remain in isolated compartments?

If you answer Yes to 5 or more questions, then I say to you as I say to myself. What the heck are you waiting for?...............

Ok, here's more encouragement.... How about a confession?

Review + Giveaway: Wordless Story Cards: A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

I wonder what could be happening here?

WHAT:  My Trip to Mars and Underwater Adventure from Gryphon Design Collective

INVENTOR: Cat Addams
DOES: fall in love with storytelling, embrace unknown endings, improve writing skills without writing a single word, great way to celebrate Better Hearing and Speech Month

INVEST:  $19.95  (average wordless story book is $15-17 dollars  but story cards contain an infinite number of stories)

AGES: hmmmm. maybe 2-9 or more depending on a child's language skills

TOOLS: Foment Love of Language, Flexibility is My Superpower, More Make-Believe Please
EXPERT OPINION: Susan Schwartz, MAEd, Learning Specialist, Friends Seminary; John Ferrera, PhD, Child Psychologist, John Ferrera Ph.D. and Associates

GIVEAWAY:  Win My Trip to Mars and 25 % OFF COUPON CODE TOO- see below!

DSM-V Propelled RE-Review : Bubble Talk: Perspective-Taking Can Be Hilariously Helpful

What would be a good caption for this?  Better yet, what would your friend think? 

NEWS: The DSM-V is coming! The DSM-V is coming! Quick, it's time to update your TOOLBOX!  Have you heard of "Social Communication Disorder"???  What's that? You think your boss has it?   Your spouse maybe?  Wait... let's be serious for one minute and talk about a very hilariously helpful game.

WHAT:  Bubble Talk Game  by Technosource
DOES: Encourages you to think about what would please someone else using outrageous humor and a little reading
INVEST: $22.99 MSRP
TOOLS:  Lose and Win Gracefully, Fertilize Responsibility and Courtesy, Foment the Love of Language

Review + Giveaway: Meet Super Duper Pubs: An Educational Trailblazer

The back of the card is even better than the front!  Yogarilla is a superstar!

WHAT: 500 Prefixes, Suffixes, and Stems Super Fun Deck and Yogarilla (both from Super Duper Publications)

DOES: 500 Prefixes, Suffixes, and Stems is a treasure chest of word parts that your child can use to help with both decoding and reading comprehension; Yogarilla is an excellently designed tool that helps you and your child do yoga positions in an accurate and fun way. 

INVEST:  $49.95 and $34.95 respectively
AGES: Fun Deck (Suggested Gr. 4+ but we loved at Gr. 3 too), Yogarilla (3+)

TOOLS: Foment Love of Language, My Body Needs to Move

EXPERT OPINION: Susan Schwartz, MAEd, Learning Specialist, Friends Seminary and Mike Pfeiffer, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Owner/Director, Leaps and Bounds Pediatric Therapy

GIVEAWAY:  Win a fifty dollar gift certificate to this really amazing store filled with 100s of awesome tools.   COUPON CODE TOO

Review & Giveaway: The Educational Triple Threat (Vista Explorer Tripod + Case Star Clip + Tablet/Phone)

Presentation skills are often NOT taught in school and yet this scary activity is required of them throughout their academic years.  Tiffen has something that can help.

WHAT: Vista Explorer 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Tripod Bag by Davis & Sanford, a division of Tiffen
WHAT: Case Star Universal Clip/Clasp Holder for Tripod
WHAT: Your camera, tablet, smartphone..... (Cameras do not need the Case Star Clip)

DOES: inexpensive, lightweight, and easy-to-use equipment can be handled by kids to encourage them to record themselves on video; offers potential speech and language benefits; practice brings confidence and competence

INVEST:  $32.02 MSRP for Tripod; $6.99 Clip Holder (price at time of posting)

AGES: maybe 6 years old? depends on the family and child...

TOOLS: Express Yourself, Foment Love of Language, Remember to Learn, Social Scene Helper 

GIVEAWAY:  Win your own lightweight Vista Explorer tripod.  Give it to your kid to star in his own videos!  Give it to yourself to blog?  Make your own movies without the shakies.

Camera accessories like this Vista Explorer by Davis and Sanford have TREMENDOUS educational potential!

Review + Giveaway: Talking Tom- Kids' Newest Study Buddy

Who says he can't study for his test with Talking Tom? Sometimes my cockamamie ideas do work!

WHAT:  Talking Tom and Talking Ben by Cuddle Barn

DOES: This app-to-real life toy can be way more useful than your average poop joke outlet.  Some kids may find it useful to access and enhance their memory before test dates just by telling Ben or Tom what they need to remember!  It works for us!

INVEST:  $34.99

AGES: 3+  (although, I don't see how two year old would not love this!)

TOOLS: Express Yourself, Foment Love of Language, Remember to Learn
EXPERT OPINION: Alison Berkley, Co-owner, Special Education Teacher, Emerge and See Education Center, Blogger, Breaking Barriers at Psychology Today

GIVEAWAY:  Win your very own Talking Tom or Talking Ben (winner decides!)