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?

Toy Tips: MORE LEGOs for LESS!

I bought this for $15 and it was a steal just because I stacked the bricks first.  Look below to see what I mean.

No kidding. This is for real.  The contents of both containers were all in the container above.

WHAT: Pick A Brick at your Local LEGO Store

DOES: if you use good spatial reasoning, you can save BIG!!!

INVEST:  $ your time but use this as a life and math lesson for the kids. It's a win-win.

TOOLS: Fertilize Responsibility and Courtesy, Family Fix-its

EXPERT OPINION: In this case, that would be me!!!!!!!!!  Because I am super cheap!!!!

Review + The Young Writer's Giveaway Package: The Tran-Quill Pencil: Beefing Up Muscle Memory

Like driving, you don't want to be thinking about the mechanics of writing when writing. You can't drive safely this way and you can't write efficiently this way either.

For many kids, writing is a terrifying and dreadful act. As a writer that makes me sad especially if it is happening with my own children.  Thank you to Little Red Writing and ARK Therapeutics for making this special Young Writer's Giveaway Package.

WHAT:  The Tran-Quill Pencil Kit by ARK Therapeutic
INVENTOR: Speech Language Pathologist, Debra Lowsky, MS, CCC-SLP and her husband John Lowsky, BS ME. (Mechanical Engineer)

DOES: gentle vibrating mode provides extra feedback to muscles thereby making writing easier, more efficient, and more enriching

INVEST:  $36.50-$46.50 and even less if you already have the Z-Vibe
AGES: hmmm... with professional guidance or supervision, I would guess 3/4+ for the pencil kit?

TOOLS: My Body Needs to Move, Express Yourself

EXPERT OPINION: Pediatric Occupational Therapist and Integrative Nutritionist, Susan L. Roberts, MDiv, OTR/L 
GIVEAWAY PACKAGE: One Lucky Winner Will Receive a Tran-Quill Pencil Kit AND a copy of Little Red Writing, a new book about writing written by Joan Holub illustrated by the great Melissa Sweet!
COUPON CODE until 9/16/13: Check out my separate post on my picks and my code.