Montessori Services Product Review and Giveaway

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 I was provided with a product to review, and I have provided my honest opinion. Thank you to the sponsoring company for working with Mom in the USA.

 

Montessori Services and For Small Hands dedicate themselves to providing schools and households, respectively, with Montessori-inspired materials.  For Small Hands is a resource for families; whereas Montessori Services focuses on the child's learning environment.   I recently had the privilege of reviewing their Birch Geo Board and Fast Food Trays - all made in the USA.

Coloring sheets can be found at 1+1+1=1 Tot School Printables

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to find these fast food trays.  I have been trying to find them almost since the inception of this blog.  The trays work so wonderfully when we do "school activities."  Each tray helps define each child's space on the table, but also helps contain things like crayons, markers and rubber bands, as seen in the photos, which makes clean-up much easier.  The irony is that neither of them wanted to actually use the tray for food.  They just wanted to use them for their "school activities."

The trays are a perfect size for the girls, measuring 13½" x 10½" overall and 1/2" deep and are available in blue, brown, dark green, almond (light peach), orange, mauve, red, or yellow.  They are also very durable.  Bina decided to dance on hers and they made a wonderful stage for her.  She also used hers as an art canvas and colored all over it.  Rest-assured, as beautiful an art piece as she made us, the coloring came off with a cloth.  They are also light enough that each one of the girls was able to carry it around without a problem.  The surface of the tray itself is not a smooth surface, so I used something underneath, since Lyla is practicing writing letters.

The Birch Geo Board kept Lyla busy for much longer than I had expected it to. She was fascinated by what shape to make next.  I also showed her how to make some letters.  She really wanted to experiment on her own, so I let her run with it.  After all, if it's not fun for her, then she's not going to learn.  As you can see from the picture to the right, she created several different shapes, patterns and things that resembled letters.  When she was done, she traded with Bina.  Bina surprised me with how well she caught on to putting the rubber bands on the pegs.  Don't get me wrong, she did get snapped a few times, but overall, she did much better than I thought.  She really just piled the rubber bands on top of each other in the same linear shape until she could fit no more in that pattern.  Then she created a new one on a different section of the board.  It was a great sensorial activity. 
** Note: This toy is intended for children 4 years old and older.  I let Bina use it because I was sitting right there with her and observing her.  Please exercise this same caution with your own children.  The rubber bands are a choking hazard.

Quick product facts:

• The Geo Birch Board, Item #V16
• Measures 7-3/4" around 
• Has 16 pegs on it  
• The birch wood is finished with lacquer so it has a smooth surface.  
• The rubber bands come in a little zippered-lock bag and come in five colors (red, blue, green, yellow and beige)

•  The Fast Food Tray, Item #T180 (plus the color designation, Ex: T180BN is the brown tray)
• Measures 13½" x 10½" overall; ½" deep
• Available colors: brown, dark green, almond (light peach), orange. Pictured above are the mauve, red, blue and yellow

Disclosure: The sheets that Bina is coloring in the pictures above can be found here at 1+1+1=1 - Tot School Printables.

GIVEAWAY

This is a giveaway for a $50 Gift Certificate to Montessori Services and For Small Hands.

Enter by using the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win this awesome prize!   

• Open to U.S. residents, ages 18 and older.  
• The giveaway ends 11/12/13 at 12:00am EST.  The winner will be announced at the Thumping Thursdays Blog Hop on 11/14/13.   
• Please remember that a mandatory entry is to leave a blog post comment and to be a subscriber to Mom in the USA.  
• The winner's entries will be verified.  

Good luck to all of you that enter.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

I was provided with a product to review, and I have provided my honest opinion as a mother. Thank you to the sponsoring company for working with Mom in the USA.  You can view my complete PR policies here.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. 

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GIVEAWAY: $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE

One of my readers suggested that I add fabrics to the shopping directory. Not only was I able to do that, but I am proud to bring you a giveaway. American Grown•Spun•Milled is offering one of you a $25 gift certificate to be used at one of their online fabric stores American Grown•Spun•Milled and NearSeaNaturals.

American Grown•Spun•Milled and NearSeaNaturals “have a wide selection of organic fabrics made from fiber that is grown, spun, and milled in the US. Frequently, fabric that is made in America is actually made from fibers that are grown and processed elsewhere. Our fabrics are thus supporting the sustainable fabric industry as well as sustainable agriculture in the US. All fabrics sold on our American Grown•Spun•Milled and Near Sea Naturals site meet the following criteria unless expressly noted in the fabric's description: The fabric is made from certified-organic fibers. The organic fibers from which the fabric is made are grown in America. The fibers are processed (spun into "yarn," which is very different from knitting yarn) in America, in an eco-friendly fashion. The yarn is milled, that is, woven or knit into fabric, in America. Any finishing (dyeing. flannelling, etc.) also takes place in America.

Besides being a company dedicated to making their fabrics organic and in the USA, they also run a “green” business. They “use eco-friendly supplies (soy toner, 100% recycled, high-PCW-content paper), recycle, reuse, or rehome things we can no longer use.” One of their managing partners is also on the board for the Sustainable Cotton Project.

To find fabrics made in the USA on American Grown•Spun•Milled, look for Entirely Made In America in the product description. To find fabrics made in the USA on NearSeaNaturals, look for the USA map in the product description.

GIVEAWAY: $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO American Grown•Spun•Milled and/or NearSeaNaturals.  The giveaway ends 11/13/12.

** NOTE: If you can, log in with your email address so you do not have to post it in the public comments.  That's just for your security.  It's not mandatory that you log in with your email address.

Karina
I love comments!

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GIVEAWAY: Halloween Costume

 

I am so excited to be able to host my first product review and giveaway.  In my searches for products that are Made in the USA, I came across Beastly Buddies.  Ann is the owner of Beastly Buddies and she is the sweetest person.  I contacted her for permission to add her to the Shop page since her products are Made in the USA - Schenectady, NY actually.  She was kind enough to offer me the opportunity to review two of her costumes.  Each costume is handmade by Ann herself.  Ann has been making costumes for about 20 years and from time to time still sees some from times gone by for sale on the internet.

The first costume is for a Monarch Butterfly costume.  When Lyla saw me take this costume out of the package, the princess in her came flying out.  She wanted her princess dress right away....so I put it on her.  

The costume slips on very easily.  Picture this:  I have an enthusiastic 3-year old who wants the costume on now and a one-year old who kept trying to hide in the tulle.  I still had an easy time getting it on.  It is one piece that slips on.  (Note: The Halloween bag in the picture is not included.  We already owned it.)  The black bodice is lycra and it is a bodysuit so there is a bottom part for your little lady.  I added a pair of black leggings underneath so it wouldn't be see-through.  I think that might just be personal preference also.

 

The wings are quite impressive.  They are made of flock and Lyla loved how soft they were.  We also found out that it's easy to wipe off little oopsies from the bodice.  A baby wipe cleaned it right up.  The costume is dry clean only.  The dots on the wings glow in the dark.  They just have to be "charged" with a light source.  (Note: Don't hold it up to something hot.  It might burn.)  Lyla is 3 and this is a size 4.  On a hard surface, the costume goes down to her ankles.  She meandered through the grass and had no problems walking.  The costumes are available in sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12.

The bad part of this costume: It was not easy to convince Lyla to actually remove it!  The only reason that I convinced her to take off the costume was because either she had the other costume to twirl in or it was time to eat and she didn't want to accidentally spill something on her costume.  

I have to admit I learned a lesson.  I had forgotten how much little girls love dress-up.  I did not expect Lyla to wear this costume as much as she has since she received it.  Amateur mommy!  I love watching that thrill in my daughter's eyes.

 

The second costume that I was given to review was a costume of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, also in a size 4.  Lyla loved this costume also.  She must have because she never wants anything in her hair.  To take these pictures, she let me put pig tails in her hair.  She also exercised her own fashion sense with the socks.  This costume includes the white blouse and blue and white gingham apron dress (2 pieces).  We happened to have the red "ruby" slippers.  The costume is available in sizes 12 months and 18 months.

 

This costume can survive Halloween night and many more "dress-up" days to come.  While we were taking these pictures, Lyla decided to run on the sidewalk, pictured above, and she fell.  I thought the dress would get snagged or something.  I am proud to inform you that the dress survived the fall without a hitch.  Lyla's poor little knee didn't do quite as well.  Little boo-boo, big mommy kisses and a band-aid - her knee will be just fine.

I was concerned about the opening where the bow goes in the back, but as you can see from the picture, you can't even tell.  Lyla has twirled in this dress while holding her basket and has enjoyed it so much.

GIVEAWAY:  This is a giveaway for one Monarch Butterfly costume pictured below.  The costume is available in sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 so you can pick one of these sizes if you are the winner.

Enter by using the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win this awesome costume!  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Open to the US, ages 18+.

I was provided with a product to review, and I have provided my honest opinion as a mother. Thank you to the sponsoring company for working with Mom in the USA.  You can view my complete PR policies here.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

 

 

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