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This giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered!

This next Homeschool your Preschooler giveaway is for the older preschooler. Though, we did have fun finding different uses for this game!

Beyond Learning is an awesome Eco-friendly company created by Jill Gaynor. Jill has been active in elementary education for the past 12 years and also does fundraiser work for Healthy Child Healthy World. So designing Eco-friendly children games was right up her alley. Right now Beyond Learning has 3 Eco-friendly games: Pick-Up Words, Number Hunt, and Word Chase. Each of these games are designed for children who are learning how to read and recognize letters and numbers. All of the Beyond Learning products are printed with vegetable ink on recycled paper.

We were sent Pick-Up Words to review and I can’t wait until Ella is old enough to really play. The game comes with 30 bamboo sticks with words written on them. You gather all of the sticks and then release them to fall freely. The first player then chooses a stick to pick up and tells the other players what the word is. The player then carefully picks up the stick without moving any other sticks. If the payer moves a different stick, it is the next players turn. If the player does not move any sticks, they get to go again. The player with the most sticks wins. The game helps with word recognition, math and fine motor skills.If you are creative, you can turn this Pick-Up Words game into many different games or reading/writing tools. With an early reader, you could lay all of the sticks out and see if your child could put together a sentence. If they haven’t begun to read or write yet, you could have them pick up a stick and use the word in a sentence. Since Ella isn’t at either of those stages yet, I dropped all of the sticks and had her count them. She also put them in rows of 5. Ella has also turned the game into a musical instrument. The many bamboo sticks beating on the package make an awesome sound when shaken! We are full of ideas over here. 🙂

The Giveaway: Beyond Learning would like to offer 1 lucky reader a Pick-Up Words game!
Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST October 22, 2009 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US.

2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter, or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar) You must verify and be active at the time of the giveaway- those who are unverified will become disqualified

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post (1 extra entry total)
6. Sign up for the Beyond Learning newsletter
7. Tell me where you can find Beyond Learning games near you
8. Grab the Homeschool your Preschooler Button and post on your blog or FB page and link back

*New disclaimer- I was sent a Pick-Up Words game for free to personally review. These are only my thoughts and ideas.

We are big puzzle people here. I used to sit for hours putting together 1,000 piece puzzles. Since Ella loves to match things, I thought she would enjoy playing with puzzles… and I was right. I got her a starter color wheel puzzle last year for Christmas. Then we moved on to Melissa and Doug puzzles which she has really enjoyed, but they are now too easy for her. When I came across CEACO Planetpals floor puzzles I got really excited that she could be challenged. CEACO created a 24 piece doubled sided floor puzzle that is 2X3 feet! It is also made with 90% recycled materials and vegetable based inks. One of the sides has the Planetpals characters riding in a hot air balloon and the other side has the Planetpals nature park with Earthman, Sunnyray and Starbright. So what is a Planetpal?? Planetpals is a is a amazing resource for parents and teachers to help teach their children about the earth. You can find tons of tips, projects, crafts, printable charts, games and more on the Planetpals website. They have created fun characters to make learning more fun for your child. Check out the video of a introduction to their characters:

Ella has really enjoyed putting it together and then doing the other side. Younger children will need your help so they don’t get frustrated with it being 2 sided. I lay all of the pieces out, turned the correct way, and then cook dinner while Ella puts it together. It’s a great introductory puzzle to get your child thinking outside of the box. Plus the large pieces make it easier to match the scenery. CEACO has tons of other fun puzzles for all ages. You can get the Planetpals floor puzzle for only $11.49!! That’s 2 puzzles for the price of 1!

This Giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered!
Ella has loved stacking blocks since she was a baby. At a year she was stacking 5-8 blocks and by 2 she could stack them higher than she stood. I was pretty amazed when I read on Baby Center that at 25 months it was a milestone to stack 6 blocks. But Ella is very OCD and stacking and sorting have always been a big thing with her. Stacking develops fine motor skills (small, precise thumb, finger, hand, and wrist movements) and it also teaches basic math skills. Developing fine motor skills helps your child with logical thinking and other physical activities like dressing themselves. Since Ella has mastered stacking regular blocks and can build mini “castles,” I was thrilled when we got to review CitiBlocs from GlammaTOYS to give her a new challenge.

GlammaToys is an amazing family owned toy store that carries over 400 Eco-friendly toys for all ages. You’ll find companies like Plan Toys, Green Toys, CitiBlocs, idbids, MiYim, Melissa and Doug and more. They are very picky about the products that they carry and you won’t find toy guns or cheap plastic knock offs. But you will find tons of award winning educational toys that will inspire every child.
I was really excited when we got our CitiBlocs in the mail and I instantly opened them up to play! CitiBlocs are nothing more than 4 1/2 inch pine wooden blocks that you and your child can build masterpieces with. They all are the same color and shape and with some creativity you can build some amazing designs. The blocks are only a inch thick, so stacking and balancing them takes some skills and patience. Ella has embraced this challenge.

We first started off with a simple building. We stacked 2 horizontally and then 2 vertically to build a simple building. This was a great way to teach her the difference between horizontal and vertical. By the time we stacked the 100th block, she understood what they meant. Then Ella enjoyed knocking it over to try again. We got more creative with the next design and stood 2 blocks up and then balanced a block flat on top of them. Then we tried to see how high we could get without them falling. Of course Ella didn’t make it very far before they fell, but she was persistent to keep trying to balance them.

The kit comes with pages of ideas to build masterpieces! Ella hasn’t had the chance to build something more advanced yet, but has enjoyed watching and helping me. I have to say, I’ve had as much fun playing with these as she did. I could sit for hours building! I have left the CitiBlocs out on her play table and she has experimented with just stacking them, balancing them and building small towers on her own. I have a feeling by the end of the month she will be ready to build a castle. That’s of course her favorite building! I love that this toy really challenges kids to use their fine motor skills and creative minds. The possibilities are endless with what you can create.

You can purchase a set of 200 CitiBlocs at GlammaTOYS for $49.95. Smaller and larger sizes are available.

The Giveaway: GlammaTOYS would like to offer 1 lucky reader a set of 200 CitiBlocs!!
Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST October 21, 2009 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US.

2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter, or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar) You must verify and be active at the time of the giveaway- those who are unverified will become disqualified

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post (1 extra entry total)
6. Become a fan of GlammaTOYS on Facebook
7. Subscribe to the GlammaTOYS email list
8. Grab my Homeschool your Preschooler button and post on your blog or FB page


9. Enter GlammaTOYS Trivia Contest for a chance to win $1,000 shopping spree:
“Test your knowledge of Toy Trivia and become eligible to win a $1,000 Shopping Spree at GlammaTOYS! Correctly answer five questions about our favorite subject: TOYS, and you’ll automatically be entered into our $1,000 Shopping Spree contest. You may enter once per day – the more times you enter, the greater your chance of winning!”

Congrats to Marianna for winning the Very Vintage Collar!

Marianna said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 113

Follow you on twitter @mannabsn

October 1, 2009 4:30 PM

Congrats to Janette for winning the Krafty Kates Kreations Catnip toy!

Janette said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 40

entered your Olive Barn giveaway

September 26, 2009 5:00 AM

Congrats to Shop with Me Mama for winning the Eco Bone from The Soft Landing!

Shop with Me Mama said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 90

I follow you on twitter 🙂

September 27, 2009 3:26 AM

Congrats to lilshuga2001 for winning the Shorty’s Gourmet Treats!

lilshuga2001 said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 107

The Carnival Spot PupCakes Tiny Cupcake sounds yummy for my shih tzu!!

October 5, 2009 3:01 PM

Congrats to rbailey1958 for winning the Zulugrass!

rbailey1958 said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 219

I follow your blog

October 6, 2009 7:33 PM

Thanks to all that entered!!! Remember the Fall Week giveaways are ending this week! It’s not too late to enter!!

Thanks to Kim at Shop With Me Mama I was awarded the Best Blog Award along with 9 others. 🙂 This put a huge smile on my face- so thank you!! Now I get to pick 10 blogs that I think deserve the award!!

1. The Soft Landing Blog
2. Natural Mommie
3. Prissy Green
4. Organic Girl
5. Natural Baby Goods
6. Focus Organic
7. Evergreen Moms
8. Green Mama’s Pad
9. GreenEarth Bamboo Blog
10. Ascending Butterfly

The Best Blog Award rules are:

1) To accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you have recently discovered and think are great! Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

The great thing about being a stay at home mom is being able to go out and do fun things around town while other kids are in school. We frequently go to museums, parks, nature preserves, and farms- which are all great learning experiences. There is an awesome website called Zvents that lists numerous events going on in your city. I write for our local moms website, MomsCharlotte, and update our calendar weekly plus write daily fun events for children to go do. So I’m luckily in the know for things to go do around Charlotte. But you can be too by going to Zvents!

Today we took a trip to the Schiele Museum. They had a series going on that included pumpkin panting, leaf art, dress up, pumpkin golf and more! The event was free and we got to tour the museum. We were able to get there before school let out, so we pretty much had the museum to ourselves. Even though Ella was on her best behavior, it was still nice to know she wouldn’t be bothering anyone. She loved naming all of the stuffed animals that she knew and learned a few more.They also had a farm outside of the museum with sheep, pigs, and chickens. They had old barns and houses that were gorgeous! I love old stuff. It was a great opportunity to talk about how things were done before we had electricity and how a farm was run. What we did in the art room is stuff you can do at home with your child. Instead of using paint brushes, we used non-toxic washable paint pens to decorate the pumpkins. This is less messy and the paint dried in a minute. Invite a few friends over and decorate your pumpkins together. Better yet, take your child with a couple of their friends to a pumpkin patch and pick your own pumpkin! This will teach your preschooler how things are grown and harvested. I’m hoping the weather will cooperate this week so we can finally go!The leaf art was really easy. Take a leaf and put it between 2 pieces of paper. Unwrap a crayon and have your child gently rub the crayon on the paper. You will get a cool leaf print! If you’d like to get more creative, melt a brown, red, orange, and yellow crayon separately and pour in a small square container. Note-if you melt them all together at once, you will get 1 color. After it dries, pop out the new crayon and have them use that to get the leaf imprint. The fall colors mixed make the leaf more festive.Luckily Charlotte has tons of things to go do daily for preschoolers and most are free. There are also homeschool communities in your area that you can contact for events and socialization.

I’m sure everyone has heard of Alex Toys. They’ve won over 250 awards for their fabulous products and can be found on shelves worldwide. In 1986, they began their company selling children’s arts and craft supplies. Recently Alex Toys has realized the demand for Eco-friendly products and has designed a new line of educational toys using recycled paperboard and printed with soy ink and water based varnishes.

Homeschooling a preschooler is quite different than homeschooling a second grader. Preschoolers have limited attention spans and aren’t going to sit there and listen to a lecture about their ABC’s or how to count. From what I’ve read, pressuring a preschooler to learn will cause them to show less enthusiasm. So if you choose to homeschool your preschooler, you need to make it fun, laid back and follow your child’s lead. If they start to lose interest then switch to something else. Set small goals of what you’d like to accomplish that day and keep the activities short. Remember they can be spread out throughout the day and don’t have to be crammed together.

We got to review the Monsters Play All Day Eco-friendly set from Alex Toys and it’s been a huge hit in my house. The set comes with the Moody Monsters Matching Set, Cards, and Memory Game. So how are these games educational? They teach early math skills and logic. I’m going to talk about each game so you can see how.

The Mix and Match Puzzle Game has 4 monster cards where you can match monster parts to the body. For beginners you can just lay down the cards and have your preschooler match the heads, bodies and legs. This promotes logical thinking for turning the pieces in the correct direction- like the legs and arms and they have to match the patterns and colors. Once your child masters this you can make a game out of it. Each person gets a card and you take turns turning over pieces to see who can build their monster first. Ella loves to match anything, so this has kept her occupied for hours. Yes, hours.The Memory Game is awesome! This was my favorite game as a child so I was really excited to play with Ella. When we first got our set, I laid them all face up and had Ella match the cards to get familiar with them. This was great for working with colors and having her focus on the backgrounds to find the pair. Each card has a monster face with an emotion on different backgrounds. They are all fun colors and silly designs with the emotions written on the cards. After Ella got used to the game, we started out with 6 cards and turned them face down and she got it! Over the past week we’ve gone up to 12 cards.The Playing Cards can be used for numerous activities. The first game we played was Slap Jack. This was tons of fun and Ella enjoyed smacking the Jacks. When we would turn over a new card we would say what the number was, count the shapes and talk about the colors. They are large, child sized cards and come with fun Monster game instructions. We haven’t tried the Monster games yet, but I want Ella to become more familiar with the cards before we try so she doesn’t get overwhelmed.

Ella has truly enjoyed playing all of the games. The awesome part is that she’s learning important concepts without being forced. This set has won the Preferred Choice award by Creative Child Magazine.

Want one? You can purchase the Monsters Play All Day set from Alex Toys online or a toy store near you for only $34.99!

The Giveaway: Alex Toys would like to offer 1 lucky winner a Monsters Play All Day Set!
Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST October 20, 2009 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US.

2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter, or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar) You must verify and be active at the time of the giveaway- those who are unverified will become disqualified

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post (1 extra entry total)
6. Become a fan of Alex Toys on Facebook
7. Follow Alex Toys on Twitter
8. Enter Alex Toys Ready, Set, Create contest for a chance to win free art supplies by October 15 (5 extra entries) details below and on their FB page
9. Grab my Homeschool your Preschooler Week button

The Alex Toys Ready, Set, Create contest:
Mom, we want to know: How do you encourage your preschooler’s creativity? Send us 1-2 paragraphs about how you create an environment that stimulates your child’s artistic imagination.

Tot: The proof’s in the pudding! We’d like to see some original artwork by you that illustrates just what mom does to let your creative genius shine. Ask your mom to scan or photograph an art piece of yours. Whether it’s a crayon-drawn masterpiece or modeling clay extravaganza, it’s up to you!
The winning teams will be chosen by the ALEX Toys Arts & Crafts Panel.
The art submissions from all winners will be displayed on the ALEX Toys website (www.alextoys.com)
The deadline to enter is October 15, 2009. Winners will be announced by October 25th.
Bragging rights included. To enter:

– Become a Fan of ALEX Toys on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alextoys
-Send a single email to contest@alextoys.com with a .jpg of your tot’s artwork and your 1-2 paragraph submission.

The photo may be attached but your submission should be included in the body of the email with your full name, child’s first name and age, email address and phone number. Children ages 3-5 are eligible for this contest. Mom’s age may vary.

Thanks for the support on the Homeschool Your Preschooler Week! I have some catching up to do tonight, but I promise this week will be filled with fun ideas!