Category: Back to School 2017

Back to School 2017, Education, Gift Guides, Kids

Technology Learning with Marbotic Letters and Numbers

Erin Sluka

This feature is in partnership of Marbotics. Product sent for feature

Technology Learning with Marbotic Letters and Numbers

It is almost that bittersweet time. You looked ahead and wondered about the days your child will start school and here you are dreading those hours of sending them off with a backpack and lunchbox to learn all day. Will they be ok without naps in their own bed? Will they make friends? Will they meltdown at drop off? Will they adjust from their daycare to preschool and kindergarten ok? It is such a fun memory to make as they start school but that first attempt at letting them go as Mom and Dad. Let’s make sure they are prepared to learn! Let’s give them one less stressor to deal with and we can do that with Marbotic.

All you need is an iPad or a compatible Samsung Tablet and some free apps to download to make this learning at home start now. There are 3 sets to choose from – the full kit, letters or numbers. I have the Marbotic Smart Letters set. It comes with 26 letters and there are 3 letter games I can download for multiple ways to learn with letters and at all learning levels.

Includes 26 wooden letters and 3 different ‘Smart Letters’ educational apps`(available for free download). It is made to educate given that it was designed by education experts and teachers, crafted with quality materials, and inspired by the Montessori method. They will take traditional wood blocks and combine them with technology for play that teaches. 

I’d love for you to see it in action so here is the product video below. I have a 3 year old nephew who will get this set and he can learn all year before next years preschool days hit him. It is fun, even my 9 year old was caught sitting at the iPad placing letters on the screen and watching characters come move and teach.

The Marbotic sets are available in the US now on Amazon. Get yours today and start learning so they can start school prepared and with confidence. It’s a hard day for them too so let’s send them off ready to learn more!

Back to School 2017, College Bound, Gift Guides

School Supplies – Back to School with Bic

Erin Sluka

Thank you Bic for partnering and offering feature samples

School Supplies - Back to School with Bic

Aisles and aisles of pens and pencils. How do you choose? Your back to school list could be narrowed down by a school supply list sent for your child’s class or printed off college websites as a tool. But when it says pens and pencils there seems like so many of them. I am featuring Bic because I want to take just one brand and highlight some popular product so you can pick up the supplies that will be right for you before you even get to the store. Hopefully, this makes school supply shopping day go a bit quicker for you.

My son is heading into grade 4 and his supply list has common items like pens, pencils, glue sticks, scissors and I noticed that for the glue sticks and scissors they listed specific brands. In parentheses it said that these were ‘preferred’ brands because they are known to hold together and work best. The brand can mean all the difference. If I choose a generic brand I am buying the item again and sometimes a few times over in one school year so it really doesn’t save me in the end.

Bic is a trusted name and we have a son in college who specifically requests the Bic mechanical pencils. He has requested these since the middle of High School because he says they write better and last longer than other brands so Bic is always my brand I go to first. Above is the Bic Velocity Max Mechanical Pencils. These pencils have a wider eraser and a smoother, darker writing than the standard series.

Our youngest has had the Bic Marking set for well over a year now and they are still all together and write great. I love that this packaging doubles as a holding case. The color choices are great too. We are never left unable to find a shade we need. This set comes in fine point or ultra fine point.

Bic Gel-ocity pens. That is fun to say! These are retractable gel pens that dry extra fast and with minimal to no smearing. I love the fun colors too.

These Bic Intensity fine point pens are great for school projects. The ones I have are the Fineliner set. They work great for drafting and marking.

They write so smooth and with one child heading back to College these are great for him to have.

How convenient is the Bic 4 color Pen + Pencil? I attend blog conferences and meetings for the school and having 1 writing device that is a pencil + all 3 pen colors I would need is so fantastic to have on hand. It gives you a pencil with extra lead, eraser, red pen, black pen and blue pen all with a simple click to choose.

Another option for pens is the Bic Soft Feel varieties. These have such a comfortable and smooth grip. This makes writing much easier when you have to take a lot of notes. If your child will write essays or a lot at once, these are a fantastic item for their comfort.

So head on out and look for the yellow Bic packs for the pencils, pens and markers that you need for the back to school shopping chore you have. Follow Bic Pens on Facebook and Twitter to keep yourself updated o what is new and what is on promotion.

Back to School 2017, Food, Giveaways, Natural Foods

Busy Moms Meal – StarKist Tuna & Salmon Creations #Giveaway

Erin Sluka

Thank you StarKist for partnering for this feature and sending product

It will be here before we know it! Back to school 2017 will be just as busy and hectic to a new adjustment as the previous years. It is a bittersweet time of year. We enjoyed family time over the summer but long for them to be in school a few hours a day again where they are learning and growing with their peers.

In my home back to school also comes at soccer season. From days of running around the neighborhood until sun down late at night to school, practice and shorter days is an adjustment. Some nights we have very little time between school and practice so we need easy and quick meals. Although we still have warm weather in September we are not quick to go to hot soups and subs quite yet. We still want cold sandwiches and salads. Tuna is a great protein choice for those busy bodies.

StarKist Tuna and Salmon Creation pouches make dinner so easy. These are even flavored in some of the varieties so you don’t even have to open that spice cupboard. Just mix with your favorite sauce like mayo, mustard or I like to add a bit of dill pickle juice from the jar as well as some chopped pickle for a crunch. If I don’t have pickles I will use cashews because to me, a cold tuna sandwich is so much better with that crunch. Add fresh romaine lettuce and some fruit on the side and dinner is done.

[bctt tweet=”It’s an @starkistcharlie #giveaway. Enter to win some Tuna & salmon Creations pouches. Ends 7/24″ username=”3sonshavei”]

Want to try these for yourself? Look for them at most grocers or you can enter to try and win some. 1 lucky winner will be shipped a variety of StarKist Tuna and salmon Creations pouches. Ends 7/24 and open to US only. Enter below and good luck!

Back to School 2017, Gift Guides, Home, Kids, Moving with Children

Children’s Crazy Carpet Circle Seats – Review

Erin Sluka

Thank you to Koeckritz for product sent for feature. Opinions and story is my own

Children's Crazy Carpet Circle Seats - Review

This has been such a hectic moving week. The movers came Wednesday for our items and they will be stored in a vault until our home build is complete late July. We are in a hotel until then near our new town. If you have recently moved you know about boxes, planning and the cleaning. We were renting where we lived so we really had to deep clean as we left. One of my last tasks was shampooing carpets. I did some shampoo where I could so that after the movers came I would just have the few spots under big furniture on the last day. That was a huge time saver.

We had a huge yard sale weeks ago and sold a lot of our older furniture including the dining table. Then I went to shampoo the carpets where our son has to sit and eat. That was pretty nerve wrecking. I am handing him cereal and soups over a nice clean carpet with stern instructions on being careful. Then my carpet circles arrived!

Koeckritz has brilliantly turned the soft cut pile – Polyester Filament Fiber into seats and in my case, floor savers! Initially I thought about my Mom’s classroom when I knew they were coming. But, when I was standing on clean carpets with lunch warming up and the doorbell rings to some boxes. The carpet circles I opened up turned on a light bulb, “Wait! Anthony, I have something to put under that chicken bowl!”

There is no way liquid would meet my fresh carpet even with a spill over this rug circle. These do make great sitting circles for classrooms, daycares and even churches, but are also great at home. As a 2nd grade teacher my Mom says, “these would be great to keep the kids more still… to give them special floor spots that are much more comfortable than the floor we use at reading and activity time”. As a Mom I thought, “how great for sleep overs when a movie is on. The kids can sit on these instead of the hard floor or can use them like placemats to save my carpets”.

No matter how you see a use for these they are built to last. They are made in the USA and the edges are sewn with fabric tape so they should not fray. There are a few sizes and colors to choose from and you can buy 1 or a set of 6 that saves you if you buy the bulk.

You can find the Children’s Crazy Carpet Circle Seats online. Want to save? You can use the code: blog17 to save 15% on your entire order (excluding clearance).

How would you use your carpet circles?