While we love exploring and checking out the amazing attractions in Westchester, we will also be venturing out a bunch of adventures with the kids including a 16 road trip!?! We have been doing these long trips for a few years now so they are getting better about the distance, but they are still kids and get bored/tired/hungry during this epic journey. Here is a collection of a few summer essentials that I’m excited to share with them along the way on the road as well as some products that I’m excited to have around when we want to have some ‘chill time’ at home:
Summer Essentials We are Digging
Learn to Read with BOB BOOKS and VersaTiles series: My four-year-old can’t get enough of the Learn to Read with BOB BOOKS series. As a budding reader, she is soaking up every letter and trying to put it all together, which is incredible to watch as she gets ready for kindergarten in the fall. The Learn to Read with BOB BOOKS and VersaTiles series is a great companion to her excitement and learning that features a fun puzzle-like way to practice reading! Designed for ages 3-6, each kit comes with 10-12 Bob Books per set for three different levels: Beginning Readers, Advancing Beginners, and Sight Words. The set comes with a VersaTiles workbook where children can practice the skills using simple pattern puzzles, which creates shapes as they build their reading skills. Compact for the car, eating out and time at home.
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020: We love the National Geographic series, and they just released the latest version! National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 is packed with tons of fun facts, pictures, interviews with renowned explorers, a special look at what was going on in the world when the first National Geographic Kids Almanac came out 10 years ago, plus the results of the 2019 Almanac Challenge — Lions Forever Poster Contest — and a new challenge for kids who want to get involved with helping our planet. It is also the 10th anniversary edition of the almanac that kids of all ages will love soaking in the imagery and facts, crafts and fascinating features about animals, science, nature, technology, conservation and more. The book also features games, activities, quizzes, comics, resources, including homework help and fast facts and maps of every country, pop culture, cool technology, extreme exploration, favorites like the “Cutest Animals of 2020!” section. Additionally, National Geographic Kids wants kids to inspire young readers to be the change they want to see in the world around them, encouraging them to become more involved environmentally, socially and in other ways. This includes the launch of the 20/20 Visionary Challenge, asking readers to imagine the world 10 years from now and to picture a positive change, invention or discovery they’d like to see become reality. And as a special way to celebrate the 10th anniversary edition of the Almanac, Nat Geo is hosting a Summer on the Go Almanac 2020 Grand Prize Giveaway where one lucky winner can win a GO-PRO! Check out the giveaway to enter to win!
1-2-3 Predators Bite! Books are always a good idea no matter what season. The latest picture, created in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History, offers a great way for kids to learn their numbers while also learning more about predators. Through the beautifully illustrated book, kids count along as a rattlesnake takes ONE die-cut bite, a toothy tiger takes TWO, and an eagle swoops down for THREE. Simple facts about each predator appear in the back matter, and a final spread reinforces counting skills with one last 1-10 list of different hidden elements in the illustrations! Explore the science behind magnetism. Use real lab tools and materials to perform amazing experiments and experience what it’s like to think like a scientist or an engineer. Become an expert in all things magnetic. The fact-filled guide is chock-full of pictures and information needed for hours of experimentation in your own home laboratory!
STEM at Play MAGNETS! Super Experiment Kit: Another fun kit from Hands2Hands is the STEM at Play MAGNETS! Super Kit Experiment Kit where kids can learn some fun science concepts through hands-on activities, making learning engaging and fun during the summer months. This packed kit includes nine experiments where kids can learn through purposeful science-based play featuring activities with magnets, movement, and more. Some favorites included using magnetic levitation to move trains, creating a compass, and floating magnets, to name a few favorites.
20 Recipes Kids Should Know: Budding chefs will love honing in on their skills with the guidance from the new book, 20 Recipes Kids Should Know. Written by Esme Washburn and photographer Calista Washburn, this fun and engaging cookbook features 20 classic recipes that are fun, healthy, adaptable, and easy to prepare. From banana bread and the perfect grilled cheese to breaded chicken and apple pie, each recipe is written in a clear, accessible style that young cooks of every level will be able to follow. The author is a young chef whose love of cooking developed from her own family’s food traditions like baking popovers with her grandmother and Sunday-night pizza making. By teaching kids basic recipes that can be adapted in endless ways, this book is the perfect intro for kids to get cooking in the kitchen as they learn the basics and develop a deep appreciation in skill in the kitchen.
Boxy Girls: For portable toys, we have been digging Boxy Girls Season 2 featuring mini dolls that love to unbox and shop online. This includes the addition of new friends, Hazel, Hannah, Mila, and Kiki, who all come with brand new clothes and fashion accessories and five online shipping boxes. They also have Boxy Girls Pets featuring six animals to collect – Stripes (a cat belonging to Stevie), LuLu (a monkey belonging to Everly), Fluffy (a bunny belonging to Riley), Violet (a bird belonging to Nomi), Yummies (a hamster belonging to Willa) and Buttons (a dog belonging to Brooklyn)—all of which come with two mystery shipping boxes with fun pet surprises.
Zing’s Bubbles: Bubbles will always be a hit with my kiddos, no matter what age they may be, so I was thrilled to learn more about Zing’s Glove-A-Bubbles and Wave-a-Bubbles. Through this fun system, kids can churn out bubbles using their hands. The two-part system comes with a bubble bag and super-sized gloves where kids can dip their hands into the solution, and then wave it around. While the bubbles are super fun, so are the super-sized gloves that feature various characters themes, such as a mermaid, dino, bird, and a frog for Wave-A-Bubbles, and a cheetah, parrot, fox, penguin and more for Glove-A-Bubbles.
We received some products for review; all opinions, as always, are our own.
