The Good Stuff Guide » Gear

Geography 101

Sarah Farthing — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:45:38 +0000

Written by Contributing Writer, Sarah Farthing

World geography is not just for elementary school anymore! Preschoolers are ready, and often eager, to learn about the world… the whole wide world! We moved into a new house when our boys were 3 and it was the perfect time to explore their natural interest in geography.

I started in the bathroom:

This shower curtain from Target is fantastic! Not only can I tell at a glance if entire bottles of Mr. Bubbles and body wash are being emptied in lieu of appropriate bathing practices… we can talk about countries and continents in the shower, while we dry off and when we brush our teeth! I also love these colors and the bathroom is so bright and fun with orange, lime green and bright blue towels. Win-win!

The shower curtain went over so well that I had some maps my brother and sister-in-law gave our boys mounted so they wouldn’t curl up on us as we explored our world. Conveniently, the maps slide right behind our couch for storage when we’re not looking at them. Every time a new or different part of the world is mentioned in a book, song or movie- the boys race to pull out the maps!

I got this idea from Kid World Citizen for the My Place in the World project. I did modify it slightly: I printed images for my kids to glue and we didn’t stop at ‘My Planet’ (how could we?), we added our galaxy and the universe! What a great visual this is to help kids understand the relationship between cities, states, countries, continents… I just loved this idea!

How do you teach geography to your adorables?

One Brilliant Hamper for Boys…

Heidi Farmer — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:40:40 +0000

This little baby is a wonder!

Some genius somewhere simply added a backboard to a pop-up hamper

and instantaneously, there are NO MORE dirty clothes on the floor anywhere.

I mean ANYWHERE.

My boy adorables shoot them in immediately.

Here’s my confession: *Sometimes I even get a wee-bit annoyed when they pull their clothes out to re-shoot them.

Then I remember a time when the floor was strewn with clothes and I smack myself.

All this brilliance for $9.99 at Target: Circo Blue Spiral Pop Up Hamper

(They seem to be out of stock online, but if you plug in your zip code, you can find them in stores near you. Here’s hoping they restock immediately!)

{Giveaway} Donors Choose.org

Heidi Farmer — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:22:26 +0000

This giveaway was such a favorite of mine – and we were able to fund 2 great school projects – that we’re doing it again!

With all the hype on Back-to-School (The Good Stuff Guide included!), it’s easy to forget the thousands of adorables who won’t be bringing new crayons, markers, and backpacks to school.

So today our “winners” are going to be those adorables.

I need you to meet DonorsChoose.org

Donors Choose.org is a highly-rated 501(c)(3) Not-for-profit which pairs helpful people with needy classrooms. You can find classrooms to help by a specific subject area, by state (even by city), or by urgency of need.

“Giveaway”

The Good Stuff Guide will donate $50 + $1 for every comment entered by Tuesday, September ~~13th~~ for a maximum of $200 to DonorsChoose.org. The “winner” gets to choose the state where the money will be sent, and has the option to choose the specific classroom (high poverty classrooms only please). UPDATE: I will extend this to Friday, Sept 23rd and may be tempted to go to $300 donation if there are tons of comments to support it. Please read through the comments and support these schools!!

Because I just LOVE comments, here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!

2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is. We’d love to have them join us!

3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (We LIKE you too!)

4. “Share” any recent post from The Good Stuff Guide on your Facebook wall by clicking ‘Share’ under our Facebook posts with links to The Good Stuff Guide site. This makes a visit to our site just a click away for all your Facebook friends – the more the merrier…

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 5 entries!)

So, yes, each of you can be responsible for $5 going towards DonorsChoose.org. In fact, I’d be thrilled!

And please visit DonorsChoose.org to see what classrooms have need of in your area, or nationwide. Every little bit helps! You can donate in any amount.

Hopefully through our efforts, lots of adorables will become winners today!

Happy Green Baby

Heidi Farmer — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:13:03 +0000

Making the world a greener place – one baby at a time.

It is amazing to me how rapidly the world of infant supplies, clothing and toys changes and advances. How is it possible that my children are not even in kindergarten yet and I can look around and think “Wow, they didn’t have that when my kids were little!”

It’s not easy to keep up but baby showers and first birthdays will keep coming! Luckily, I found a great website to help me stay on top of things: www.happygreenbaby.com

Here is a condensed description of Happy Green Baby from the website:

“HappyGreenBaby is an online baby boutique featuring the best in eco-friendly and sustainably produced baby clothes and baby gear. We handpick specialty organic baby and natural baby products from top quality brands, all with a commitment to lessening impact on the environment.”

I encourage you to peruse this site, there are some great products and they make good on their intention to be “a single place to shop for hip, eco-friendly baby gear that fit our friends’ styles…filled with only the freshest baby clothes, gear and accessories from brands that are dedicated to using organic, sustainable or eco-friendly manufacturing practices.”

Happy Green Baby really does make it easier for you to discover eco-friendly options for your friends and your family, and, best of all, you and your baby!

Happy Green Baby is so excited to have The Good Stuff Guide readers as customers that they are offering you 20% off their products for the entire month of September! Enter this code: GSG20 to receive your 20% discount when you check out… happy shopping!!

{Giveaway} Back-to-School: Talkatoo

Heidi Farmer — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:46:42 +0000

I love, love, LOVE today’s Giveaway!

Developed by a mom (yeah!) for sending special voice messages to her adorable at school, this Talkatoo is clearly a winner:

Available as either a clip or a pendant in each of these adorable designs:

Here’s how it works:

30 seconds of recording time
Unlimited re-recording
Lock-out switch protects messages
Clip for hooking to backpacks, lunchboxes, belt loops, etc.
Replaceable button cell battery
High gloss, scratch resistant ink graphics, applied to both sides of pendant
Meets or exceeds ASTM Toy Safety Standard F963

I must confess that I’m terrible at remembering to include sweet little notes in my adorable’s lunchboxes, (and ahem, only 1 can read), so I think this is much better!

And if you weren’t already sold, get a load of this…

“You’re helping to make a difference in a child’s life. For every Talkatoo™ you buy on this website, we will donate a Talkatoo™ to K.I.D.S. (Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc). K.I.D.S., in cooperation with Operation Homefront, will forward donations of talkatoo products to children with a parent serving abroad in our military. These children struggle with separation and face significant challenges and stress. Thanks to your support we can bring these children a smile, some warmth, or make their day a little brighter.”

In addition, the kind folks at Talkatoo have provided a coupon code: use GSG1115 for 15% off, before September 15th.

Giveaway

You can win one Talkatoo of your choice ($16.95) just by leaving a comment by Tuesday, August 16th and I’ll choose the winner using Random.org on Wednesday, the 17th.

Because I just LOVE comments, here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!

2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is. We’d love to have them join us!

3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 5 entries!)

Good luck!

{Giveaway} Back-to-School: yubo lunchbox

Heidi Farmer — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:06:31 +0000

Are you quaking in your boots yet?

Or your flip-flops since its 95 degrees outside?

For our first day you need to meet the yubo deluxe lunchbox system:

This cute little lunchbox packs quite the little engineering feat:

You snap off the lid and inside these food storage containers and an ice pack fit perfectly.

You can customize and change out the faceplates – even monogram it too! The food containers also come in different sizes, so you can create your storage container puzzle any which way you’d like.

And this is just for fun:

That’s Jennifer Garner and her daughter Violet with her yubo…

Giveaway

You can win one yubo lunchbox ($30) just by leaving a comment by Tuesday, August 16th and I’ll choose the winner using Random.org on Wednesday, the 17th.

Because I just LOVE comments, here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!

2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is. We’d love to have them join us!

3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 5 entries!)

Good luck!

{Giveaway} Back-to-School: Mabel’s Labels

Heidi Farmer — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:27:58 +0000

Howdy folks!

This Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, you are in for a special Back-to-School treat – Giveaways every day!

First up:

Meet the Mabel’s Labels Ultimate Back-t0-School Combo Pack!

If your adorable is prone to lose things, these handy personalized labels will save your sanity.

The pack includes:

* 50 Tag Mates – washer and dryer safe for clothes

* 40 Skinny-Minis – dishwasher and microwave safe

* 16 Shoe Labels – waterproof and UV resistant

* 2 Teeny Tags – waterproof and UV resistant

* Comes in 6 color combos including this one:

And if you’re wondering if these really stay “stuck”, I placed these on my sippy-cups about 2 years ago, and, by golly, through uncountable dishwasher runs (and we have a really hot one!), they look just as they did the day I stuck them. Scout’s honor!

Giveaway

You can win one Colourful Ultimate Back-to-School Combo Pack ($42) customized for your adorable just by leaving a comment by Tuesday, August 16th and I’ll choose the winner using Random.org on Wednesday, the 17th.

Because I just LOVE comments, here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!

2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is. We’d love to have them join us!

3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 5 entries!)

Good luck!

And many thanks to Mabel’s Labels for this awesome giveaway!

{Giveaway} Ring the Bell

Heidi Farmer — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 08:26:32 +0000

For all of you working on Summer Reading logs, I thought today’s giveaway was perfect!

Meet the Ring The Bell Electronic Goal Tracker from Educational Insights:

My elder adorable was psyched when we opened this to chart his books and hear the bell. And I say anything that makes racking up books fun is a HIT in my book!

(FYI, I can’t for the life of me find here at the cottage the little screwdriver necessary to open the batteries. I need my little pink toolkit safely home in CT. A trip to Ace hardware tomorrow!)

The dry-erase area alongside the tracker makes it easy to count in any quantity you choose. We’re currently working on 20 Early Readers at a time for a little prize, so I can set 5-book markers and move the gauge between to show his progress.

Teachers – I can think of TONS of other uses for this in the classroom. What are yours??

Giveaway

One lucky, lucky winner can win a Ring The Bell Electronic Goal Tracker from Educational Insights ($32.99) simply by leaving a comment by Tuesday, July 26th. I’ll choose the winner using Random.org and announce it on Wednesday.

Because I just LOVE comments, here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!

2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is. We’d love to have them join us!

3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 5 entries!)

In other news, we had 2 amazing things happen in rapid succession..

My elder adorable lost a front tooth whilst tubing. (Scary for me, but he was just fine!)

And he got up on water-skis and skiied more than halfway around the lake!

My younger adorable was geeked for him.

A little too much excitement for this mommy!

{Giveaway} Firefly Toothbrushes

Heidi Farmer — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:20:06 +0000

Happy Wednesday!

Yesterday we had an interesting one:

My younger adorable decided he didn’t want to get into the boat…

and instead took off swimming across the lake towards home.

He’s stubborn, that one. It took many minutes – and the Running Man jumping into the water – to convince him to rejoin us.

I’m going to have to think on that one…

Today’s giveaway is from Firefly Toothbrushes:

You get 6 light-up timer character toothbrushes that dazzle, delight and defend against cavities. The family includes the ORIGINAL colorful and sparkly FIREFLY, BABY FIREFLY, or indulge your kid’s passion for dolls, cars, cartoons or comics with BARBIE, HOT WHEELS, SPIDER-MAN and the new PEANUTS models. Each lights up at the touch of a button and flashes for one minute – the time dentists say is needed to thoroughly brush each row of teeth.

These are a hit with my adorables! And that’s saying a LOT in the teeth department.

Giveaway

One lucky, lucky winner can win Firefly Toothbrushes simply by leaving a comment by Tuesday, July 12th. I’ll choose the winner using Random.org and announce it on Wednesday.

Because I just LOVE comments, here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!

2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is. We’d love to have them join us!

3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 5 entries!)

Melissa & Doug Trunki Winner!

Heidi Farmer — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:16:02 +0000

And the winner of the Melissa & Doug Trunki

was

#38 Patricia!

Congrats!!

If you were not the lucky winner, you can find the Melissa & Doug Trunki in your choice of blue, green, orange, pink or purple for around $28 on Amazon.

(Inexplicably, the choice of colors determines the price between $27 and $29. I still found this to be the best price by about $10 around…)

Have a fabulous weekend!