Peppa Pig and Zack and Quack 2 DVD giveaway!

Here is another great opportunity to win 2 educationa DVDS for your tot or preschooler!

**Skip Run Learn is not responsible for prize.

Welcome to the Easter giveaway!

Sponsored by Kaboom! Entertainment

Hosted by Kathy's Savings

This giveaway is for the movies Peppa Pig Muddy Puddles and Zack & Quack Popping Hopping Easter. This is for the U.S. only. This giveaway goes from 3/9-3/23. You can enter below for your chance to win. Good luck to everyone.

Entry-Form

Disclosure: Kathy's Savings and all other participating bloggers are not responsible for prize shipment. The giveaway is in no way administered, sponsored, or endorsed by or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or any other social media. The winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is drawn.

Book Giveaway! DLees's Nighttime Scare!

If your little one is anything like mine, then it is simply impossible to have enough books in the house!  My daughter is constantly asking me to read her story after story and "book" is one of her most used signs! I am half convinced that she would be happy with all books and no toys! If you are like me, then the idea of a child who loves books and reading absolutely thrills you! It's win win.  Here is a great book with a great lesson to add to your collection! And best o all you can win a copy free of charge!

**Skip Run Learn is not responsible for prize.

Hosted by It's a Mom Thing Reviews & More

Sponsored by DLee's World

Do your little ones enjoy reading? If they do than we have the perfect giveaway for you, a new book called DLee's Nighttime Scare! In DLee's Nighttime Scare DLee is trying to go to sleep but is afraid because of the spooky eyes she sees in her closet. She calls for her mommy and her mommy explains to her that there is nothing to be afraid of but DLee is still worried. After explaining to her mommy what the monster looks like her mommy turns on the light. Suddenly DLee's cat pops out of the closet!

This book is perfect to help teach little ones not to be scared at night and to help them to learn that things they see in the dark may not be what they seem. 

Enter Below!

DLee's Nighttime Scare Giveaway

My Gym giveaway!!

I am super excited about th a giveaway because of how versatile the products are! There are so many possibilities for activities using these My Gym products, an all are guaranteed to be a hit-not only with my toddler, but with my 8 year old step daughter as well!  

***My Gym is responsible for this giveaway. Skip Run Learn holds no responsibility.

I was provided with products for My Gym in order to write this review. All opinions are my own, thank you!

My Gym!

Established in 1983, My Gym [named #1 Children’s Fitness Franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2014] is a leading fitness center destination for children with over 325 locations worldwide with over 30 new locations planned for addition in the next 12 months.  

Combining innovative, early physical education/pre-gymnastics classes with state-of-the-art facilities My Gym is set to empower children ages 6 weeks through 10 years by helping them acquire the skills, confidence, and positive self-image needed to become healthy young adults, with age appropriate classes and parties to stimulate and educate throughout...

My My Gym experience!

I have 3 biological children and a step son and if there is anything I have learnt over the years it is that getting up off of their butts, off of the computer and engaging their body [and mind] in other ways can sometimes be all the difference between lazy fun-times with a gadget and learning, having fun and staying active with a little imagination and MY GYM!

Well, My Gym children's fitness accessories are a great way to bring life and fun to activities and I was lucky enough to get the chance to try out some bean bags, rubber rings and a ball from them, which, when combined, makes for a fabulous time. 

I first utilised these as an added party game, where each person would have a team, a ring and a bean bag - there were 2 teams in total and the first person in each team would throw the bean bag, get it to land on the hoop and then run over, collect it and then tag the person behind them. Once all members of a team had finished, the game ended and they were the winners!

This game encourages working as a team, hand-eye coordination, active fitness running to and from the ring and patience. This is a simple, fun game for all and perfect for a party setting! 

Another way to get interactive is with the ball - my youngest 2 children (1.5 and 4 years old) like to hold, throw, catch and balance with the ball as well as trying out some of the activities recommended on the My Gym activity list that was included in our review kit! 

Simple activities like rolling a ball, squeezing the ball, raising and lowering the ball etc are all stimulating and great sensory exercises! 

There are so many things you can do with a child and a bean bag, some rubber rings and a ball, and they can have so much fun and not even realise it until it is over!

Here are some great facts that you may like to know!

• My Gym launched their new interactive Building Blocks Program to all enrolled children ages 2.5 years and older. The program helps children work toward specific milestones in their physical, cognitive, and emotional development and then celebrates their achievements with stickers, progression ribbons, medals, trophies, graduation certificates and more in periodic Building Blocks Acknowledgement Ceremonies.  

• The My Gym television show, “My Gym At Home,” airs on BabyFirst, a 24/7 channel focusing on children’s development. 

• There is a My Gym At Home app, which is available for Apple/IOS and for Android devices respectively!

• For more information about My Gym and the location nearest you, please visit www.MyGym.com.

You can also head on over HERE to learn [and buy] more!

Already a fan of My Gym?! Why not let me know and share your thoughts! I'd love to hear from you!

GIVEAWAY!

Enter below to win 2 rings and a ball of your own from My Gym!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Rules: You must be over 18 to enter and in the USA. You will be informed via email if you win and so please use a valid email address (we do not use, sell or supply your email addresses to any other party, these are for contact purposes only!). Winner will have 48 hours to respond to their winning email. A new winner shall be chosen should we not gain response from the original winner - this will continue until a winner is confirmed. Prizes are supplied by the sponsor and and are not the responsibility of Mom's Gone Bronson, nor any other participating blogger. 

Thank you!

GOOD LUCK!

#Disneyside @ Home Party Review

*I received a free party box with goodies from Disney and momselect in exchange for my honest. opinions. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

A while ago I posted about party ideas for toddlers. This past weekend our family finally had our party and it was a blast for everyone involved! A special thanks to disney and momselect for making this all possible! This post focuses on how the party went for my toddler.

For a month leading up to the party, Pumpkin and I enjoyed many Disney books together.  I grew up on Disney, so it always feels so much more special when we read disney books together.

When it was finally time to have our party, I ended up not needing all the activities I had planned from my post with toddler party activities.  Ultimately I ended up picking just a few that I thought my daughter would like best.  We opened up our party with some sit down games-the word search for the older kids and coloring activities for Pumpkin. A quick trip to a local dollar store allowed me to get Pumpkin a brand new coloring book and a pack of 10 jumbo crayons for $2 total! pumpkin LOVED this activity as coloring is a favorite of hers.                                      

After our quiet sit down games, we moved on to "Pin the Smile on Mickey." For this activity, Pumpkin went last. We let her watch as each of us were blindfolded and spun and pinned our smile. Then we spun her around 3x slowly (to feel included) and pointed to Mickey's head. My step daughter ended up winning, but Pumpkin actually did quite well considering I hadn't expected her smile to even make it on Mickey's face!

When it was time for us to all play Bingo, we brought Pumpkin to the table to color again.

Afterwards we moved on to "Snap," a card game that was included in our party pack. Pumpkin, at this age, is more interested in tearing and bending cards than playing a game, so we provided her with a small Disney Princess ball that I purchased for a dollar at our local dollar store. Pumpkin is a HUGE fan of balls so this kept her more than entertained. As we all played Snap, she had a blast throwing and chasing her new ball!

Our activities for Pumpkin may be fairly simple and open ended, but there is no doubt that she had a blast! By the end of the day she was completely exhausted and ready for bed. She enjoyed herself every bit as much as our family and other guests!

*I received a free party box with goodies from Disney and momselect in exchange for my honest. opinions. All opinions expressed are strictly my own. For privacy considerations, only my daughter and step daughter were photographed.

The Parent-Tot Indoor Obstacle Course!

This morning while I was working, I put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for Pumpkin and listened as they talked about obstacle courses. Memories of my childhood love of obstacle courses started playing through my mind until I decided that I was going to pass on the tradition to my 16 month old! So I started thinking about all the supplies I had on hand-toys, art supplies, features of the house and the skills I am working with Pumpkin on and inspiration took hold! Here is a simple obstacle course that parents can do with their toddlers. This course includes fine motor, gross motor, sensory, cause and effect and cognitive experiences all bundled together into a super fun activity that my daughter absolutely loved!

We started the obstacle course on her Minnie Mouse Train ride-on toy and went through the paper towel roll zig zag maze (I knew I was saving those paper towel rolls for a reason).

Next we walked over (or kicked over as Pumpkin decided kicking was more fun) the mega block mini walls.

Then we rode the big blue blanket over the hard wood floors...

...and stopped at the crayons and paper. I was hoping I could get her to draw a line across the paper, but sitting on the paper coloring was more fun. Which works just as well.

After she was done coloring we walked on the pillow balance walk.  This was actually a lot more challenging than it looks for her, but with some help from Mommy's fingers for balance, she got the hang of it!

Then we copied mommy at putting the correct colored peg into the peg boards. She watched me do one and she did the other. Her sorting skills aren't very advanced yet, so I pre -arranged the colors. Plus she was in more of a "running around" mood this morning. Perhaps well do more with obstacle courses another day when she is feeling more calm.

Then we ran to the stairs and crawled up together (Pumpkin has been practicing stair safety for at least 4 months now and is very skilled or I wouldn't have used stairs at all. As it is I allowed this activity only because I was right there the whole time).

At the top of the stairs we found 6 different sizes and textures of balls ready to be thrown down the stairs. I saved what I knew would be Pumpkin's favorite for last. She LOVED this-each ball bounced down the stairs a little differently and throwing toys down stairs usually isn't allowed, so this was an absolute BLAST for her. For added educational benefit I counted the balls as she threw them.

And that's our obstacle course. Pumpkin loved it so much we did it 3 times and had fun each time. Indoor obstacle courses can be a great way to combat winter "stuck inside" boredom. It certainly gave us a break from our usual routine (and I liked that I was able to incorporate several of the skills we have been working on).

What are some of your indoor winter boredome busters?

Cosco Convertable Car Seat Giveaway

Sassy Mom, 2 Spoiled Bratz and Cosco teamed up to bring you a giveaway for one of these awesome car seats!

As moms, we all want our children to be as safe as possible. One of the best ways to keep our children safe in the car is through a good car seat like this one! Car seat laws can vary from state to state, but it is generally recommended that a child stay in a 5 point harness car seat-such as this-until they have outgrown the weight and height requirements of the car seat (at which point they can move to a booster seat). In my state, the youngest a child can be out of a car seat like this is age 4 (unless other size requirements are met). Please protect your little ones! 

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 This giveaway is in no way endorsed, associated or affiliated with Facebook, Twitter

or any other Social Media Networking sites. This giveaway is valid in the Continental

United States and entrant must be 18+ years of age to enter. 

The bloggers promoting and hosting this giveaway is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Cosco will be in charge of that.   

Our Favorite Anthologies

I love to read to my daughter, and my daughter loves to be read to. I often find that the best way to satisfy this growing love of books is with the use of anthologies. Anthologies give more story for my dollar and take up less space. I've also found that my daughter often will go to these books first as well (not always, but at least half the time).  This past month I decided to add to our little book collection. While at the book store, I found this anthology on the bargain table with stories like Courdory and Madeline, as well as a handful of others. I was very disappointed to find that most of the stories were poorly abridged. I understand that anthologies that are 100% unabridged are pretty rare, and that's fine, but if you are going to abridge a story, at least make sure you abridge it in such a way that it can stand as its own story. This book failed miserably at it. For example, the general gist of Madeline was that Madeline had to go to the hospital and stay overnight, so the headmistress lady woke up because something wasn't right, asked the children what was wrong: they were worried about Madeline...so she went back to bed and "that's all there is. There isn't anymore."

Even though my daughter is still quite young, I still require that stories at least make sense in their own. For Madeline to make sense, the headmistress has to offer some sort of words of comfort or wisdom. So I returned the book, and set out on a mission to find a better anthology for our collection. I also developed a deeper appreciation for the anthologies we already have!

If you are looking for some anthologies to read with you children and would like the stories to make sense, here are some of our favorites.

3. The World Treasury of Children's Literature

These two volumes of the World Treasury of Children's Literature contain a great variety of stories, most of which appear to be fairly unabridged. There are not a lot of pictures, but the pictures included are wonderful. These books also have poems and just a great variety of stories in general. In spite of the limited pictures, Pumpkin does indeed enjoy these stories.

2.  Disney Anthologies

I grew up on Disney, so I love reading these to my daughter. The pictures are always amazing, and I love the stories, as does Pumpkin. The anthology that has the original stories are abridged, but they still make sense. Our favorite Disney anthology that we got so far is 5-Minute Snuggle Stories.  In 5-Minute Snuggle Stories all our favorite characters go on new adventures. Since the stories are specifically written for the anthology, they all make sense and nothing feels like it is missing. 

1.  100 Classic Stories

This is our newest addition to our book collection and I am quite happy with it.  As the title suggests it contains classic stories like The Three Little Pigs and The Princess and the Frog, as well as Cimderella and other princess stories. The stories are not original, unabridged but they make sense on their own. Cinderella, for example follows pretty closely with the Disney movie, but leaves out Cinderella being friends with the mice and other of the more minor details. Often the stories are further watered down or contain some sort of moral or karma twist at the end. The prince in Cinderella makes the ugly step sisters do dishes once a week in the palace kitchen, for example. In the Princess and the Frog, the princess does not have to kiss the frog, only be nice to the frog. If you set aside the expectation for the stories to be the true classics, they are fun stories that I have no problem reading to my daughter. I would have preferred the originals, but these stories work well enough for now. Also I find the pictures to only ok-really they aren't bad, but I prefer a different style of picture.