Personalize It

I am one of those people who are naturally drawn to anything I can personalize, so imagine when I came across http://www.fontianemaury.com/. They have a wonderful assortment of unique personalized items inlcuding water bottles and plates! I love the plates because I think they are a great idea for parties or other gatherings. They are also BPA free, so your mind can rest at ease. They range from around $23.00 a piece and are great gifts!

Sight Word Success

Once your kids hit grade school, they need to learn site words . Fry's site words are the group of words most found in the English language. Once your child masters these, reading is much easier. I found this game that makes learning Fry's sight words easy and fun. You can find it for $14.95 from http://www.fishforwords.com/. What a great way to make your child a successful reader.

Coordinating Fun

I saw my daughter using this puzzle at school and though it was ingenious. Children pull the magnetic beads along the maze with a magnetic stick to the coordinating animals belly- yellow beads go into the yellow animal. Not only does it teach them about sorting and colors but also hand eye coordination as they have to focus to move the beads along. You can find it at http://www.outofthetoybox.com/ for only $14.99

Birthday Memories

For a recent birthday, I bought one of my favorite little boys this Birthday Book from http://www.chasing-fireflies.com/. It is extra special becuase it logs memories from each birthday up until the age of 18. You log favorite things of the year, nicknames and other musings. What a great keep-sake and at only $20.00 it is a gift that will continue giving year after year.

Locker Chic

When our Kindergartner moved into First Grade, she had her own locker for the first time. As a nice surprise we bought her this locker mirror and shelf from http://www.potterybarnteen.com/ for $19.99- and they come in boy and girl patterns. Although you may think that Pottery Barn Teen is only for older children they have a lot of great school accessories for your school aged children. Check it out.

Publish Your Own Book

Titatok.com is a neat site that I stumbled across while looking for a cool party favor for my child's upcoming party. On this site, children can write their own books including illustrations and have a softcopy printed for $10.00 and hardcopies for $20.00. They can also upload their books and have them posted or other people can order copies (don't worry, on the site children are not allowed to use names, only nicknames are attributed to them unless parents purchase the books themselves). What a creative gift to give your child! As for us, my daughter is going to write a book and we are going to order copies to give to her friends as party favors for her sleep over party- each girl will be a character in the book.

Kindergarten Prep

Its Fall and time to drop off those little ones for their first day of school.... Along with the anxiety of having them in a new enviroment is wondering if they are ready for Kindergarten. Let's Tackle Kindergarten is a wonderful way for you to begin Kindergarten prep or work with them after school. The kit comes with many tactile toys that help them learn and a scorecard to keep you on track. You can find it at http://www.learningresources.com/ for $44.99. Its also a great way to start prep for your kids who will begin school next year.

Lunch Chic

I love the Fuel line of thermoses and containers. They come in a range of sizes including for drinks, food containers and utensils. They are designed to keep foods hot and cold which is a god send for the school year when you are trying to make healthy lunches for your little one. I found mine at my local New Flower Market but you can also find the line at www.chefcentral .com. They are also reasonably priced under $10.00.