The beauty of it all

Enjoying the Summer: Tips for Parents with Children with Autism

Summer

School is out, and unlike most other children who are excited and happy to be able to sleep in, and play all day, your child is anxious and upset. I have had many parents ask me what they can do to help their child ease into the summer without causing them anxiety, break downs, and high stress. Here are some tips that I have shared with my student’s parents through the years.

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Storyland Yoga: Yoga for Kids and Families Review & Giveaway

Storyland Yoga
With the way society is today, our children need to learn ways to stay healthy both physically and emotionally. As adults we need time outs to recharge so that we can do what we do everyday. Children are the same. We cannot push them, provide no outlet for recharging and expect them to excel in it all. As a teacher, I have met many children who are drained and exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. We see these kids break down and fall apart, sometimes hurting themselves in the process. It is heartbreaking. We need to provide children with opportunities to relax. Yoga helps children learn to be one with themselves and their bodies. It also provides them with calm quiet time that is away from the hustle and bustle of our busy life filled with technology. It is also a great way to teach children to care for their bodies, mind, and soul.

Storyland Yoga teaches children simple yoga poses through two stories. The stories allows children to use their imaginations as they take on poses of different scenes in the story and each story also provides an eco-conscious message. Storyland Yoga is recommended for children ages 3-8 and has won 4 national awards: Parent’s Choice, Mom’s Choice Gold, Dr. Toy’s Best Green Product, and Creative Child Magazine’s Preferred Choice. I was very excited to review this with my class. Go here to learn more about StoryLand Yoga.

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Signing Time On Demand Review

Signing Time On Demand
Has your baby or toddler throw a tantrum because you could not understand what they wanted or were trying to tell you? As human beings we all have a need and desire to communicate. We communicate our needs, wants, feelings etc. Very young children have the same need to communicate as well. However, because they are still learning to do so, they often get frustrated and angry. Heard of the terrible twos? It’s not just your toddler trying to test boundaries but also trying to communicate more with you.

In my classroom, I use simple sign language with my non verbal students. We also use a lot of picture communication tools. I have had friends and co-workers who have used sign language with their typically developing children at a very young age and have found that they have less tantrums. There are lots of baby signing programs out there and they all teach the basic signs that your child will need to communicate their needs and wants. Signing Time On Demand is similar but different.

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Running Out? Run In to Publix + Giveaway

Publix Running Out? Run In Logo
I try my best to anticipate when I will run out of items, but many times I have found myself in an empty situation.. the empty bowl of sugar, empty cereal box, empty coke carton… the list goes on. Publix has always been my go to for groceries and is always my run to store when I run out.

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Snikiddy Giveaway – 3 Winners

Snikiddy is a healthy snack alternative that is all natural and free of preservatives. Read my review of their Mac n’ Cheese Puffs here. You can now have a chance to try Snikiddy yourself.

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Lenovo Speakers: Small but POWERFUL!

This post brought to you by Lenovo. All opinions are 100% mine.

I use a CD player in my classroom and am getting more and more frustrated with scratched up CDs that no longer play. I have taken to using my iPhone and loading music for my student’s on it. The only problem is that I do not have proper speakers for it and even turning it up does not really have as much of an impact. My students love to get up and move, and especially on rainy days, it gets their energy out.

The Lenovo speaker M0620 is a 2.0 speaker system. It includes the main speaker which has built in amplifiers and a sub speaker. The speaker itself is small in size bus it able to provide quality sound. The Lenovo speaker can be used with your laptop, dektop, and even your smartphone or MP3 player. This is perfect if you need good quality sound on the go, without lugging around bulky and heavy speakers. And one of it’s best feature is that it actually looks good.

The features and benefits of the Lenovo Speaker M0620 includes:

4 watts of power for high-quality full sound.
a convenient USB-powered connection that has energy saving functions.
Speaker wire spools for easy storage.
Elgant yet substantial presentation.

These speakers would be perfect for my classroom. I won’t need to purchase an expensive docking station. With it’s compact size, I also won’t have to worry about space issues. I can simply plug in my phone or mp3 player to the speakers and get them moving and singing.

The Lenovo Speakers will be on sale for $11.99 from today 5/15 to 5/21. This is an awesome price! Check out the Lenovo speaker M0620 website for more information.

Vistaprint: Mommy Must Haves for Cheap

This week Vistaprint is having a sale on 6 of their essential products for $3 or less.

My personal favorite are the 140 personalized address labels for $2 and also get matching note cards for $2. Also on sale are the Mommy Contact Cards. At just $2 for 25, you can share important information about your children with teachers, babysitters and everyone on the playground. Their personalized photo book is on sale for $3 – personalize it with any pictures you want.

Check out the sale here.

Healthy Snacking with Snikiddy

Snikiddy
I confess that I love to snack. I can skip meals just to snack. When I get home from work, one of the first things I want to do is relax with a snack and a diet coke and check my Facebook page. I also know how much junk one can consume with snacks. Salt, high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, fats etc. Like everyone else, I try to make healthy choices for me and my family. But life is short, and giving up snacking is a little too far fetched for me. So the best alternative for me would be healthy snacks.

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Summer Splash Giveaway: Win Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Octopus Chair & Hat

Welcome to Summer Splash hosted by Life With Two Boys, With Our Best, and Bella So Savvy! This event begins on May 14, 2012 at 12:01am EST and will end on May 27, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.
Over 100 blogs have come together to bring you some amazing prizes to help you kick off your summer… with a SPLASH! Each blog is giving away at least $25 worth of prizes, plus we have an awesome grand prize for one very lucky winner. Be sure to hop along to each of the participating blogs because the more giveaways you enter, the more chances you have at winning the Grand Prize!

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iPad May-nia Giveaway

iPad May-nia
We are giving away the latest iPad to one lucky winner!
Bay Area Mommy has partnered with BeeSavy and some awesome bloggers to bring you this exciting giveaway for the most-coveted tablet out in the market!

BeeSavy is your digital personal shopping assistant that pays YOU for serving you! BeeSavy scours the internet to make sure you get the lowest prices on the products you want at the stores YOU love. The best part? BeeSavy gives you cashback on your purchases! Sweet! Check out their site to learn more!

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