Online - July 20, 2010

The ABC's of Starting School

Grasshopper Preschool Prep Kits

Your kids will find out soon enough that learning’s not all fun and games (thank you, standardized tests). But for now it’s exactly that.

Which is why we’re hopping on board with Grasshopper Preschool Prep Kits. The latest in edutainment for tots, the company was founded by Rachel Rudman, an occupational therapist with a specialty in early intervention. After years of helping families get ready for preschool in creative, low-stress ways, she’s packaged her know-how into easy-to-use kits for parents and kids.

Each one focuses on a different developmental pursuit such as following directions, ABC’s and shapes, and the hand-eye coordination necessary to master scissors and glue. It’s good old-fashioned play-based learning — no assignments or workbooks.

All of the instructions allow for adjustments (easier or harder) based on your child’s abilities. So unlike other early learner products you, er, your child, won’t feel pressure to get it right the first time.

Available online at grasshopperkits.com.

25% off Weil Baby
When we first spied these bottles and sippies we thought good lookin’. But bottles need to do more than look pretty. And these do, thanks to a patented one-piece venting system that helps reduce gas and colic. Enter code DC2010 at checkout; good thru Aug. 22.

Photos: Courtesy of Grasshopper Preschool Prep; Courtesy of Weil Baby

  Educational, Hands On, Mommy and Me