Beltway Bambinos

(re) discover Washington DC through the eyes of your children

DIY Halloween fun at home with Kiwi Co

You’ve seen us post several times about our love for Kiwi Co and the amazing boxes we have ordered. You can order just one box and see which line you like best or subscribe to receive one each month. Boxes range from exciting STEM crafts to a doodle crate and everything in between. I love saving our Kiwi boxes for rainy or cold days. A few boxes my kids have loved are making soap and creating a paint pendulum. You can save $10 by using this link to place an order.

Count popula craft from Kiwi Co

Check out these fun at-home ideas for making Halloween crafts & experiments. My kids are eager to make the 3-D yarn spiderweb. Extend the at-home crafts with these Fall ideas too!

Related post:
Subscription boxes for children
Ultimate guide to Halloween
Fall foliage

Get in the spooky spirit with COOK KITZ

This Halloween season certainly is different and while some may be carrying on with traditional trick or treating others may not. We want to highlight a local business that can help you celebrate Halloween in the comfort of your home.

COOK KITZ

COOK KITZ was featured last month on our blog. We loved the curated box that arrived at our doorstep which had step by step directions for baking. This month you can get a Halloween themed box! This KITZ includes all the ingredients and supplies for the spider web cookies, edible slime and 3 interactive games. It does not include ingredients for the spooky lunch menu, however we share a grocery list + recipes if you choose to make this optional activity.

Prime day deals for families, kids and dogs

Today was day 1 of 2 for Amazon Prime Day. I’ve found some good deals as it relates to home, kids and dogs. Deals end tomorrow at 11:59est. Happy shopping!

My favorite quarantine purchases–
Steam mop: Eliminates 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria with the natural power of steam. I add essential oils, a bit of olive oil and sometimes a light cleaning product from Branch Basics into my water.

iRobot Roomba: Seriously don’t know why I didn’t get this sooner. The vacuum intelligently maps & cleans an entire level of your home- set it and go!

Instant Pot: Worth the hype comes in various sizes.

Air purifier: 3-part filtration system that captures 99% of common airborne pm 2.5 pollutants such as allergens, odors, smoke, mold spores, dust mites and pet dander.

Powerbeats wireless earphones: Up to 9 hours of listening time with secure ear fit. Apple Airpods are another good option!

For the kids–
Blue light blocking glasses: Non-prescription glasses for daily use when kids use a computer, iPad or smart phone. AHXLL kids blue light glasses can cut harmful blue light, reduce eyestrain and headache while protecting children’s eyesight.

Osmo starter kit: Children interact with actual hand held pieces & an iPad, bringing a child’s game pieces & actions to life (No WiFi necessary for game play).

Arts/Crafts-
Playhouse: Doodle & decorate a cardboard haunted house and more designs.

3-D printing pen: The first in a 3D printing device. 

Light-up tracing pad: Various designs featuring 1 graphite pencil, 12 short colored pencils, 10 tracing sheets, 10 blank sheets, and 1 graphite pencil.

Art case: Comes with everything your budding artist needs and you can keep it all in the carrying case.

Dogs- We recently welcomed a puppy to our family so have stocked up on some essentials during Prime Day!
Furbo dog camera & treat dispenser: Livestream video, dispense treats, 2-way audio and more.

Metal dog crate: Various sizes

Travel water bottle: Fill it up and go.

Bully sticks: If you know, you know!

Back seat cover protector: Waterproof and easy to clean.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

COOK KITZ delivers weekly themed cooking boxes to your doorstep

COOK KITZ delivers all-inclusive, educational and delicious family cooking projects to your doorstep for all ages. What began as a way to keep your family deliciously occupied during quarantine, has now become a household staple- there’s always a reason to have a COOK KITZ on hand!

Each themed KITZ provides “choose-your-own-adventure” elements that teach basic cooking techniques paired with culinary imagination and recipe versatility! This service provides a fun, family activity that does not require any pre-planning and is fully curated, scripted and totally flexible for when you need something to do!

Each delivery includes all pantry and fridge ingredients, detailed instructions and overviews for each recipe and any specialty tools or equipment needed for the project. You also have the option to pickup the kits.

Past KITZ have included; Go Crazy for Cookie Dough, Popsicle Party, “Grow’ Your Own Focaccia Garden and more.

This fall, COOK KITZ launched their first 4-in-1 KITZ series in partnership with Creative Enrichment. The series gives kid chefs an inside look at the baking process and how using different ingredients impacts rise, taste and texture of baked goods. Click here to purchase a kit!!

My kids made the current KITZ which is biscuits + strawberries + cream. What I loved about this box was that there were instructions for each age group. My nine year old could make the recipe by himself while reading through it with his younger sister who also was a part of the cooking. The instructions are age appropriate and easy to follow with just the right amount of information. We will definitely be ordering from COOK KITZ as a way to intertwine math, reading, cooking and togetherness this school year. The best part is, I get to reap the benefits of this tasty new service.

Bookroo delivers books to your doorstep + DISCOUNT

I have shared my love of reading on the blog before. As a former teacher with a background in reading, literacy plays an important part in our house. Bookroo approached me to share their services with readers a few years ago and you can find those posts here and here. The mission of Bookroo is to enable and empower parents to build their children’s book collections in an affordable and exciting way through curated monthly book deliveries. They believe in the power and impact of the written word in the life of a child, and believe it’s never too early to start reading to children! Book boxes are geared for ages 0-10. This month’s curated box for our fourth grader can be seen below.

Bookroo is offering a huge discount for you for the month of September– 20% off any 3-month subscription! Use code: KEEPCALM

The code cannot be combined with any other offers or used more than once per household. Valid Sept. 1, (12:01 am ET) – Sept. 30 (11:59 pm PT).

Keep Calm & Read On, 20% off

A message from Bookroo:
Last spring, school was a challenge for many of us, and many of us are still facing a lot of uncertainty, anxiety and worry about this school year being any better. Bookroo has a simple suggestion to help: Keep Calm & Read On!

Too often we overlook the power of reading as a teaching resource. Reading is one of the best tools we have to keep our kids (and ourselves!) happy and productive this school year.

The American Academy of Pediatricians has said, “reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development, strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime.”

Brain development, social-emotional skills, relationship building? Doesn’t that sum up what we hope our kids gain from school? And it’s all possible with an activity so simple and enjoyable.

So this fall, don’t lose hope, give up or panic. Instead, in the good moments, and especially the difficult ones, keep calm and reach for a book! If all we manage to do this year is spend a lot of time reading, we’re all going to be okay.

Toys and games worth buying that are actually educational

Over the past 56 days we have started to discover toys and games that have been buried in drawers or sitting on shelves. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite things. Leave us a comment with what your Bambinos have been playing with.

Weaving loom
The Melissa & Doug Wooden Multi-Craft Weaving Loom includes everything kids need, including adjustable wooden loom, oversize wooden needle, craft materials, illustrated design booklet, and 91 yards of rainbow yarn.

Wooden Digital Rod Counting rods Number Cards and Counting Rods with Box
Includes 5 math signs and 19 numbers 0 to 9 and 52 counting rods.

Simple Sewing Kit
Includes everything you’ll need for 2 cardstock practice projects and 3 final projects.

Snap Circuits Jr
Build over 130 different electronics circuit projects with 30+ electronic parts! Construct working models of a photo sensor, a flashing light, an Adjustable-Volume siren using parts such as glow-in-the-dark flying propeller, phototransistor, LEDs, resistors, a DC motor and much more!

Rush Hour Traffic Jam Logic Game
Rush Hour is the classic traffic jam logic game and one of the all-time most popular STEM toys and gifts for boys and girls ages 8 and up Contains 40 challenges from beginner to expert, a game grid, cars, and a game-go storage bag.

Fashion Plates
Just place your sketch paper, pass the rubbing tool over and transfer your design easily. Includes 15 fashion plates, 20 sheets of paper, 8 colored pencils, 2 rubbing crayons, 1 crayon holder, 1 drawing tablet, 1 fashion carrying case and 1 fashion folio idea guide.

Light Up Tracing
Includes Coloring Board, Graphite Pencil, 12 Short Colored Pencils, 10 Tracing Sheets, and 10 Blank Sheets. 3 AA batteries required – sold separately. Various themes to choose from.

5 Second Rule
Pick a card, read the seemingly easy topic, then start the timer! With only 5 seconds to name 3 things that fit the topic, it doesn’t seem so easy!

Below are previously linked items from this blog post of resources and games that definitely worth having on hand–
Kumon Workbooks
Kumon Workbooks
Scavenger Hunt for Kids ages 6+
Flash Cards
Brain Boosters choose an age
Guess in 10 Game ages 6+
Treasure Hunt Game ages 3+
Brain Quest Cards comes in each grade level
Boredom Busters ages 3-6
Educational Placemats
Mind Challenge ages 6+
Tabletop Magnetic Whiteboard

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Mother’s Day gift idea that won’t go out of style

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and sadly your child won’t be coming home with the annual handmade surprises made at school. That doesn’t mean the moms and grandparents in our lives don’t deserve something special. We’ve got the perfect gift to send your mom, friend or grandparent that will be enjoyed for many years and admired by guests.

Comet Cloth kitchen aprons & towels are created by talented, local food photographer, Renée Comet. They are 100% cotton, grown, printed, sewn and finished in the USA. These vibrant aprons & towels are a great addition to any kitchen. As Florence Fabricant from the New York Times said, “coordinate your kitchen linens with your menu”. 

Comet has launched children’s aprons for select designs which make a perfect parent/child (or grandparent/grandchild) shareable gift. Personally, I also love the idea of getting my kids matching aprons. As seen pictured above; the perfectly ripe strawberry print looks pretty adorable on! Your kitchen towels and aprons shouldn’t be dreary and boring. Add some color to your kitchen especially since these days we are all home and cooking so much; it’s a perfect time to include some fun to the experience. Shipping typically arrives takes 4 days. Order today! Don’t forget to plan ahead for the fathers in your lives as well.

Beyond candy and toys: Easter basket ideas under $15

Easter is right around the corner and we thought we’d round up a few last minute ideas to add to baskets that will also double as things that will keep your kids occupied while home from school. We’ve listed a combination of places to shop online that are local favorites that are delivering or offering curbside pickup as well as Amazon Prime deals!

Shop locally online:
Child’s Play is delivering however you schedule a date online and the earliest isn’t until after Easter. It’s worth calling them to find out they have any availability however if you want to shop local. Sullivan’s is also delivering!

Three Littles is a local kids shop {with some great items for adults too} which was based in Union Market and is offering free local delivery.

Periwinkle is my go-to store in NW, DC for chocolates and great housewarming gifts as well as a great kids section. They don’t have a great ‘shop online’ section but if you call they can tell you what they have.

Add gift certificates to local places into baskets. Most places allow for you to order them online!

Amazon 2-day delivery with Prime ideas:
Sidewalk chalk eggs, unicorn horn chalk and walkie chalk stand-up tool which looks amazing
How to draw animals book
Watercolor paints
Crayola markers and Twistable silly scent crayons
Kids sketch book
On-the-go origami animal set
Unicorn stickers
Play doh and Model magic
Vintage baseball cards and current baseball cards
Hula hoop
Little Kids First Big Book of Why
Jump rope
Mr. Wolf’s Class book #3

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

logo design courtesy of New Leaf Design