Talk about Clever: Brad and Jera Deal made up a creative way to teach the alphabet to their daughters then transformed it into a personalized gift business.

As a way to introduce the alphabet to their daughters, Brad and Jera Deal made a game of ‘letter hunting’ while out for walks or spending days in the park. Since, like most parents, they always had a camera with them, they took pictures of the letters that they spotted whether they were in nature, art or surrounding architecture. Soon they had pictures for every letter in the alphabet.

About that time Jera needed to find a wedding present for her daughter’s pre-school teacher. Rather than purchase a gift, they decided to create the teacher’s last name from the letter pictures they had taken. From that one gift, the Deals received multiple order requests and soon a business was born…

Mounted in museum quality mats and frames, customers select letters from a library of black and white pictures online resulting in personalized, unique pieces of art. Perfect for your own home, for a wedding, birthday, graduation, anniversary or holiday gift, Sticks and Stones art is beautiful, a conversation piece and perfect for that hard to buy for person on your gift list.

Visit www.createsticksandstones.com to create your own piece of art. Simply type in the name, phrase or title you’d like in your frame, then select the letters online. It’s as simple as it is beautiful.

Are you a Clever Parent who “cares about quality, detail and who appreciates cleverness and humor”? If so, nina and tom is for you. Love and Peace, My Sign, I Eat My Vegetables and Der Poopinator are a few of the popular sayings screen printed with water-based inks on organic cotton shirts for babies, kids and adults. All nina and tom shirts are designed and screen-printed manually, rather than by an automated press, which requires a great deal of craft and results in a high quality product.

The idea for the business all started with a dust covered four head screen printing press a friend had given the couple. Since neither Nina nor Tom knew how to screen print, Tom took a class at a local craft center to pick up the basics. After printing some onesies and t-shirts for themselves and receiving good feedback, they decided to get a business license and go for it and nina and tom family fashion was born.

Visit www.ninaandtom.com to buy shirts for someone you love and be sure to check out their very cute holiday line.

See the Clever Parents vidcast featuring Nina and Tom holiday shirts.

Friends from their college days, Elise Nappi and Eileen Schneidman worked in television production and marketing until the lure of motherhood called, resulting in five children between the pair. Sharing woes one night about neverending piles of laundry and minivans designating them as officially ‘off the market’ and partly inspired by Eileen’s need for kitchen renovation funds and Elise’s shopping addiction, they got to talking, and to laughing, and the idea of starting a business was born. The premise: moms like to laugh; moms like nice clothing — why not combine the two? With the tagline, ‘Apparel with an inside joke and you’re in on it’ Planet Mom delivers on both fronts.

Starting out with t-shirts for moms, Elise and Eileen have since branched out to offer hats, yoga pants and hoodies, plus robes and hats for dads. All with an irreverant, fun edge. Enjoy the reaction from friends and complete strangers when you wear a fitted, cute long sleeve tee embroidered with the phrase “Whine? No. Wine? Yes.”, “PTA Reject” or “Because I said so.” All guaranteed to bring a smile to just about anyone’s face. Or cute yoga style pants emblazoned with “Kids are my workout.” or “Made you look.” on the rear. Dads can join in the fun, too, not only can they enjoy seeing mom in an “Unwrap me.” nightie, they can play the game, too, with skivvies embroidered with “Heartthrob” or “Property of (insert your name here).”

What sort of funny stories have customers shared? One was wearing her “Seeking Tall, Dark, Rich cup of coffee” tee in an airport, and a man approached her with a Starbucks cup in hand, and said, “You may not want me, but I know by your shirt that you’ll want this coffee.” Elise says, “Eileen and I are kind of workaholics, but we were adamant that our business still allow us to devote most of our time to our kids. Having an at-home business has turned out to be the best of both worlds for us.”

Perfect for a birthday gift for a friend, a fun holiday present or something for yourself to wear and enjoy. Learn more about Planet Mom apparel at www.PlanetMomTshirts.com

See the Clever Parents vidcast featuring Planet Mom tees.

Season Moore has had an interest in photography for about as long as she can remember. That interest was piqued with her role as high school yearbook editor and again when a studio hired her as a photographer soon after graduation. “I worked closely with their experienced photographers and was just in awe of them. I traveled to schools all over the state of Georgia and would spend all day shooting cheesy, posed yearbook pictures. When I got lucky, I would get to go to a sporting event or dance and shoot candids. At that point I already knew where my real interest lay; not in posed or forced pictures, but in capturing real expression and moments as they happen.”

Season went on to work as a technical editor and web designer, but her two children renewed her interest in photography. “I would take my kids to chain studios only to have an stressful experience that usually resulted in crying kids (and sometimes parents!) and I realized that there had to be a better way.” And with that Season Moore Photography was born.

Season’s style – natural light, natural settings, casual and fun environment – helps make the photography session enjoyable for everyone. “A “natural setting” doesn’t limit you to outdoors, it can be in your home where you spend the majority of your time as a family. While outdoor sessions are always beautiful, there is something about a family shot on the parents bed that I just love,” says Season. “The memory of chilly Saturday mornings, when the kids pile in your bed and and you watch cartoons together; those are the moments that are real and honest, memories you never want to forget. That is what I love about what I do, taking moments from this fleeting time in your child’s life, little things like the way that they crinkle their nose when they smile or the look they get when Mommy gives them a snuggle. Natural, everyday moments captured forever.”

Season shoots in digital format and doesn’t limit herself to color or black and white. “Every family is unique and your photos will reflect that. As a custom photographer I get to know my clients and cater my sessions to suit their personalities. I usually end up with a mix of color and black and white, but it depends on the child and the feel of the session. No two sessions will ever look the same, even if they take place at the same location.” And if you’re having a group photo session, the clothing you select will set the tone of your pictures. Season recommends thinking about what best represents your family. “You can’t go wrong with classics like khakis, denim or white. But maybe khaki just doesn’t really describe you – so go for the color! The main thing to watch for is that the colors are in the same tone, and coordinate. You also don’t want competing patterns, or logos on clothing. Keep in mind classic lines, you’re going to be looking at these portraits for years to come and we all remember our 1980’s family photos – yikes. And Mom’s, while the lines of v-necks do look nice, keep in mind that you may be leaning or bending to play with your child in some of the photos. Do a quick mirror check before leaving to make sure no more is showing than you intend!”

“Shooting natural light is challenging, and that is part of the reason I enjoy it. There is never a constant, you are constantly watching and working with the light you have at any given moment. And of course ready to try something different when it changes the next minute. It also means shooting at the prime times of day, morning and evening, and of course being limited by the weather. Indoors you do need some available light to have a successful session, even if it is only one room with large windows. The beauty of natural light makes it worth any inconvenience.”

Her first memory of taking pictures? “I remember my first 110 format camera when I was a little girl. It was pink, I believe, and it took the absolute worst pictures you can imagine, but I loved it. I would package my completed rolls of film up in the mailer bags and send (them) off, and excitedly check the mail every day in anticipation of my pictures. It was mostly pictures of our cat or plants from around the yard, occasionally a neighbor or two. I still have most of those pictures boxed up somewhere!”

Photographing children can be challenging and if parents are stressed about getting the perfect shot, your children are going to pick up on that stress and react to it. Season’s solution? “My number one request of parents at a session is to be relaxed! I am a mom so I know this can be tough when it doesn’t seem like your child is cooperating, and most people have had stressful experiences in the past when having their child photographed. But kids are going to pick up on your stress and it effects their behavior and mood. The better spirits you’re in, the happier your child will be. Usually just stepping back and letting me get to know and play with your child opens them up quickly. I try to avoid telling them where to go or what to do at a session but instead let them explore and play. After all, my goal is to capture them just being them!”

And Season is all about having a fun photo shoot and it sounds like there’s never a dull moment. One little boy found a three legged frog and scooped it up another time the sprinklers turned on in the middle of a session. “Having a sense of humor is key. I love what I am doing and I love being with children. I am having fun, and it shows!”

Visit Season’s website at www.seasonmoorephotography.com or visit her blog here.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a sucker for traditions. Whether it’s my grandmother’s peas at Christmas or our weekly family breakfasts at Big Ed’s on Saturday mornings, there is something comforting in the anticipation and realization of those special times. If you like a good family tradition, or if you’d like to create a new one, The Box Girls’ Box of Questions is for you.

Fueled by six hungry children, two hungry husbands and a dinner that seemed to take forever to arrive, longtime friends Cece Feiler and Heidi Haddad decided to avoid a mealtime disaster and started asking questions that anyone at the table could answer. What sort of questions were the topic of the day? Skipping the fluff of reality TV and celebrity gossip as well as trivial topics of sports and geography, the two friends brought up serious, thought-provoking questions touching on everything from ethics and charity to family and society. The meal and dialogue was a huge success and The Box of Questions was born.

The Box of Questions is really… a box of questions. The attractively packaged box (depending on the version, some are circular, some square, all cute) include 35 questions and additional goodies which are specific to each product. The Christmas Box of Questions includes questions such as ‘Is there an ornament from the Christmas tree that is dear to you?’ and ‘Saint Nicholas, a fourth century Bishop, was known for his generosity in giving to those less fortunate than he. What good deed or act of kindness can you do this Christmas season?’ What you do with the questions and how you play is up to you, although the box includes a few examples of how you might use them. (The primary rule is that there are no right or wrong answers and no time limit.) The Christmas ‘extra goodies’ include 5 blank cards and ribbon that you can use to create your own ornaments or add new questions as you wish.

The Box of Questions is a great gift, it’s a great start-a-tradition item and it’s a great get-back-to-why-we’re-celebrating exercise. Plus, it’s a feel-good purchase knowing that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each box benefits Women’s Cancer Research Fund. At $19.95 a pop, they’re easy on the pocketbook and long on the memories. Pick up The Christmas Box of Questions, the Hanukkah Box of Questions, the Shabbat Box of Questions, the Thanksgiving Box of Questions (buy it now for next year and save 50% for a limited time only) and the Girlfriends Box of Questions (perfect for a bridal shower, birthdays, or a prelude to a girls night out) at www.theboxgirls.com.

When you’re in the oft sleep-deprived state of new parenthood, it’s tough to remember the details about your infant’s feeding, diapering and sleep habits. If you like to track those details, you probably have a notebook with scribbles noting the last time your baby nursed or had a bottle, when the last diaper change was and how long the latest nap lasted. If you’re sharing baby care duties with your spouse or another caregiver, you’ve probably asked or have been asked, “How long has it been since the baby ate?” or some similar such question.

New parents Greg and Kris Sheldon tried charts and journals to track their newborn son William’s details, but when Kris came home from work to stay-at-home dad Greg and swapped baby duty, they seemed to say to one another again and again, “I can’t remember how long it’s been!” So they invented a better way: the ITZBEEN Baby Care Timer.

The ITZBEEN timer is a handheld device that includes four one-touch timers that tracks the time that has elapsed since the last diaper change, feeding and nap and includes a reminder so that nursing mothers can track the side on which they last nursed. The timer also has an alarm feature that parents and caregivers can set time limits for a given task – if the time limit is reached the timer lights up and an optional alarm briefly sounds.

Learn more about the ITZBEEN timer and buy it online at All Aboard Babies. See what retailers carry the product at www.itzbeen.com

See the Clever Parents video interview with ITZBEEN founders Greg and Kris Sheldon at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas.

Are you looking for a clever holiday or birthday gift for a loved one? Perhaps you’d like a keepsake for a child’s special birthday that they will cherish for years to come. Part scrapbook, part photo album, and without the mess and hassle of doing it yourself, Pam Turos of Enduring Notions offers beautiful custom digital story books and more.

Pam Turos has always been creative, whether it’s scrapbooking, crafts projects, or even digital design, she’s always challenged herself ‘to create things for less than what I can purchase them in a store.’ Prior to having children, Pam applied her creativity to her job as a social worker helping terminally ill children and cancer survivors “create photo keepsakes to share with those they love and preserve the ’stories’ of their lives.”

After giving birth to her first child, Pam received a number of compliments on the scrapbook pages she made for his baby book. Sensing a business opportunity and wanting to stay at home, Pam took her creative energies and channeled them into a scrapbooking business, Enduring Notions. The cost of the materials and labor intensive nature of custom work made the pricing such that it wasn’t affordable to most of the people interested in the product. So, pregnant with her second child, Pam began to look for an affordable, efficient way to store and display photos while maintaining a creative, personal flair.

Making the move to digital.
After doing some research, Pam determined that, “(d)igital design was the answer! Instead of spending hours and hours on a single scrapbook page, I could now design an entire storybook in just a weekend. And the more I learned about digital design, I began to realize that I could recreate many of the elements I loved most about scrapbooking on the pages of my digital storybooks. By the time my second son was two weeks old, I was able to design a beautiful photo birth announcement, a coordinating storybook AND birth announcement magnets!”

Going digital also gave Pam the flexibility to work around her family life, which was the reason she wanted to work from home to begin with. Now she’s able to work and have time for walks along the Lake Erie shoreline in her neighborhood.

Today, Pam offers clients custom, digital storybooks, annoucements, and invitations. Pam says that clients have often seen a sample of her work and bring their own ideas as to what they want. If they haven’t already seen a sample, Pam shows them a gallery to give them some ideas to start with. While she’ll use existing work as a starting point, “I will never create an exact replica of anything I’ve created – this way each customer is guaranteed a truly unique end product… instead of trying to fit something into a template design that may or may not work with a client’s photo(s).”

Once clients have an idea of what they want, Pam offers storybook clients a one hour consultation to gather information and develop an outline. She then creates a few pages to ensure that she’s captured the client’s vision. At that point she creates the whole book and clients have a final print approval review before it goes to the printer. For clients interested in custom announcements, invitations and holiday cards, Pam provides a low-resolution proof within 48 hours of receiving the order.

Because Pam’s work is custom, her clients come to her for a variety of reasons. Some want storybooks to celebrate milestones like birthdays or to act as a digital babybook. Others use it as a way to remember a loved one. Pam says one of the most unique and touching storybooks she created was for a mother of three young children who lost her husband and wanted a storybook to give to her children on father’s day that celebrated their dad, “She wanted a storybook that captured the essence of her husband, and she planned to give it to them as a gift on their first Father’s Day following his death. The book was called ‘Our Daddy . . .’ and each page was a different characteristic or phrase that described him with coordinating photographs and scanned memorabilia such as letters he had written, etc.. Some of the pages were Our Daddy . . . ‘was a son’,'was a goofball’ or ‘loved our Mommy’ or ‘was a hero’, “told the best bed-time stories,’etc.”

Prices are reasonable and vary based on the complexity and size of the project. See sample baby storybooks here. For more information about announcements and invitations and to order, check out www.enduringnotions.com.

It goes without saying that children love to squeeze food. Check out the grocery store and you no doubt have noticed a trend towards squeezable kids’ food (squeezable yogurt, anyone?) So your child is not into carrot sticks? No problem. Pair them with a squeezable black bean dip and watch those carrots disappear. Squeezable black bean dip? Yep.

Thanks to Malcolm Kushner, author of “California Squisine,” children everywhere can have fun squeezing healthy and delicious dressings, sauces and dips onto foods they may otherwise be resistant to eating. Squisine (the combination of the words ’squeeze’ and ‘cuisine’) refers to “any food that you squeeze out of a tube, bag, plastic bottle or any other squeezable container.” So, that ketchup packet open and squeezed onto a burger; the honeybear squeezed to add honey to tea; or balsamic vinaigrette squeezed onto a salad — that’s all squisine.

The book, made up of 100 healthy and yummy recipes along with a comprehensive and informative introduction section had to pass four tests: 1. squeezable, 2. pediatrician approved as a healthy part of a diet, 3. no cook, 4. approved by 9 year old taste tester Elizabeth Stover (whose favorite recipe is cranberry frozen yogurt). Although not intended to be a diet plan for the obese child, it certainly promotes healthy foods and eating that would fit perfectly into the diets of most children, obese or not. Clever Parents loves this book for providing recipes that are healthy, a fun-to-eat alternative to junk food, and delicious. Learn more about California Squisine at www.californiasquisine.com and order your copy of “California Squisine” at Amazon.com and start squeezing.

Several years ago, John Young was watching a football game and made a grocery run with his toddler during halftime. He figured it was a quick trip, so he left the diaper bag back at home with his wife. The inevitable, “Daddy, I have to go potty” had him running for the nearest restroom. Once there, the unthinkable happened, John lost his grip on his child and the little one ended up to his armpits in the toilet. Not a pretty sight. It was then that the idea for the Potty Hammock was born.

The Potty Hammock is a portable, compact and washable potty seat that slips over a toilet seat and secures with a drawstring and Velcro tabs. Potty humor being what it is, the idea and name of the Potty Hammock at first glance seems a little silly. Yet, any pediatrican will tell you that consistency is a key factor of potty training and the Potty Hammock provides just that without having to lug around a huge potty or plastic seat wherever you go. What’s more, the Potty Hammock provides a sanitary barrier when you’re in a public restroom. Pretty clever, huh?

Learn more about the Potty Hammock and buy one at www.pottyhammock.com.

See the Clever Parents interview with the Young brothers about the Potty Hammock at the ABC Kids Expo in Vegas.

Are you concerned that your kids are watching too much TV, playing too many video games or surfing the Internet when they could be outside playing? Maybe you have young children and are interested in instilling good habits from the go. Or maybe your little ones are too young for TV, but they love to push those buttons! BOB may be just the guy, errr tool, you’ve been waiting for. And if you’re living in the US, your children are watching on average 3-5 hours of television a day, much more than the recommended 2 hour daily maximum the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests.

“I realized that my children weren’t enjoying the same kind of playtime I had valued as a child,” said Tom Gallop, CEO and co-founder of Hopscotch Technology. “My children were watching nearly 20 hours of television a week! We set out to build a device that helps parents manage the use of media by their children,” and the solution, BOB, does just that.

So what exactly is BOB? It is a small device that you can plug a TV, video game or computer cord into (instead of plugging into an outlet). You then program the device with details such as how much TV your child is allotted (either daily or weekly), block certain times (after school during homework time, for instance) and set up a four digit pin number for your child (or children). When your child wants to watch TV, he simply enters his code and the television turns on. When the allotted time limit is met, the TV automatically turns off.

One cool feature for parents with very young children, when BOB is setup, the button on the TV no longer functions so if your baby is prone to pushing the TV button on and off repeatedly, that is no longer an issue. Setup is really fast and easy. Learn more about the media time manager, BOB, at www.usebob.com. Purchase BOB at www.amazon.com or www.target.com.

See CleverParents-tv Vidcast #6 featuring BOB.

Do your children love to build forts? Have you been the victim of the $25 pop-up fort that lasts about an hour in the hands of your kids before bent plastic pipes and ripped fabric make it just one more thing to add to the trash? Thanks to Lori and Leslie of Tee Pee for Me there is a better way.

Stay at home moms Lori and Leslie met at a neighborhood cookie party and hit it off. “(W)e did not know it until years later but we were both thinking that we were the only normal ones in the room,” says Leslie, co-founder of Tee Pee for Me. The idea of creating a tee pee was inspired by their own children’s fort building, which often left their houses a mess. Eighteen months and many prototypes, fabrics and late night pow-wows in the cul-de-sac later, their first style – the original Wild West Red – was born.

At almost $300 a Tee-Pee, they aren’t inexpensive, but then again, they aren’t cheap either: “We use only high quality drapery fabrics and the poles are made from durable PVC, which isn’t heavy and won’t splinter or break like wood. These materials together make a surprisingly light tee pee! This was one of our main goals in designing our tee pee. We wanted safety above all else and we love to see that they are light enough for even a young child to move all by themselves!” Their own children (5 between them) have tested and retested the tee pees, which come fully assembled and set up and store away “in just seconds.”

What’s most rewarding about the creation of the business for these two? “We can stay home with our kids, and we are laughing all the time. We started out as business partners and have become best friends.” The hardest thing about starting a business? “Nobody tells you anything! Everything seems to be an ancient Chinese secret!”

It’s been quite a ride. Now living five hours apart, both working from home, five kids between them and with a common vision, it sounds like they’re having a great time. “We are so busy when we do work…we are marathon workers and really pack a lot into the time when our kids are at school. We never work weekends and try not to work after 6pm. We both just like to have down time with our families. In June we all went to Disney World together. That was a true test of how well we work together! We mapped out everything, with our husbands military backgrounds and walkie-talkies we were hitting the fast passes with a vengeance! It is hysterical to look back on.”

Buy tee pees at www.teepeeforme.com

When they aren’t building Tee-Pees, what do Lori and Leslie’s children (Cody – 2, Josh – 5 and Zach -6; Ally – 10 and Zac – 5) do for fun? “We love to see them use their imaginations, we love that about our product and we like to encourage creativity. Here are a few products they love to play with: crayons, color wonder, Leapster, Webkinz, K’NEX,and we have a great play dough recipe that they all love!”

2 C Flour
1 C Salt
4 tsp Cream of Tartar
2 T Vegetable or Canola oil
2 C Water
Food Coloring
if you want it to smell good add a little bit of unsweetened kool-aid

Mix dry ingredients then combine the rest in a saucepan. Cook over medium high heat stirring constantly until dough leaves sides of pan. Kneed with a little flour. Store in air-tight plastic bag. Does not crumble and keeps indefinitely.

www.teepeeforme.com

See Whitney’s review of Tee Pee for Me and get a free pillow with purchase.

When it comes to money, are you a saver, spender, or giver? You’re probably all three, but if you’re like most Americans, I bet I know which one you are better at. As a parent, you know that making your children financially responsible is important, but it isn’t easy… especially if you weren’t born with the ‘money-gene’ yourself. Enter the LearningCents Bank.

Designed by two moms in Atlanta, the three compartment bank has space for money to Save, Spend and Give. The compartments are clear so kids can see their money grow which is a nice improvement on the ‘how much do I have in there’ problem inherent in the old-fashioned piggy bank. Other great features include the aforementioned Give compartment which is a nice addition to teach children about charity at an early age. Another feature are the dry erase lids on each compartment to easily track money. The lids are also large enough so the bills, coins and even gift cards can be placed in the compartments. The LearningCents Bank is the brainchild of Caryn Boxer, a clinical psychologist and mother of two, and Gail Duner, a consultant who is also a mother of two. The duo founded LearningCents in 2005 and have already racked up awards from national publications. In addition to running their company, Caryn and Gail also lead workshops for parents about raising financially savvy kids.

We asked Caryn and Gail about the ‘money-gene’, chores and allowance, and encouraging charity in children.

Clever Parents: You mention that your kids weren’t born with a ‘money-gene,’ do you think that some people are naturally better at managing money than others?

LearningCents: Yes, some people seem to be naturally better at managing their money. In the same family, you will often have one child that’s the “saver” who hoards every penny, while another has to spend every dollar as soon as they receive it. And then there are some kids that are very charitably-minded and want to give all their money away. As parents, it’s our role to help kids learn how to best allocate their money for spending, saving and giving.

CP: Do you believe that kids should have to perform chores for their allowance?

LearningCents: We think that the main purpose of an allowance to give children the opportunity to learn how to manage money.

We support paying children on a weekly schedule. This regularity helps reinforce that money is a part of our everyday lives and it comes in a predictable way, like a paycheck for an adult. (e.g. knowing that they have to get 4 weeks of allowance before they have enough to buy a specific thing they want).

We also believe that as a member of the household, children should be required to perform age-appropriate chores. And there should be consequences for failing to fulfill their family responsibilities. However, it may not be effective to tie the chores and the allowance together, because some kids may “choose” not to do their chores and be willing to forego their allowance. This defeats the goal of enabling parents to pass on the money values they want to instill.

CP: What are the big differences, in your mind, between the LearningCents Bank and the old fashioned piggybank?

LearningCents: The LearningCents Bank is more than a place to store your money, which is the main purpose of a piggy bank. The LearningCents Bank is also a system that teaches kids that money is not just for spending, but is also for saving and for giving. By allocating their money amongst the 3 compartments, children learn the
important life skill that money has multiple purposes and can be actively managed. The LearningCents Bank also has dry-erase lids and a pen, so kids can count their growing cash flow and track the amounts in each compartment. The old-fashioned piggy bank is a one-dimensional whereas the LearningCents Bank better reflects the more complex financial world in which we actually live.

CP: I like the idea of a separate ‘Give’ section. What are some ways that parent can encourage charitable giving with their kids?

LearningCents: There are lots of ways parents can encourage charitable giving and teach their children to take pride in being contributors to the community.

Some activities include:

• Have kids research charitable organizations (disaster relief, animal shelters, children’s hospital, religious institutions) to decide who will be the beneficiary of their “Give”dollars
• Create a matching fund to generate greater giving power
• If it’s local, visit the charity so kids can learn how their contributions help others
• Make regular contributions to school, church or synagogue.
• Birthdays and holidays are a good time to teach our children about giving, when they are the beneficiaries of so much.

One option is to make cash contributions to a favorite charity

A second option is to participate in a food or toy drive,where children can use their GIVE money to purchase needed items and deliver them directly.

CP: You say that families should set fixed amounts, either dollars or a percentage, for contributions to each section. Do you think kids should be involved in the setting or is that something parents should set ahead of time?

Learning Cents: The parents should set the allocations ahead of time and keep them consistent from week to week. The dollars or percentages that each family adopts reflect the family’s values of spending, saving and giving.

CP: How can I buy Learning Cents?

LearningCents: The LearningCents Bank is available online at www.learningcents.com. The website also lists many retailers across the country who stock the bank.

Think it’s possible to create a thoughtful, milestone-filled, beautiful baby book for your child in less than an hour? Do you have a baby book box to store photos and scraps of paper with milestones and first words hastily scribbled on them and sitting somewhere nearby, an empty baby book? If you’re a Clever Parent who is short on time and energy, but don’t want your baby book to reflect that then Big Day Books is for you.

By the time Cori Marx and Julie Maasen’s babies were a year old, they found themselves staring into the pages of mostly blank books. As working mothers, they remembered emailing updates to their families over the months when they were at work. “It was so much easier to type messages to people than write things out. Also, our computers were pretty much in front of us most of the time, unlike those empty books.” And with that in mind, Big Day Books was born.

Big Day Books, affectionately dubbed the anti-scrapbook by Cori and Julie, takes all of the stress and time out of creating “the perfect” baby book and does almost all of the work for you. Simply buy one of their beautiful hand-crafted books, record milestones online, print and assemble. You’ll receive monthly email reminders to ensure you’re not struggling to remember what happened months before.

My favorite part? They’ve thought of all of the topics! Everything from how Mom and Dad met, your family tree and about your name to firsts (haircut, bath, slept through the night, snow, visit to the beach, tooth), holidays, and a special set of pages for adopted children (the journey to find you, adoption ceremony, the first time we met). Using their own Big Day Books, Cori and Juli created half of their second children’s baby books in 20 minutes.

We caught up with Cori and Julie last month at the ABC Kids Expo in Vegas to learn more about these fabulous books. (Watch the video.)

Learn more, purchase a book and start recording at www.bigdaybooks.com.

Clever Tip: Register with Big Day Books at www.bigdaybooks.com and receive a 15% discount!

See CleverParents-tv Vidcast #5 featuring Big Day Books founders Cori and Julie.

Got someone you’re proud of? We bet you do. And if you’re proud of someone, there is no reason not to show that pride. And if you have some pride to show, the moms at Yard Art Designs have you covered. Yard Art Designs manufactures personalized yard and wall signs to celebrate your child, your family, your team, or your school. Yard Art signs are made with outdoor ink on an adhesive vinyl mounted to hardboard that is treated to be weather resistant. Each Yard Art sign also comes with a stake to mount and stick in the ground. Wall Art pieces are identical except smaller, ready to mount on a wall and without the stake. Categories include every sport and activity imaginable from football and baseball to gymnastics and cheerleading. Plus there a school related signs for honor societies and choral groups. There are also signs for first communions, bar/bat mitzvahs, birthdays, and baby announcements. The baby announcements are also available as canvas wall art for a softer look and feel. Each sign can be personalized with names, colors, mascot, dates and more.

Susan Walsh founded Yard Art Designs three years ago after she “created homemade yard signs in the shape of tennis racquets for everyone on my daughters’ high school tennis team.” The signs were such a big hit that the mother of 4 teenagers with an MBA in Finance, began researching how to make more professional, weather resistant signs. Today Susan runs Yard Art Designs as a full-time business with her sisters, Pam and Patrice, who joined her. Says Susan, “Yard Art makes ‘signs for the times in your life’. Our fully automated and streamlined shop manufactures over 30 colorful designs including sports teams, as well as, activity based and event themed signs using the latest state of the art equipment. Yard Art’s product line began to evolve, always remaining loyal to the founding vision that sharing pride was a very positive thing. “

And if they don’t have a category for the pride you want to share, Susan and her team are more than happy to work with you on creating a custom sign. Custom requests have come from everyone from the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders to a mom who wanted to honor her Marine son with a sign that said Marine Parking Only. “She was so proud of him being a Marine and she wanted him to have a special parking spot,” Susan says.

You can purchase yard art at their store or online at www.yardartsigns.com. Prices start at $22.95.

When Patsy Aiken’s daughter, Holly, was young, Patsy made her clothes. When people started asking her to sew for their children, Patsy began a class to teach moms how to sew. Quickly realizing that she was accumulating more clothing than daughter Holly could wear, she started selling the clothes she made to a local children’s store and Patsy Aiken – the business – was born. As the business evolved, Patsy’s clothing made its way to nearly 1,500 retail boutiques and upscale department stores. “We had independent sales reps in the major markets –Dallas, Atlanta, L.A., Chicago and New York and Neiman’s, Saks, and Nordstrom were big customers of ours for many years,” says Patsy. Then, Patsy and her husband and business partner, Joel, made a radical change in their business model.

“We were fortunate to work with the top sales organizations because we had really nice products, but they were independent salespeople and they would often represent twenty lines. And as much as we loved the exposure we got with big stores, and the pride of being selected by them season after season, it was becoming more difficult to deal with them,” says Patsy. With a changing climate and new stores like Baby Gap, Gymboree and Talbot’s Kids popping up everywhere, “everyone was competing and competing with a vengeance.” In 2000, frustrated due to lack of control over the growth of their company and after much agonizing and evaluation, the Aikens switched to a home-party business model. “We wanted to see if our sales would grow if people could see a larger selection of our products and we had control of the marketing.”

The answer? A resounding yes. “The Home Party method of marketing is harder, more intense, requires greater up-front inventory commitment, monumental sample budgets and more employees, but we were able to realize the advantages almost immediately. We were pleased from the start.”

When it comes to the design process, Patsy is involved in almost every aspect – most specifically in formulating the collections and fabrics and trims. “I have an incredible senior designer, Wendy May, that I have worked together with for 14 years. She is an expert pattern-maker as well as a designer, which is rare,” says Patsy. “Together with her assistant Shelly and our production team, we create more than 500 new styles each year. Fortunately now, I am able to meet with them and evaluate and review and brainstorm – and they are masterful at carrying out the plan for our company, with regards to design and production.”

Patsy Aiken also launched a line for the tween (8-12) market, Chez Belle, in 2004 that is offered in sizes 4-16 and features styling aimed at pleasing both young ladies and their moms. “The styles are ever-evolving and fashioned with the older girls in mind, and there are different types of fabrics, less embroidery and trim, and more flair to the styling,” says Patsy. “We introduced it in Spring of 2004, and we are currently designing our Spring 2007 line, which will be introduced in January of 2007. We have been thrilled with the response!”

Patsy Aiken has about 500 home party sales consultants located in 40 different states (most of whom are stay-at-home moms) and they add to that number each season. What does being a consultant entail? “We provide a full array of garment samples (often more than 200 pieces per season) for customers to touch and try on, and an eager, concerned support staff to assist consultants and their customers with all issues,” says Patsy. “The Consultant contacts her friends and acquaintenances about hosting Chez Ami parties, arranges for the event and delivers catalogs and invitations for the Host to send out to her circle of friends, family and often co-workers. By doing this, a mother can be involved in a fun and lucrative career twice a year and will earn cash commissions for sales written at parties arranged with her Hosts, as well as large discounts on all personal orders for her children. Our Sales Consultants average 7 parties per season, with 2 seasons each year. Many of our Consultants, however, hold a larger number of parties, some as many as 40 or more a season!”

Patsy’s favorite part about running her own company? “My greatest pleasure is having my husband of 37 years as my business partner, knowing that we’re working together to create something of our own, and realizing it’s impossible for us to do it alone. I’m sure there are many times Joel wishes he could tell people that he makes fishing gear or golf clubs instead of baby clothes, but being involved in a business that is about children makes everyone happy. Second, I love being an entrepreneur – I just can’t stop thinking about what we can sell next!” And that same entrepreneurial spirit definitely runs in the Aiken blood. Daughter Holly, who once wore the clothes mom handmade for her, is now a successful businesswoman herself with an eponymous line of hip diaper bags, totes, messenger bags and accessories.

Visit Patsy Aiken and the Chez Ami & Chez Belle lines at www.chezami.com

If you are lucky enough to live in or near Raleigh, you can take advantage of the Patsy Aiken Outlet sales where items are marked 35%-75% off the retail price. To be notified of the monthly sales, sign up for the Patsy Aiken mailing list.

Growing up, Katherine Hodges favorite thing was to play “store” using her toy cash register. Her first job was working for a family owned specialty toy store when she was 15 years old. Katherine liked the store and the work so much she continued to work there through college and beyond. And in 2001, Katherine and her husband, John, bought the toy store and renamed it Tookie’s Toys after a nickname given to Katherine from her nephews. Clever Parents caught up with Katherine to learn more about how she selects the toys she sells, customer service and tips for non-parents who want to buy a toy for a child.

Clever Parents: How do you select the toys that you sell?

Katherine Hodges: The primary criteria I use in selecting toys are Quality and Play Value. Quality is pretty easy – is this a well made toy from a manufacturer that will stand behind their product?

Play Value is a little harder to measure – is the toy a good fit as a developmental tool for the child? We search for toys that encourage different types of play. These can be categorized by at least one of the following: active play, cooperative play, creative play, dramatic play, manipulative play and quiet play.

People often come into our store and ask for an “educational toy”. We believe all toys are educational! Every child learns through play. We know that play provides the foundation for basic life skills such as building relationships, cooperation, negotiation and compromise as well as providing opportunities for children to find out who they are and what they enjoy doing. Play offers an emotional outlet, develops the imagination and creativity, and cultivates problem-solving skills. And of course and above all, we pick toys that are FUN!

Clever Parents: Do you think parents ever waste money on toys? How can that be avoided?

Katherine Hodges: We often see customers who are seeking out the products with the most “bells and whistles” or the products they have seen on television and in magazines. Sometimes these products are good toys but other times – these products are simply the ones with the largest advertising budget or toys that have paid for an award or endorsement. However, when parents are making an investment in a toy that they will use to help their child develop important life skills, a bit of research and a trusted resource that knows and understands play can help make wise spending choices.

At Tookie’s Toys, we know and understand play and its importance in the development of children. We are here to help make those investments pay off for families. Many people shy away from specialty toy stores because they perceive them to be too expensive. In reality, when you factor in the quality of the products, their usefulness as a tool in the development of the child, and the resources available to help make the best selections, the toys sold at stores like ours are often better investments. On top of that, you get a level of customer service that you just can’t get in the big stores!

Clever Parents: What tips do you have for non-parents who are purchasing toys for children?

Katherine Hodges: Ask for help. Many non-parents (and parents) don’t realize that there are people who can help them select toys for the children in their lives. Also, the more information they know about the child – age, likes/dislikes, etc – the better we can help them.

Clever Parents: What tips do you have for grandparents when picking out toys for their grandchildren?

Katherine Hodges: Again, ask for help and know basic information about the children. Talk to the parents about types of things the children enjoy and any things that are off-limits (such as characters seen in television and videos, etc.) in their households. It is not uncommon for us to get the parents on the phone while the grandparents are shopping to get additional information and to make sure our selections will fit with their plans.

Visit Tookie’s Toys online at www.tookiestoys.com

“There are two types of toys in this world. Those that make a child think, and those that don’t.” This statement is the guiding tenet behind Fat Brain Toys whose tag line is: Smarter Toys = Smarter Kids. After a relatively futile internet search for a GeoMag magnetic building set to round out his set, 10 year old Adam Carson suggested to his father Mark that they create an online toy store to sell the specialty toy. And Fat Brain Toys was born.

From its humble beginnings in the Carson’s basement in 2002, Fat Brain Toys now runs out of a commercial showroom and warehouse and boasts more than 100,000 satisfied customers.

What makes GeoMag, the first toy distributed by Fat Brain Toys, so smart? “It’s intuitive – you pick up two simple components and you know exactly what to do with them. (Kids) know instinctively what to do.” Toys like GeoMag that allow for unlimited creative experiences lend themselves towards the European trend of providing a few ideas and a picture of a model and letting the children figure it out. “They don’t believe in instructions.”

When it comes to selecting toys that meet Fat Brain Toys’ standards, initially it was based on instinct. Now, Mark and his team have developed a 14 point checklist to ensure the toys meet the mark. As for Mark’s favorites, he loves construction toys like GeoMag and Lincoln Logs that he can sit down with his kids and play. Another favorite? Kites. “It’s a bit odd for a toy category, but I love it because it automatically becomes a family event. Everyone participates in some fashion.” And for the baby and toddler set Mark favors Bilibo a shell shaped object that allows kids to decide how to play with it. “The kids will never ask ‘what is it for?’” (although parents might) “they intuitively know they can use it for whatever they want it to be. On the more traditional side, we don’t get too much into dolls, but we carry a line called ‘teach me toddler’” that is suitable for the preschool age and teaches shoe-tying, buttoning, even dolls that teach languages like Spanish and Russian.”

Another driving factor of Fat Brain Toys? Unplugged. “We really play down electronics. We don’t get into DVDs and computer games,” says Mark. “If you’re expecting these toys to babysit your child you’ll be sadly disappointed.” Fat Brain Toys is all about engaging your children and Mark says it takes participation for that to happen.

“Our mission is to separate ourselves from the common perception of what toys have become,” says Mark. “(We) want to be an alternative to what you find in the big box toys, (to) truly teach children the lessons that stick with them for a lifetime.”

One new aspect of the company: they are both a distributor and a developer of toys. Their first product, Dado Cubes, is newly released and is already an award winner. Dado Cubes offer a new twist on classic building blocks. These clever cubes have slits on the sides to create an unlimited number of three-dimensional structures, allowing you to stack vertically, nested and horizontally. “It’s one of these toys that whatever you come up with – there is no wrong answer – it is an absolute masterpiece.” Now that’s clever.

Visit Fat Brain Toys at www.fatbraintoys.com

Is your house overrun with testosterone? Are you a mom of boys and want to learn more about what makes your fellas tick? We have just the resource for you. MomsofBoys.org is an informational and support network for moms who have sons, whether it’s one or multiple sons. Inspired by her own feelings of being “overwhelmed by all the ‘guy’ stuff in (her) home — from the way they communicate (or don’t communicate) to the bathroom humor to the athletic cups all over the house,” writer Sharon O’Donnell decided to create an online resource with informational links, humorous articles and quotes dedicated to moms who have one or more sons. “Moms need to know they are not alone in this sea of testosterone.” Through the site Sharon has heard from moms of boys from all over the U.S. and a few countries “and it’s been a wonderful experience for me.”

Clever Parents caught up with Sharon to seek her advice to new moms of a baby boy, the most important lessons she has learned from her own sons and finding time for herself.

Clever Parents: What is your advice to the new mom of a baby boy?
Sharon O’Donnell:
If it’s the first-time mom of a boy: Enjoy and savor the wonderful experience of having a son. Bond with him by cuddling with him and spending lots of time with him. Have his father bond with him as much as possible, too. As he grows and perhaps exhibits lots of energy and likes to play ‘good guy, bad guy’ games, don’t let people make you feel he shouldn’t do this or that a mom should keep him from this. Some boys (a lot of boys, actually) seem to have this innate desire to play games like this, and moms should not feel guilty about it. That said, it’s also good, I think, to try to let boys explore other games and to expose them to other types of games. My youngest one had a doll for the first couple of years of his life. He never played with it, just held it sometimes, which I hoped encouraged him to be nurturing. He’s long since abandoned the doll, but he does like to help with younger kids. Read to him every day if you can because it’s important for children, especially boys, to love reading, which leads to a love of school.

If it’s a mom who already has a boy: You know how blessed you are to have a son because you’ve already experienced this blessing at least once before. But remember that this boy will be different in some ways from the others, that he’s his own person. That’s one thing that makes the journey of parenting so exciting. Yet, I’ve heard from women who have two or three or four sons and is disappointed that she’s having yet another boy because she’s dreamed of having a girl. Yes, part of me wanted a daughter, too. Don’t feel guilty about feeling this disappointment, which you’ll probably feel at times like watching little girls playing Barbies or ’school’ or seeing a mom and daughter out shopping or even seeing your niece or other bride come down the aisle at her wedding, knowing you’ll never see your dreamed-of daughter come down the aisle. Still, this disappointment should not be so deep that you’re sad about this a lot of the time. Boys are terrific!! (and yes they usually are easier than girls in the teen years).

The bottom line to any mom is that we’re all guilty at times of being so busy that we forget to appreciate the present. One of my favorite words is the word ’savor’. We really need to savor the moments of raising our sons. I hold my six-year-old more often now, realizing soon he’ll be too big for me to pick up or hold on my lap, just like my other two have become.

Clever Parents: What are the most important things your sons have taught you?

• Males and females do indeed communicate differently. Sometimes just because boys are quiet, that doesn’t mean they aren’t feeling and thinking things. It’s like walking a thin line in knowing when to talk to them and what about and how much. But it’s worth the effort.
• Sometimes we have to advocate for them, while at other times, they must advocate for themselves. Another thin line.
• Spending time with them is invaluable. I play basketball with my boys, and also try to take an interest in other hobbies of theirs.
• Slow down and don’t overschedule them.

Clever Parents: Since you have to have one now, what’s your favorite sport to watch?

Sharon O’Donnell: That’s a tough one. Luckily, I’m a sports fan and understand most rules of sports so it’s fun for me, too. I can’t imagine sitting at a baseball game and not understanding what’s going on on the field. That would be boring. Knowing the rules makes it exciting. And sports is a great way to teach some of life’s lessons, too, as long as the guys don’t take sports TOO seriously — which definitely is a possibility in our house. Basketball has always been my favorite sport to play and watch, but we watch college ball, not NBA because college ball is more interesting and exciting to us. We are N.C. State fans in all college sports. However, since marrying my husband who was a huge Boston Red Sox fan, I’ve also become a huge Red Sox fan and love watching them play baseball. We’ve been to Boston and Baltimore to watch them play. Same with the Carolina Hurricanes. We’ve been fans since the team came to the area and have been to many games. We also are big Carolina Panthers fans and have been to Charlotte for a game. So it’s not so much having a specific favorite sport, as it has become watching and pulling for one of our teams. I’d rather watch the Panthers play football than two other teams that are not the Hurricanes play hockey, and vice versa.

Clever Parents: How do you find time for you in a household of males?
Sharon O’Donnell: Usually, I don’t, which is why I started the website and why I was inspired to write my humor book, “House of Testosterone – One Mom’s Survival in a Household of Males”, which will be released by Jefferson Press in late November. There are simply not enough hours in the day to get done everything I need/want to do. Often, I stay up until the wee morning hours working on the computer, writing, etc., and I’m too old for that. I could do that in college okay but not now. I have some friends – Robyn, Amy, and Michelle — who are lots of fun, and I try to get together with them every now and then – not as often as we like or need. Every now and then, I go to a late movie by myself (nice!) and sometimes I just go drive in the car and listen to the radio — anything to get out of the house. Of course, there is also the local Moms of Boys group that gets together every few months, and that is always fantastic! I’ve also been on a few weekends away, but I’m talking one weekend every two or three years. Not nearly enough. I look at those trips for women websites and salivate!

Clever Parents: What are your goals for momsofboys.org?
Sharon O’Donnell: I’d like to continue to make the site as comprehensive as possible, adding things or expanding on things. One of the site’s visitors once described it to me in an email as a ‘cornucopia of goodies for moms of boys’. Of course, I’d like for more women to find out about the site, and I continue to market it in small steps.

Clever Parents: What is the best thing that a mom can impart to her boys?
Sharon O’Donnell: I feel that it’s important for a mom to let her boys know it’s okay and even a good thing for them to show their emotions. If I ask, “How did you like the movie?” and they say “good”, I press for more.

I also feel that it’s important for them to be nurturing so they’ll be compassionate and hopefully be good fathers and husbands some day. I try to show them this. I’ve found that getting our pet — a little long-haired dachshund — has really brought out this side of them. Probably one of the best things my husband and I have done for our sons. I also like to ‘check in’ with them at nighttime, whether it’s to scratch their back, read a book, or simply ask about their schedule for the next day. Try to always have prayers and a good-night hug or kiss on the forehead.

Clever Parents: Anything else you’d like to share?
Sharon O’Donnell: My husband is really into Boy Scouts and has been a leader for years. He firmly believes that Scouting and other such organizations helps boys to set goals and work to achieve them. I agree. Although Scouting might not be for everybody (camping either appeals to you or it doesn’t), I think it’s important for boys to be involved in some type of community/church organization.

Sharon is a Clever Parent to three lucky boys Billy, 15, David, 12, and Jason, 6. Visit her website at www.momsofboys.org

You have a family, a job, community responsibilities, and hobbies; finding the right balance between these competing priorities is a challenging goal. According to executive coach Jeffrey Levine, it is also the wrong goal to strive for. His advice: Don’t balance, weave. That is, try and weave the various components of your life together in a way that satisfies your beliefs and aspirations.

Jeffrey is the founder of Executive Dads, an innovative coaching program “designed with the successful professional in mind, to help him or her achieve clarity about what it is they want to create – both at work and at home – empowering them to prioritize and make choices that lead to the life they want – and the work/life balance that they yearn for.”

Jeffrey works with clients to help them better connect with family, be more successful at their career, reduce stress and increase energy. All of which sounds very clever to us. Jeffrey also blogs and hosts a podcast.

Clever Parents: Tell us about yourself–you used to be in the entertainment industry, how did you move into coaching?

Jeffrey Levine: I found my work in the entertainment industry profoundly unfulfilling. Not unlike many of my current clients, it started with a vague feeling of unhappiness and grew until I knew that I needed to take some steps to change the picture.

I had a good amount of business background so I decided I would stay in the business arena. When I made the decision to return to graduate school to pursue my MBA, I was not clear on what my specific career would be. Honestly, I stepped out in faith, knowing that I would land somewhere good, and I did.

CP: What is the most important thing a working dad can do to better balance work and family?

JL: The most important shift is to realize that “balance” is not the right goal because balance suggests conflict between two competing powers – it suggests a zero-sum gain, where when one side wins, the other loses. I propose that fathers realize that they are many things – fathers, professionals with careers, sons, brothers, members of their spiritual community – and that a more achievable and satisfying goal is to successfully “weave” together all the aspects of their lives in a way that honors who they are at their core. This, of course, takes some serious introspection and a commitment to designing your legacy instead of just letting it happen. That essentially is the work I do with my clients.

CP: How can men become better fathers? What is holding them back?

JL: This is a huge question. Most new dads start out with the best of intentions. The problem is that we feel that being a father is something that should come naturally, and hate to admit that we need help. We don’t like asking for directions so why would we like admitting we need help parenting? I often start by having clients take a close and honest look at their relationship with their father – what worked that they would want to
emulate, what was missing, and how they are like their father. So I would say that personal introspection is a vital first step in becoming a better father.

And what holds us back is the belief that we don’t need any help. It amazes me how we can require years of education and training in order to be able to build a building, but the building and raising of something as complicated as a human, we think we can just “wing it.”

CP: How do your programs differ from other executive coaching programs?

JL: My programs are different from most parenting and executive coaching programs in that participants work on integrating, weaving, the various aspects of their lives. Career, to men is vitally important, and you can’t just tell him to get home earlier or make sure not to miss the soccer games. Additionally, my belief is that men need careers that they feel fulfilled in, in order to be more effective parents and to model for their kids what it means to have work that you feel passionate about. As I say in some of my marketing material, my goal is to teach dads how to reduce the conflict they feel between work and family life and increase their effectiveness and satisfaction at both.

Retiring from teaching after 30 years, Joy Frost knew she wanted to continue to help children. During her teaching career, Joy had always been impressed by the educational impact that stories had on learning. So in 2001 she set out to create a set of metaphorical stories to encourage positive self-esteem and development in children. The stories address serious issues–the value of determination, dealing with disappointment–by building a fun story around them.

A neat feature of the stories is that they come in audio format and are designed for listening before bed.

Joy chose an audio format “because the absence of visual material requires the child to participate by imagining the details of how each character looks and the way each overcomes adversity. The more a child participates on an imaginative level, the greater the impression the positive messages make on his or her mind.”

In addition, a child using the audio format can learn independently of a parent by operating the CD player, thus being able to fully participate in preparing for a restful night’s sleep.

Furthermore, the questions asked by the voice on the CD are designed for a child’s response. Again, this assures continued involvement and impresses positive messages upon the child’s mind – messages such as, “I trust myself” and “I believe in myself.” Following the story is a brief, affirming “chat” that communicates self-assuring messages such as, “Doing things differently is okay,” “Making mistakes is just part of being a child” and “All people make mistakes sometimes.”

Many of the stories have a recommended age. According to Joy, younger children, ages 2-3, can start with Trust Yourself and Believe in Yourself. As children grow, they can progress to additional titles such as Lucky Goes to The Hospital and Samatha and Starlight.

Since she started, Joy Stories has won a slew of awards including Best Children’s Product (2003), Teacher’s Choice Award 2006, and the Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence.

For Joy, all the hard work is worth it, because “(c)hildren are just plain fun! They are genuine and speak their minds(If one allows this to happen.) I love to spend time watching children play and make discoveries. I love to ask them questions and lead them to other discoveries. I KNOW that I have learned much more from children that I have taught.”