A Healthy Start to the New School Year

Kiwi is my favorite parenting magazine, and their shop always features lovely products! This year they sent me some great products to help give my kids a healthy start to the new school year! Here’s our take on the items they sent us (note: this shop no longer exists; links have been updated to Amazon affiliate links where products are still sold):

• Emma likes to eat soups and warm dishes for lunch, and the OrganicKidz thermal food container is perfect for this – as well as dishes you want to keep nice and cool, like fruit salad. I love the fact that it is stainless steel – on the inside, too! You will want to have your child practice putting the lid on and taking it off. Fill with ice water first before adding ingredients you want cold, and fill with boiling water before adding something you want to keep hot for extra good insulation.
• The Green Toys Jump Rope is well made and great for kids to use. You will need to knot the rope to shorten it for smaller kids – the seven foot rope is long enough that I can use it in a pinch. Honestly, I would love to see them release this same jump rope in an adult length – it has a nice feel to it and I like the handles. It’s even eco-friendly, with handles made 100% from recycled plastic.
• Two-year-old Anna loves the Sili Squeeze, which works just like the fruit pouches you find in stores. I find this easier to clean out than some of the other reusable pouches we have tried (that looked more like the non-reusable kind you buy ready-filled in stores). Interestingly, she likes to use it best as a water bottle – not its intended use, and also one that can be a bit messy since the top is simply open once you flip the cap (not leak-proof).

I know that packing lunches can be hard, so I also wanted to collect some ideas from last week’s Afterschool linky, as well as some of my cohosts. Here you go!

• 20 fun healthy snacks from Adventures in Wunderland
• Lunch box hacks from Sunshine & Hurricanes
• Tons of great ideas on this Help for Packing School Lunches Pinterest board from The Educators’ Spin On It as well as posts sharing simple solutions for healthy school lunches and after school snacks and healthy eats for on the go families from this wonderful blog.
• A great nutrition printable from Deceptively Educational to help kids understand what makes a healthy snack.

2014 After School Party HOSTS

The Educators’ Spin On It
Planet Smarty Pants
Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Mama Smiles
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational
The Measured Mom
This Reading Mama

What afterschool activities are your kids enjoying, and how are you easing your kids into a new school year? I hope you will share your posts below! By linking up you give the linky hosts listed above permission to feature your post and to pin it to our After School Activities board on Pinterest.

I received these products for free from the KIWI Shop, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

KIWI Shop is celebrating the relaunch of their site with a trip giveaway! Enter the KIWI Shop Sweet Escape Sweepstakes to win a 5-day, 4-night family getaway to San Diego, California! Experience an array of family-friendly activities on a waterfront setting at the gorgeous Kona Kai Resort & Marina in San Diego Bay. Enjoy water activities, a dinner for your family, and a trip to the spa for mom and dad! Sweepstakes ends December 31, 2014!

MaryAnne Kochenderfer

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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.