Settling into Summer with Sparkle Stories : A Sparkle Stories Review

Having the kids all home for the summer is a blessing for sure - except when you have that sacred two or three hour window when one or two of your kids should be napping... the extra noise created by my older kids can be really disruptive to the toddler's nap and when the toddler doesn't nap the toddler isn't happy when means momma isn't happy....

I've read about Sparkle Stories in a few places including when they were mentioned in another blog a few months back and recently I decided to check them out when they introduced a FREE 10 day trial. My kids were hooked immediately. They ask to listen in the car, before bed during our "quiet" afternoons at home, all. the. time. which I don't mind because it is something I can easily say YES! to.

So what are they? Sparkle Stories actually describes it quite perfectly "Sparkle Stories are simple, delightful and filled with a sense of wonder. They inspire children to play, to marvel, to laugh, and to be kind." Additionally the content is purely for children so "You'll never need to worry about inappropriate content - as we craft each of our stories to be perfect for young ears". The stories are beautifully written and are performed with many voices for each of the characters and different series - each with unique characters and themes.

The "story spinner" David as they call him has a lovley tone to his voice. The stories are not only magical and engaging but many of them have powerful messages that address anything from fear of the dark, to changes in a family's life, social struggles, bullying, to the emotions that come with ending/beginning a school year. 

There are also TON of stories just for fun that pique little one's imaginations, stir up creativity and inspire children to think and play!

I dedicated myself to creating a more structured home routine this summer what one of my children was repeatedly asking me what we were doing later today or tomorrow or next week. She wants to know the plan! And I found this was the perfect way to work sparkle stories into our day. I work (lehighvalley.findandgoseek.net) a number of hours each day (often before the kids wake or after bed but it nice to get some time in during the day as well - since I'm usually freshest after my 1pm latte).

I have one napper still and really needed something that my older two children could do that was both mindful of their little sister and didn't require too much supervision from me that and had some educational value and inspired some quiet time so mommy could work a little bit. I think most parents would agree this is a pretty tall order. Now we're only a weeks days into summer but so far my plan is working (insert evil mom laugh here) but In all seriousness this has been a life saver on all fronts! Above is my middle kiddo who fell asleep the first afternoon they listened to the stories and took a solid 1/5 hour nap! If you were wondering - yes, those are vintage Little Mermaid Sheets from 1991 we used them for some fort building.

I set them up with a story in their room each afternoon for their "quiet time" and its become pretty well accepted most days. They love the stories and the characters and are even engaged in listening to the story. We've also began to listen during breakfast time recently - it seems to help them focus on eating. Getting a good solid breakfast is hard for us, my kids wake up ready to hit the road running and rarely want to stop to eat breakfast.

So here is how you can listen! There are a few different options.

The Sparkle Stories App

By becoming a subscriber you can listen to unlimited stories as often as you like! Their app makes it really easy to stream content or download stories for offline listening. The app is searchable and sorted by age ranges, themes and the different original series available. You can also stream the stories from the mobile version of their website on your phone.

Sparkle Stories Podcast

Sparkle stories releases a few stories each week on their podcast (like on demand radio, if you haven't used podcasts before). Which you can easily subscribe to wherever you choose to listen to podcasts (Apple users will have an embedded call with a purple microphone to manage podcast usage). Just search for Sparkle Stories and subscribe! Each time a new story is added you will be notified. Its super easy and FREE!

Sponsorship/Affiliate Disclaimer: 

lehighvalley.findandgoseek.net only exists because of hours upon hours of work that comes directly from the heart of a mom who wants to make the Lehigh Valley a better place to raise your family. Because of our effort we publish a resource that makes your life as a parent easier, makes the Lehigh Valley more welcoming to a family new to the area and helps make the Lehigh Valley a more vibrant and engaging place for families to grow and live. In order to make it possible to continue doing this we must find ways to generate income from our work. At times you will see posts from sponsors who pay us a fee to help them spread the word about their business or event. All opinions expressed are 100% our own, the product reviewed in this blog article has been provided at no charge to us in exchange for our unbiased honest review. This article contains no affiliate links and we do not receive any compensation if you decide to try Sparkle Stories.  Barters and fees that we receive from our sponsors and affiliates help make the website the best it can possibly be, they put food on our family's table , provide you with great content and allow us to keep doing what we do! By patronizing the businesses who support us and by choosing to opt in to offers we share you keep lehighvalley.findandgoseek.net alive - making it possible for us to continue to provide information and engaging content for years to come. Without you and without our valued sponsors the website could not continue to operate. We love all of our LVFGS Families and thank you for your support.

DIY Molded Crayons and Block Crayons and Free Printable Valentine

For the past two years we've prepared Valentines treats for school using fun molded crayons! I took the time this year to document the process to share it on the blog. This is such a fun indoor activity that is perfect for a rainy or snowy afternoon. It is a great way to include a "treat" or a little something extra with your kiddo's valentines without any allergy issues or extra sugar.

First you will need a few silicone molds. You can find these in the baking aisle, or where the ice cube trays are, sometimes you can snag some in the $1 bins at Target. Any shape will do!

We had some Lego men, Hearts and a new one I just purchased for the purpose of creating some Block Crayons (these are commonly used in my kids' school) and I wanted to make some for home. Block crayons are excellent for little ones to grasp and are awesome for shading and coloring large areas because of the wide sides, they also are much harder to break. This mold is the perfect 1 inch by 2inch size for making these specialized crayons. Its helpful to take a look at this video if you are unfamiliar with block crayons and how theirs used. If you interested in grabbing some molds for yourself. Links to the ones we used here are embedded below and above.

Lego Men Mold

Block Crayon Mold
Heart Shaped Mold

Start off with new or old crayons (this is a great way to recycle old and broken crayons!) and prep to peel them by placing some warm (not hot) water and a pump or two of dish soap into a baking pan. Lay out your crayons and let them soak for a few minutes. After a little bit you'll notice the paper will start to peel off of the crayon and you will be able to easily slide them out or unravel the paper. If you notice that your crayons aren't peeling try added some more warm water to your tray.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Once your crayons are peeled and dry you can begin placing them in the molds. Fill them high! If there are a bit higher than the top of the mold that is OK the crayons will settle when they melt. If you don't fill them enough you will end up with really tiny, thin crayons that will probably break when you try to remove them.

With smaller molds it may be hard to break the crayons with your hands so they are small enough. Adults can use a knife to chop them up or we use these Handy wooden choppers that my kids used to make theirs smaller. They love these tools for helping make dinner to chop carrots or other fresh veggies, make cheese cubes and more. 

Set a timer for 10 minutes, and with your mold on a cookie sheet put them in the oven. After the timer has gone off go back and check your crayons, if your crayons seem to low in the mold you can add a few additional pieces to them. Set the timer for another 7 minutes, after 7 more minutes your crayons should all have melted. They will be ready to come out and cool. You can cool them on the counter or place in the freezer cool if if you want them ready faster. I like to use a tooth pick to swirl the melted colors before they cool to give them a marbled effect.

Once cooled carefully remove your molded crayons! Molds with more details (such as the lego men) will require more caution when removing (we had one casualty).  Our finished products turned out really awesome! 

  

    

If you find you have some clear wax that separated from your crayons, simply shave it off using a vegetable peeler to smooth the backside of the crayon. 

We've prepped a cute printable Valentine for you to include with your molded crayons! 

Download a FREE printable PDF to make your own Crayon Valentines

Sponsorship/Affiliate Disclaimer: 

lehighvalley.findandgoseek.net only exists because of hours upon hours of work that comes directly from the heart of a mom who wants to make the Lehigh Valley a better place to raise your family. Because of our effort we publish a resource that makes your life as a parent easier, makes the Lehigh Valley more welcoming to a family new to the area and helps make the Lehigh Valley a more vibrant and engaging place for families to grow and live. In order to make it possible to continue doing this we must find ways to generate income from our work. At times you will see posts from sponsors who pay us a fee to help them spread the word about their business or event. This article contains affiliate links from businesses that give us a very small portion of your purchase should you decide to purchase from any of our links.  Barters and fees that we receive from our sponsors and affiliates help make the website the best it can possibly be, they put food on our family's table and allow us to keep doing what we do! By patronizing the businesses who support us and by choosing to opt in to offers we share you keep lehighvalley.findandgoseek.net alive - making it possible for us to continue to provide information and engaging content for years to come. Without you and without our valued sponsors the website could not continue to operate. We love all of our LVFGS Families and thank you for you support.