Coquette Maman

For Little Preschool Writers

Little preschoolers love to practice their letters and numbers, sometimes pretending they are writing a letter. At home we have a lot of books and sets for kids to practice letter writing but by far my daughter's favorite and the most used in our home is this Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center ($15.01 on Amazon).

The board is just the right size for her to write large and she loves to erase the board when she is done. The board comes with multiple template cards for ABC writing, numbers, games, and a blank one for them to doodle for fun. I love that everything stays together in this set and the dry-erase pens and eraser fit nicely in the board. You can also make your own templates online at Crayola.com. I haven't tried this yet but I love how this little dry-erase pad can grow with her.

Of course, writing with a marker is slippery so I don't think you should banish the idea of your child writing pencil to paper. There's definitely a tactile necessity for them to be able to slowly write on paper. In this case, I really like the Mead See and Feel Learn to Write Raised Ruling Pad ($6.29 on Amazon). The lines on the paper are not only printed but also embossed so a child can feel the pencil go over the lines. Chloe likes this a lot but she also is more inclined to start getting off the task of writing and will begin to doodle on the paper. Yes that's ok too but I found that with the activity center, when she chooses to doodle, she'll put the right template in to do so.

I'm also inclined to get her the Mead Letter Stories - Capital Letters ($4.64) and the Mead Letter Stories - Lowercase Letters ($4.90) with the letters printed on each page workbook-style so she can practice the letters she is having problems with.

If anyone else has some great writing activity sets their kids like, please let me know in the comments!

Book Review: Open This Little Book

Open This Little Book ($11.55 on Amazon) by Jesse Klausmeier and illustrated by Suzy Lee (published by Chronicle Books) brings an innovative approach to children's storytelling and is just too cute for words. Kids will enjoy opening up each little book that's within a little book to uncover multiple layers of little books being read by adorable animals. Open This Little Book features beautiful classic style illustrations, key color recognition and an awesome female giant who ends up reading the tiniest book ever. Chloe who's 4 years old now, loves pretending she's reading this book to her stuffed animals and enjoys uncovering each page as it gets smaller and smaller. It's a heartwarming story that reinforces the love of reading for all.

Author Jessie Klausmeier created this story as a 5 year old girl. Pictured above is her handmade version. Chloe often draws and makes her own little books and stories too. By just knowing that this story started from a little girl makes her love it even more. It's a great way to further inspire a kid's imagination.

Watch Open This Little Book in action with this video above.

Winner of the BubbleBum Booster Car Seat

Congratulations to Nora from College Station, TX for winning the BubbleBum Booster Car Seat in my recent giveaway. Don't forget you can now pick up these portable booster seats at your local Target.

Thanks to everyone who entered. More giveaways will be coming soon!

BubbleBum Booster Car Seat Now at Target + Giveaway

BubbleBum is the first ever inflatable booster seat that's the perfect portable companion for carpools, sleepovers, rental cars, and travel. BubbleBum is for children ages 4-11 who weigh between 40-100 pounds. It should only be used with a 3 point car seat belt (shoulder + lap belt) when used in a vehicle. It meets all U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards too. For all the times I have had a rental car while my car was in the shop, I only wished I had this to make the quick pick up from school so much easier.

BubbleBum is really easy to use. When deflated the booster is so compact and fits nicely in it's little bag. To inflate, you twist the valve open and blow until it inflates. I tried it myself and it doesn't take much effort to get it nice and full. It also comes with a seatbelt positioning clip so it sits comfortably on your child's shoulder. A huge plus is that this fits perfectly in my tote bag!

I already know this will be great for when we go to the movies and Chloe needs an extra little boost in her chair in the theater. And I am excited that we can easily bring this on our next vacation or when we have a quick car ride with a friend.

BubbleBum is now available in Target stores in the Bay Area and across the U.S. To find the Target near you that sells BubbleBum, check out the store locator.

Coquette Maman Giveaway
Leave a comment to this post to get a free BubbleBum Booster Car Seat (value $39.99). This giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. The deadline for entries is Monday January 28, 2013 at 5pm PST. Good luck!

1/28/13: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone for entering!

Note: BubbleBum product was provided for review by PR firm.

Isabella Oliver Sale: The Best Maternity Clothes + Get Extra 10% Off!

Stock up on some must-have maternity wear with Isabella Oliver's sale. As a special for Coquette readers, you'll get an additional 10% off sale items with the code 10EXTRA starting now through Sunday, January 20th at midnight!

It's for certain while pregnant you'll need a dress to wear to out either to events or just a dinner out with the hubs. I love the Ruched Tank Dress at left (sale price $76, your price with 10% offer $68.40) and the Olivia Dress at right (sale price $95.20, your price with 10% offer $85.68).

Terms and Conditions
The "Extra 10% off" offer is valid until midnight Sunday, January 20, 2013 on Baukjen and Isabella Oliver sale items. When the 10EXTRA code is applied 10% will be deducted from all sale items in the shopping basket. New arrivals, full priced items and other specific items including gift vouchers are excluded from the offer. The offer applies only to personal orders. Orders placed outside of the specified date are not eligible for these offers and the offer cannot be applied or transferred to any previous or subsequent orders placed outside of the period stated. All orders are subject to acceptance under Baukjen and Isabella Oliver's standard terms and conditions. Orders that are considered to be commercial may be excluded from these offers. Items bought during a sale period can only be returned within 7 days of receipt of the parcel. This offer is not valid in conjunction with any other Baukjen and Isabella Oliver offer, internet offer or delivery offer unless specifically stated.

Here are more picks from the Isabella Oliver sale:

Isla Stripe Maternity Dress (sale price $95.04, your price with 10% offer $85.54)

Emily Dress (sale price $95.04, your price with 10% offer $85.54)

LeapFrog TAG Reading System: Great for Young Beginning Readers

At 4 years old Chloe is ready to read. She constantly asks me how to spell certain words so she can add them to her pictures and she likes to pretend to read by moving her fingers over sentences in books. I have started to do that when we read at night for some of her easy reader books so she can sort of follow along. For Christmas, my in laws in France sent her the LeapFrog TAG Reading System($37.94 at Amazon) which is an electronic pen that works with their special paper books. They sent along a couple French versions of Rapunzel and Tinkerbell. I didn't realize how much she would enjoy the independence of being able to read and enjoy her books than with this TAG pen. I ended up getting her their beginning to read set as well as a few other English books. To me with a child who is multilingual this is fantastic because the same pen works for any of the language books as long as it's from LeapFrog. She can enjoy her French and English books now on her own.

The TAG pen is like a little computer and can connect easily to your computer with a USB cable (comes with the pen). It can hold up to around 10 books at a time. You can search their catalog for the book you have purchased and download the content on to the pen.

Each paper book allows the child to scan over words and sentences to have them read out loud to them. They can also choose to have the page auto read so they don't have to go over each word. I really like the beginning to read sets because the words will also be "sounded out" for kids so they can learn how to read. There are also some pages in the books that are activities in reading comprehension and visual search games. She loves the activities and how her paper books have come to life.

This LeapFrog Tag Storage Case ($15.54) is a great way to hold a lot of books and the TAG pen.

Chloe has some books on her iPad but I think the interactivity of the device gets in the way. In this case, you are still handling a paper book and the words on the page are large and clear for them to read. They can go back over with the TAG pen to highlight any word they want repeated and read out loud. After using this TAG pen from the holiday vacation, Chloe can now recognize words I had no idea she knew. One of her favorite books is "A Day on the Ranch" because she loves horses. She now knows some of the basic words in that book, including the word "ranch". To me this is amazing and it's allowing her to absorb the information she wants at her own pace. I feel much better spending money on more LeapFrog paper books than wasting my money on the story apps for her iPad. With LeapFrog TAG she is much more engaged and I couldn't be happier that my little girl is on her way to enjoy books as much as I do.

Here are some great LeapFrog TAG books:

LeapFrog Tag Learn to Read Phonics Book Series ($19.55)
Set 1: Short Vowels
(There are 4 sets you can build on. Each set comes with 6-7 small books.)

LeapFrog Tag Activity Storybook Toy Story 3 ($10.79)

LeapFrog Tag Early Reading Book Finding Nemo ($13.08)

LeapFrog Tag Dora Goes to School ($13.97)

Modern Kids Furniture at Room and Board

When it was time to upgrade Chloe's little desk to a bigger table and chair set I went around to all the usual kid store sites. Our loft is modern with concrete walls and 20 feet ceilings. I wasn't into the country style that most kids furniture had. Enter in Room and Board. I was surprised to find such an array of modern kids furniture at an affordable price.

I got the Jill Table ($99) and two Little Jake Chairs ($49 each) in green and this wondeful pale blue. The result is a piece that works perfectly into our home aesthetic and works well in our large living room. You can bet I'll be coming back to check Room and Board first when I need new pieces for Chloe's room that she can grow with.

Crosely Cruiser Portable Turntable: The Cutest Record Player for Kids

(Photo: Instagram coquettenatalie)

This summer on our family vacation to France, my husband found all his old records in his parents' garage. He tried to get his old record player to work but it never did. We decided to take the records back home with us and get a record player back in the U.S.

In our world of iPods, iPads and everything digital, I love the Crosley CR8005A-GR Cruiser Portable Turntable for it's retro turntable look. It comes in an array of cute colors (comes in pink, green, blue and orange) and the portable size (14" x 11" x 5") is great. I love how it closes up to look like an adorable vintage suitcase. The price point of $99.95 was just perfect and I was surprised at how the speakers sounded so good for something so compact.

I found my old Alvin and the Chipmunks and Disney records at my parents house and now Chloe is enjoying records from her parents' childhood. The sound of the needle on the vinyl is pure heaven to me.

The turntable comes with RCA outputs and my husband was able to connect some other gadgetry to it in order to convert our records into digital audio files for safe keeping in case our 35 year old records go kaput forever.

Winner of Personalized Book from My Chronicle Books

Congrats to Karen from Alameda, CA for winning a personalized book for her son by My Chronicle Books in my recent giveaway. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Wildlife with Love by Betz White

Make some holiday cheer for the little ones with Betz White's Wildlife with Love patterns. Each PDF pattern is only $12.95 and you can sew up an endangered animal with her baby. Animals include seals, polar bears and penguins. The collection was inspired by Betz's 10 year old son who donated some of his birthday money to the National Wildlife Foundation. Betz created Wildlife with Love with all children in mind, to raise awareness and to support NWF. It's an extra special gift to make something and here's a chance to create a treasured toy that will be fun for you to sew up.

Betz White is one of my favorite artists and crafters and you can visit her at betzwhite.com. Follow her blog, it's very inspirational!