My First Crayola Review/Giveaway

I love Crayola products. It's, in my opinion, the most trusted brand among moms and schools everywhere. Not to say that there aren't other great products out there, but Crayola® is our family's favorite.

So of course I was excited when I received the opportunity to try out the My First Crayola™ product line.

I have 2 sons ages 14 months, and 4 years old. Creative time is a very important staple in our house. I believe in encouraging children to create, and let their imaginations soar. I love to praise them for all that they do, and their little faces just light up with joy. But encouraging our children to be creative is not only important for the creative aspect or for esteem building, but it also helps them develop large and fine motor skills!



Did you know? Your child's first art experiences help develop very important large and fine motor skills like hand-eye coordination, self-confidence, and early literacy skills.


I love my children's creations. I am one of those moms that saves every little drawing whether it is actually something or is a scribble. To me they are all wonderful. I have frames filled with them, binders full of them, and my fridge is overflowing with pictures.
Here's some tips from Cheri Sterman (Crayola's child development expert) on how to encourage a child's development and sense of discovery:

• Build their vocabulary. Not sure what to say about the page of dots or dashes your child created?  Describe the colors and shapes you see to help your child add new words to their vocabulary.
• Tell me about your picture? Children’s drawings are their first communication well before they can read and write. Ask your child to tell you about the drawing they create. That blue blob you’re looking at may be a puppy, an elephant or a tiger.  It’s OK for the same blue blob to mean something different tomorrow. Resist the urge to tell your child what you see and listen to their interpretation.
• Focus on the process.  Pudding paintings and rhythmically dotting colors on paper are part of the important journey to eventually creating more recognizable drawings. Emphasize the enjoyment of the process more than the end result.  The actual work is not as important as the joy your child felt when creating it.
• Creative confidence. As your child grows into the toddler years, and their scribbles take shape creative confidence begins to bloom.  One of the best responses to your child’s artwork is, “Let’s hang it on the refrigerator together.”

Here's a look at some of the products I got to try and my thoughts on them:

::My First Crayola Washable Crayons, Markers, and Stampers (for ages 12 mos +)::

For me, these were probably the easiest markers and stamps I've ever had the pleasure to wash off our skin. My sons got marks on their skin and I simply had to use a baby wipe to get the marker and stamps off. No harsh scrubbing necessary. The design of the crayons, markers, and stampers fit easily into my kids small hands and they come in different animals and colors which makes it that much more fun. The base simply removes from the crayons and markers and goes back on with ease. This makes it easier for really small hands who have a tendency to break crayons easily. And on the stampers there was no base to remove at all. They are all in one, and they just simply flip down as you press down.


::My First Crayola Mess-Free Marker & Paper (12 mos +)::
The animal for this was the Panda bear and it was wonderful for my 14 month old. He LOVES to scribble around and can get a bit wacky in his excitement. Since this marker ONLY works on the Crayola mess-free paper I didn't have to worry about marker colors showing up everywhere. And it made colorful designs on the paper almost like a rainbow which he quite enjoyed.



::My First Crayola Mess-Free Fingerpaint & Paper (24 mos +)::
Just like the mess-free marker and paper the fingerpaint was the same. There's no mess since it only works on Crayola's magic mess-free paper and it reveals a combination of colorful design patterns which makes it fun and amusing for your young one. I used this mostly with Lucas (4 yrs) since Levi (14 mos) kept trying to eat the paint, but all in all we did do some fingerpainting with it.



::My First Crayola Washable Dry-Erase Activity Mat (24 mos +)::
This was by far our favorite and was so easy for on-the-go trips such as errand days. It comes with 12 activites and coloring pages that just slide into place and you can print more coloring pages and activies online to insert. Your child simply uses the dry-erase crayons to color, create, erase, and start all over again. It even has a little pouch on the back that holds the dry-erase crayons, and folds easily. It comes equipped with a little handle which makes it easy to carry while on-the-go. The dry-erase crayons are in a triangular shape which I noticed seems easier for little hands to grip.



Also available is My First Crayola Bath Crayons and Canvas which I can't wait to give a try. I'm going to get it as a surprise for Lucas. :)




A video peek at My First Crayola::

Special Offer
Crayola and Cheerios® cereal are offering up to $5.00 in coupon savings on My First Crayola™ products, so you can enjoy a little colorful fun at the breakfast table!  Look for My First Crayola™ on original Cheerios cereal boxes.
My kids love Cheerios, and we never are without them on trips or anything. It was one of the first dry snack foods I ever offered to either of my children.

Learn more about the tools from Crayola that make it easy for parents to help children develop their creativity, by visiting www.Crayola.com and liking Crayola on Facebook!

Like Crayola on FACEBOOK or TWITTER

Now you can win your very own Crayola Prize Pack for your little ones. Just follow the instructions on the rafflecopter form to enter. Only one winner will be chosen to win the below prizes as listed on the rafflecopter form which will together make up your prize pack. I always keep my entries simple with extra entries always available. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway








Disclosure:  The information, products, coupon, video and additional My First Crayola™ gift pack was provided by Crayola® and Cheerios through MyBlogSpark.