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My kids love drawing on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. Here’s a unique rainbow-shaped one I’ll add to their chalk bucket.
This thick, easy to grab chalk will help kids unleash their inner artists. The set includes two rainbow-colored pieces for countless options. And it’s completely washable, so no worries if a little chalk ends up on clothes (or the house).
This set of rainbow sidewalk chalk is $5 at Target.
Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Zappos – 26,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
Anon says
When do I start teaching my newly 4 year old about time? He is really not understanding the concept. I’m wondering if he’s not ready.
Anon says
4 is pretty young. My kid got a much better grasp of time in kindergarten, both in terms of reading a (digital) clock and in terms of what it actually means. We never really taught her anything at home about time.
A says
Just savor the absolute in the moment that comes when you have no concept of time. Time will come crashing in and then you can teach how to read a clock etc.
Anon says
This! Haha
Anon says
Yes, enjoy that when you say “5 minutes until bedtime” no one comes back with “the clock says 7:24 so it’s actually SIX minutes”
Anonymous says
“Just a second” “ONE. Okay, now can you _____?”
“We’ll go later.” “It IS later, mom.”
“Mom we are late! We are going to be late! OMG GET IN THE CAR WE WILL NOT MAKE IT TO PRACTICE ON TIME WE ARE LATE.” (spoiler: we were not late and also, she wasn’t ready earlier.)
Anonymous says
That last one never happens to me. I am always the one shooing my kids out the door, because when all they have left to do is get their shoes on… they suddenly remember they also are STARVING, and need to use the bathroom, and need to bring their [fill in random object here] with them. The last 5 minutes to get out the door always somehow take 15.
TheElms says
It is a hard concept. Its abstract and it seems abstract thinking at this age is really hard, so we try to make it as concrete as possible. Our preschools started in PK3 with days of the week and seasons (which are related to time), and also the daily schedule in terms of an order of events. In PreK 4 they are still working on days of the week and weekends, and morning, lunch, afternoon, night. We also count time in sleeps, which seems to really help. Little sleeps were naps (until she stopped napping) and then big sleeps (overnight). So we count down to Christmas in number of big sleeps for example and use a paper calendar to cross the days off. We also equate lengths of time to tv shows. So if dinner is in 20 minutes that is about the same as one episode of whatever show she currently likes. She knows what a clock and while she can read the numbers on a digital clock she doesn’t understand what it means. We also have a visual timer so she can see the colored area decrease as the time counts down. But yeah it takes a long time and you need to lay a lot of foundation before you actually start talking about time in relation to a clock. I think my almost 5 year old is just about ready to do that so we might do it over the summer. But I don’t expect her to be able to reliably tell time even with a digital clock until at least the end of Kindergarten or first grade.
Lil says
The visual timer has been helpful in getting my kids out of the house in the morning. 7 year old still can’t tell time on a clock but he understands that he has to put on his shoes when the color is almost gone.
Anonymous says
I never really did. Schools and just life generally did it for me. All my kids are able to read clocks and tell time.
We do have one clock that has roman numerals at home, so we did teach them those after they learned basic clock stuff (1st grade? 2nd?).
Anon says
Yeah they taught in very explicitly in K in our school district. No need to do anything at home imo.
Anon says
What resorts have good kids’ camps for four-year olds?
Anon says
I think most of the free camps at resorts are fairly similar, so I wouldn’t choose a resort based on the kid’s club.
anon says
Beaches
Anon says
My family loves Beaches and we’ve gone several times but I actually think the kids camps there are relatively unimpressive for the price and considering how child-centric that resort is in general. The big childcare benefit of Beaches is free childcare for kids under 3 but that doesn’t apply to OP.
Anon says
For those of you who give early elementary kids an allowance, what sorts of things do you have them spend it on?
We’ve been giving our 6 year old a $5/week allowance for a while, but pretty much the only thing she has to buy with it are toys, and with that amount of money she can buy a stuffed animal from the discount bin every week or two. The stuffed animals are taking over our house and it doesn’t seem like the best money lesson to be constantly spending. It seems like we gave her too much money, but cutting the allowance doesn’t seem very fair, so I’m thinking maybe we can find some other things she should have to use allowance money for. She doesn’t really have any interest in clothes or beauty stuff, and we mostly buy books to encourage reading although we do set limits at school book fairs and make her use allowance beyond what we agree to buy. We match her contributions for school charity drives if she wants to contribute, which she normally does. She does ok saving up for things like vacations, so I think it’s not that she can’t save, but more just that she has little incentive to at the current allowance level.
Anon says
Unintentionally teaching kids that all their money is for fun discretionary spending is a major issue with allowance for sure! Without lowering the amount you could ask her to start saving a certain amount of it. Maybe identify a major fun thing in the $50-$100 range? And/or expect her to save a certain amount each week for “college” ie unimaginably far into the future.
Spirograph says
Do you give her $5 in cash every week? I am a big fan of just… depositing allowance money into my kids’ savings account. First, because it’s easier when I don’t have to have cash always handy in the right denominations, second because I’ve told them a million times how it’s best to “pay yourself first,” and this is how it works. If you don’t see the money, you’re not as tempted to spend it impulsively. They keep a small amount in cash in case they want to get vending machine snack or something while we’re out and about, but we try to encourage a 3-day cooling off period for anything the kids want to buy. Three days later, if they still want to make the purchase, we move some money from their savings account to ours, and give them the equivalent in cash so they can make the purchase.
There’s a Million Bazillion podcast episode about the cooling off period… it might be the one about advertising and your “lizard brain.” In any case, it made a lot of sense to all of us, and the kids usually don’t push back if we remind them it’s best to wait and see if you still want something a couple days later before your actually spend the $$.
OP says
Not cash because my husband and I never have cash ourselves. We keep a running balance for her and then when she wants to buy something we just put it on a credit card and subtract from her running total. We have grandparents etc report to us if she buys a toy when she’s out with them. She’s very aware of how much she has.
Anon says
This may be part of the issue. If she doesn’t see and handle and physically give up the cash, she isn’t really learning about money (IMO). I would lower the amount; for my 6yo we do $5 a month and my 8yo gets $10 a month. They put it in banks in their rooms, and then bring it to the store and often I’ll have them pay the cashier directly.
It’s not that hard to keep a stack of $5s in a drawer to have on hand. And if I order them something online, they hand the money to me and I put it back in the drawer for next month
Anonymous says
I think my response was eaten, but in short we do $3/ week (third grade) and it’s divided to charity, save, and spend (in part because my older child has so much spending anxiety – this was encouraging him to spend a little bit). Save can be for bigger purchases, doesn’t have to be for e.g. college. My kids usually buy gum (which we don’t buy for them) or save for something bigger (recently, and NBA ball cap). Within reason I think it’s ok to set limits on spending, like no candy or no more stuffies for a few months. Overall I’m fine with it mostly being fun money – even in All of a Kind Family the kids had pocket money for treats – but we keep the amount low enough that they can’t just go wild on treats or toys. We also do $1/chapter book read the first year a kid is able to read chapter books, pay for larger or one-off chores, etc.
Anonymous says
Where do you take her to spend the money? When we started with allowances we had a talk with the kids and told them we would no longer be buying them extras, that was on them now. Kids are 5-11 and they usually spend their money at Target or TJ Maxx.
– little toys from Target
– Roblox dollars
– those horrible surprise balls (LOL, minibrands, whatever) that are $9.99 at target but we find them cheaper at TJMaxx
– packs of gum/mints (we don’t buy this for them anymore)
– quarters at the supermarket checkout
– fancy erasers
– cake pops and pink drinks at starbucks
– for my older kiddo, concession stand money at sports games she goes to with friends
– saving up for a bigger item (eg. a $20-$30 item)
We also periodically take the $$ out of their piggie banks, count it, and anything over $20 I strongly suggest gets put into their online savings accounts. Nearly all the time they green light that. They will get $$ for random holidays, from the tooth fairy, and I let them keep whatever they find when they do laundry or clean out the cars.
OP says
My husband takes her to the grocery store every weekend and that’s where she buys most of her toys. I don’t love it, but he’s doing a chore for the whole family by getting the grocery shopping done so I don’t feel like I’m really in a position to tell him not to do it.
Other than that, there’s not a ton of opportunity for spending.. we buy treat foods if we initiate but not if it’s something she asks for, e.g., if the whole family goes out for ice cream we pay, but if we’re at the zoo and she asks for an ice cream she pays. At school book fairs, we normally buy her one book and she buys additional books and any toys she wants. Charity contributions for school, like I said. And she buys all her souvenirs on vacation and does normally save up at least $20 in advance of each vacation.
Anon says
At that age, we automatically required that a percentage of their allowance be dedicated to savings — and then just made the math easier on us. So, I would just round up to an allowance of $6, with $2 going to savings and $4 going to spending. The kids had a couple of years where they received an automatic allowance, and go to see the “save” category go up without doing anything, and it was enough of a habit that now when they are actually earning money, they understand that a percentage should go to savings. They usually hand me the cash they get from babysitting or pet sitting or whatever, and I ask them how much they want in spend/save so that I can allocate to their accounts electronically. Both kids put at least 20% in savings, sometimes more. My more impulsive spender usually initially picks a smaller percentage to save, but it’s a matter of habit that something is going into savings because they have never received money without some part of it being saved.
We use Greenlight, so they each have a debit card for their spending accounts, but most major banks are offering kid debit cards these days. I would prefer to link to my bank account to avoid extra fees, but it’s been fine. I also like how clean the app is so that they can see how quickly a purchase drains their spending accounts. At 11 and 9, they both understand that their savings accounts are for “buying cheeseburgers” in college. It didn’t resonate at 7, but for my 11 year old, she’s happy to be saving to have spending money for college nights out with friends.
Anon says
I’d probably just tell her she’s at maximum stuffed animal capacity and for every new one she brings home an old one has to be given away. It helps to have a physical limit (like they all need to fit in this basket).
Anonymous says
What are some things you do to treat yourself that don’t cost money?
Anon says
Following along to a restorative yoga class on youtube video always makes me feel better.
Also, it technically costs money, but I pay for an annual membership to our local botanical garden. So if I need a pick me up going there for “free” with my membership feels like a treat. Or sometimes I’ll go on a nice walk/hike at a local nature center.
Anon says
+1 to the botanical garden. We’re members of the Chicago Botanic Garden even though we live more than 2 hours from the north shore. We get up there a couple times per year and also use the reciprocal privileges a couple times a year while traveling. It’s well worth it to me.
Spirograph says
+ 1 to a hike. Or a solo bike ride. Or in a pinch, just a meandering walk around my neighborhood while listening to a podcast or audio book. Also hot beverage + book + blanket (or bath)
GCA says
Meeting a friend, going for a walk or run outdoors somewhere scenic if you have a nearby arboretum or hiking trails, or doing both of those at the same time. I’m also not above pinching my kid’s Crayola watercolor set to do (my own hopelessly unskilled approximation of) a YouTube watercolor tutorial, during which I have to desperately mix paint to match colors, because I’m working with an 8-color Crayola pan – maybe you are also art-inclined? Anyway, you could do something similarly meditative.
SC says
Reading. I check out books from the library, usually through Libby so they’re on my Kindle. DH bought me a hammock for Christmas, and the weather is just perfect for outdoor reading right now. I read most days, but sneaking in 20 or 30 minutes hear and there, or listening to audiobooks while I’m doing something else. It feels so luxurious to curl up for an hour or two or three and really sink into a book.
Anon says
Baths
Reading
Making cookies (not technically free but super cheap)
Calling a friend
Anonymous says
Taking a walk (without my kids) is my best and most frequent one! Making a chocolate mug cake, although not the healthiest haha. Blasting my music in the car if I’m alone. I’m also a big believer in grounding and go outside barefoot or lay in the yard staring at the sky for 10 mins – yes we’re the crazy hippie family on the block.
Vicky Austin says
I love laying in the yard to stare at the sky! I need to do it more often.
Anonymous says
Going to the sauna or hot tub at the gym! (Gym membership is a free benefit of my spouse’s job so for us the cost is free)
Anonymous says
Potty question: My 3yo can manage to go without peeing from after school (around 4pm or 5pm) until 7:30am the next morning. We put her in a pull-up to sleep, but she’s invariably dry when she wakes up. Sometimes she pees right before bed (7pm) but often she doesn’t need to, and we end up with that super long stretch of no pee from before dinner until breakfast the next morning. She pees regularly during the day. Should I be worried that she’s dehydrated? It seems kind of crazy to me that she can hold it for so long.
Anon says
I’m not an expert but my 6 year old is like this. We joke that she has a bladder of steel. She normally only pees twice a day, sometimes three times. Never more. She’s been like this since she potty trained at 3.5. Her ped said as long as her urine is light colored (it is) she’s fine. Apparently urine color is a much better indicator of hydration that pee frequency. Good news, road trips will be super easy!
Anonymous says
Yes, I would be concerned but I would talk with her doctor. I’d be more concerned about her bladder and longer term consequences than dehydration unless her pee is very dark.
Anon says
+1 Holding your bladder too long can stretch it out, lead to infection, or cause it to thicken, all of which can lead to issues down the road.
Make it a family rule that everyone goes to the bathroom as part of the bedtime routine, even just to try.
Anon says
Talk to me about infant car seats that lie flat (when not in the car) for safer sleep. I heard somewhere that they’re more common in Europe or Canada and it seems tricky to find one in the U.S. What are the pros (besides the obvious) and the cons?
Anon says
Just take the baby out of the car seat when you get home. Yes, sometimes they wake up. Yes, sometimes they stay asleep but you end up nap trapped when you weren’t planning for it.
Anon says
I have never heard of these, it’s possible none are approved in the US. You could put the car seat in the stroller to keep the appropriate positioning. But babies shouldn’t be in a car seat longer than 2 hours at a time anyway
Anon says
Yeah I don’t believe they’re approved in the US. There are major differences in whats approved between the US, Canada and the UK/EU.
Lise says
I have seen this in a store within a hospital, and I think it was specifically for babies who could not safely go in a regular seat at their size/with their medical needs. I think it would probably be outgrown super quickly?
Anonymous says
Cons would be if you got a baby with reflux who really would hate laying flat more than necessary :)
Anon says
Advice for helping a child who is a picker? My almost 6 year old daughter is already in OT and we have a full neuropsych evaluation scheduled for next month. She used to just pick her nose which was gross, but now she is picking at her lips to the point that they bleed, the skin on her fingers so that a raw layer is revealed and the skin on her feet. We are working with professionals but has anyone found any particular sensory tools, jewelry etc that their child or you yourself has been able to retrain their brain to use in lieu of their body?
Anonymous says
can you give her a fidget? Do you know what triggers it (boredom, habit, nerves etc)? Is it at school too or just home? I have a kid that used to pull her eyelashes out when she was tired/melting down/frustrated and it was so, so hard to watch. I think she eventually just outgrew it but what helped was holding her hand and rubbing her back to provide some physical stimulation and also if holding her hands she couldn’t pull on her lashes.
Any kind of fidget could work. This also sounds silly but maybe try something to play with, like a fitbit? I was surprised how easily my kid moved from picking her nose/butt/whatever to messing with the settings on her fitbit. You could also give her coloring so she’s got her hands busy.
My kid was Peak Fidget at age 6, and by 7.5 she outgrew a lot of it and / or learned to redirect (coloring, wiggling inside her shoe, that sort of thing).
Anon says
Thinking Putty. Regular fidget toys worked but not as well as something that a more tactile sensation like the Thinking Putty. I’d keep her lips hydrated with Aquaphor or Vaseline to eliminate the dry, flaky spots that are easily picked at. Same with the fingers, too. But I also wouldn’t worry too much. I still chew/bite the inside of my cheeks, and I like to think it hasn’t impacted me personally or professionally.
Anon says
The biggest thing is that kids have to practice with their tools to build up the muscle memory. For 20 min a day every day they need to be fidgeting and then once it’s more routine you can start trying to stop the picking.
Anonymous says
Our pediatrician suggested pieces of fabric with raw edges where they can pick out threads.
Anon says
I’m finally having the bottle fairy come and take my toddler’s bottles (very overdue) in return for a super cool present. What are some good teeth friendly cups to replace them with for her morning and evening milk? Is anyone up to speed on what pediatric dentists recommend these days? (Our next dentist visit is several months away.)
Anon says
We used the munchkin straw weighted cups. A bit of a pain to clean but my girls loved them. DH made them stop using them at age 5 and now they won’t drink milk anymore
Anon says
We used Zak tumblers. Lots of fun, toddler approved designs. Easy to replace. Mostly spill proof. Very easy to clean.
Anon says
Neither our pediatrician nor our dentist had particular recommendations – they just said no bottles after 1 and only do straw or open cups, not sippie cups. I think our straw cups are Munchkin?
An.On. says
The only advice my dentist had was to make sure teeth were brushed regularly, and especially after the last milk/juice before bedtime. Once we eliminated bottles though, we didn’t really have that falling asleep on the bottle issue anymore so it kind of solved itself. YMMV but my kid did not want to replace the bottle with a sippy cup, so we just went without an evening drink for awhile (have since gone to water in an open cup). Dentist has never asked about what kind of cups we use.
Anon says
For milk, munchkin360. For water we went straight to open cups, small ones in tempered glass that never break. We had a water bottle for taking out and about but at home water was consumed at the table. So much easier to wash and store, I will never go back.
Anon says
Birthday gift ideas for 6 year old girls? What did your kids get for the holidays that they like? My twins turn 6 next month and we are fortunate to have like 10+ different relatives who will ask me what to get them and they all like to give items. My girls don’t really play with dolls (which makes me sad as i loved them as a child) and mostly do arts and crafts but we have enough paper, stickers, glue, washi tape, tempura paint sticks, dot paint etc to last until December (or longer). Where we live summer is super hot/humid and we are either in a pool or inside. They already have towels, swim suits, cover ups, etc
Anon says
I’ve given this unicorn painting set to a bunch of 6 year old girls who loved it: https://www.target.com/p/paint-your-own-unicorn-and-friends-it-39-s-so-me/-/A-75000539
Target has a lot of arts and craft kits in general that make good presents. We’ve given and received several jewelry sets and the glow in the dark rock painting. This is the right age for a Spirograph if they don’t already have one.
Squishmallows are still super popular with the 6-7 year old girls I know.
Swim stuff beyond the obvious? My daughter got a mesh parrot beach toy for her recent 6th birthday that she loved.
Card games/board games are good too.
My daughter has gotten more serious about art lately and used supplies like oil pastels, acrylic pants, watercolors and canvases so those could be gifts if they don’t already have them.
NYCer says
+1 to all of these ideas. A few more:
– Bead sets (you can find all sorts of elaborate kits to make your own bracelets and necklaces)
– Skillmatics Foil Fun make your own sticker kit
– Kinetic sand (my daughter has a Kinetic sand ice cream set that she loves)
anon says
My kids really enjoyed getting a unicorn stationary set at about that age. They wrote lots of letters to friends and family and were so excited to mail them–covered in stickers and other nonsense. It was a surprising hit.
https://www.amazon.com/Original-Stationery-Unicorn-Letter-Writing/dp/B08BZSQ6JR/ref=sr_1_5_pp?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.A7zWNFkmvACl0MosWUZjZpqf8q1rk35NEzik7DcPEKCMrUfmqsRKG-ADcOw7PIt7Hq-Ioawf5RsyA6dQIjAM-grgoNFafy-Kz2q9h6Gm65QaOW_7tNuymLi10keX1i0uSnEZXBFd799Qmyc9cgr5qbY0gmJNZVVNeV82l9PFVMDOuyP0_ydPd15Wib68GbBk4BLg9TGHrXXZEmTgMfbk_rJ-SQr-pGWhz5WttsHPJ5XS1QrCMi9gz57L5-bSMenPIqRpbAADH7tb3Q1VyVkvonpjAHPrazFFCfZG_BMYQws.p3D0usk7ukMciuxLJNfAIrV917tCAD43foZnl_ZcuYo&dib_tag=se&keywords=unicorn+stationery+set&qid=1712341255&sr=8-5
Spirograph says
If you’re not opposed to some more stuff in your house, there are lots of craft kits that my very arts-and-craftsy daughter has enjoyed. Michael’s or any other craft store usually has a whole kid section with everything from beads & rainbow loom to specific project materials like string art, little yarn monsters, felt puppets, etc. Adjacent idea: fairy garden/terrarium or science kits like crystal-growing, slime-making, etc. Glow-in-the-dark stars to stick on their bedroom ceiling.
GCA says
My kids are suddenly really into making Rainbow Loom bracelets and necklaces. Con: lots of tiny colorful elastic bands that go all over the place. Pro: it’s still neater than glitter.
Are they into Legos? Lego Creator sets are great and reasonably priced.
My 5yo got a Dear Smart Girl engineering kit for Xmas and loved it (needs some adult help). Very generous relatives could give Kiwicrate subscriptions.
On the boring and practical front, swim-related consumables like detangling hair spray or fun sunscreen/ neon-colored sunblock?
Anonymous says
What about stomp rockets, a quality pool float, or an indoor park season pass? Like the children’s museum or aquarium, or Urban Air or something.
anon says
Do your two like dress-up? Butterfly wings and cat ears are big over here. Otherwise seconding craft kits and board games. We bought hours of fun with the Nat Geo kits where you dig out gemstones.
anon says
My kids loved a low temp hot glue gun and box of popsicle sticks. They would build massive 3D creations. These were even more fun when combined with pipe cleaners, beads, etc.
Anonymous says
Koosh racquets!!!
anon says
My kids loved this gel ant farm.
https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Habitat-Evviva-Ecosystem-Educational/dp/B01FB7BP2I/ref=sxin_15_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.15cc3230-a9b8-401a-b977-01853843e97b%3Aamzn1.sym.15cc3230-a9b8-401a-b977-01853843e97b&crid=2C8RBO1Y6RIX4&cv_ct_cx=gel+ant+farm&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._MlYkHrMSSERxhbfZ96YDOjtyD1Dn4xKjJHeb7dowPc_Qcyx82e0xCB94U3wVSr_73wI3RynosNTqK_S0bNk7w.Cfyq39pT0AfAucameFsYC5yd_YFpqwKy46hDB_vd3CU&dib_tag=se&keywords=gel+ant+farm&pd_rd_i=B01FB7BP2I&pd_rd_r=1300aca3-d9be-45dd-a9bf-62299ad6e136&pd_rd_w=U6rJi&pd_rd_wg=hO9ZG&pf_rd_p=15cc3230-a9b8-401a-b977-01853843e97b&pf_rd_r=1R11JW3H0KSFWDMZQK47&qid=1712341431&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=gel+ant+%2Caps%2C624&sr=1-1-364cf978-ce2a-480a-9bb0-bdb96faa0f61-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1
Spirograph says
*I* loved that gel ant farm! I bought it (or a very similar one) for my mom to put in her elementary school classroom probably 15 years ago, but it was so cool that my husband wanted one for us, too. Thank you for reminding me, now I have my next kid birthday present covered.
Anon says
Books and clothes