Try-Rex Pencils

Try-Rex Pencils are very helpful if your child is challenged by holding a pencil or pen correctly, or if your child is just starting to learn to write (i.e., your child holds the writing instrument with a fist or with four fingers, etc.). Try-Rex pencils are the perfect pencils to help improve your child's grip because they have three, well-pronounced, flat sides to guide the fingers where to hold. Consider using the jumbo size pencil for kids in preschool or Kindergarten because the bigger size, or circumference, is easier for their small hands to grip. I love these pencils for my own use, too, because they are comfortable to hold! Plus, the graphite is so strong, it doesn't break easily if you press too hard (which some kids tend to do!).

I have been able to find Try-Rex pencils at Office Max and Amazon. My son's teacher actually had them in her classroom and gave us one for home use.  Now that I know about these great Try-Rex Pencils, I am passing this knowledge on to fellow parents who are teaching their kids to write. Alas, I wish someone had suggested these pencils to me a couple years ago!

IKEA SUNNAN Solar Cell Powered Lamp

IKEA has these super cool SUNNAN solar cell powered work/desk lamps for $19.99! This lamp comes in a variety of fun, bright colors that I just love! We picked out an orange one for Josh's desk and he loves it! It has a round button on the base that Josh can easily push to turn it on and off, and the light it produces is a bright, whitish light vs. a yellow toned one. Plus, there are no messy, dangly chords to worry about! The biggest bonus is that after an initial 9-12 hour charge in the sun (you just have to pop out the square, black solar panel and place it in the sun), these lamps are good to go! So far, I adore this lamp because it charges itself with natural sunlight! Plus, when we bought this lamp, there was a sign that said that IKEA will donate money to Unicef with each purchase of a SUNNAN lamp. What a great way to help Unicef, the environment, reduce our electric bill one lamp at a time, and light up a desk work space all at once! Ahhh, yet another reason I love IKEA!