Sunday, March 1, 2015

Great Pretenders Review

So you may remember when we were iced in for a month week.My girl and I played Hi Ho Cherry O so many times I wanted to flush all of those tiny cherries down the toilet, but then I knew we would have to move on to Candy Land so I poured myself another cup of coffee and dumped my bucket of cherries out for the millionth time. I don't sit still very well and sitting back and relaxing makes me nuts! I need to be up and moving until my head hits the pillow and when you are stuck at home in a teeny tiny house you end up running out of things to do and clean real quick like. This is what my house ended up looking like after day two of being trapped at home. I even got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the grout with a mixture I found on Pinterest. My floors didn't come out as sparkling white as the ones posted, but it was definitely a noticeable difference.

We were both BORED! and in desperate need of something new to do besides watching Peppe Pig episodes and water coloring old coloring books. Thankfully I was contacted by Great Pretenders a few days before icemageddon 2015 asking if we would be interested in trying out one of their Colour Costumes and we of course said yes because we love art projects and we love dressing up and what is better than an art project you can wear! The companies products and story seemed like it aligned with our family perfectly. As a preschool teacher I could relate to their search for not only fun, but educational activities. Play is such an important part of every child's day at school and at home. I can sit and talk to my class of four year olds all day long about bumble bees, but giving them cheetos and a bumble bee ring and telling them to pretend they are bumble bees flying around the room and pollinating flowers by rubbing their cheeto covered fingers on paper flowers is when the real learning occurs.Free play is not only important because it gives the child time where they can discover on their own terms, but it is also a great opportunity for them to develop social skills, sharing skills, and it creates perfect opportunities to interact with peers.

 
I wanted Mckinley to choose the cape she wanted so I let her check out the boy and the girl sections for the Colour Capes. She ended up going with the Butterfly Fairy Wings, but the Spider Superhero was a strong contender. Our packaged arrived and we got to work coloring all of the fun details.


Give this girl art supplies and sparkly jewels and she is happy!


 







I am also a believer in letting children be creative on their own terms. I like to not only let my babies have freedom when it comes to play, but also when it comes to making art. I wanted Mckinley to pick what she colored, where she colored, and what colors she used. I feel like children are always being told what to do in most aspects of their lives so why not give them a little freedom to create as they wish to create. Why not give them a little independence to choose and create for themselves.









We both loved how easy the markers colored on the pretty shiny fabric of the cape. The markers are washable and anything that got on our hands because it remains a little wet after coloring washed right off with barely any scrubbing. We also loved all of the colors provided and how well they stood out on the white background.



We had an absolute blast coloring our Butterfly Fairy Wings and this project truly saved this mamma's sanity! Thank You Great Pretenders for allowing us to work with you and for providing us days of endless entertainment.


We were provided our Butterfly Fairy Wings Cape by Great Pretenders to Review. All opinions are my own.

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