Teach Your Children

Goodbye Ms Emerald

Unfortunately, Ms. Emerald has, for the time being, gone on to persue other exciting endeavors and that’s why there has been a break in the Teach Your Children blog space/time continuum.  I will try to patch it up the best I can but do not expect the blogging quality or consistency that you came to expect from Ms Emerald. 

 The store and web store are humming along nicely,  filled with new stuff including the clear MAGNA-TILES which generate creativity in young (and young at heart) minds to the point that on several occasions I have witnessed creative steam leaking from the ears of children.

My daughter and I have been running the brick-and-mortar on our own as of late. It’s been like when you start a new sport or excercise and for the first few weeks your really sore but then you kind of settle into it.  I’m definitely glad I’m downtown now .  The kids like it when I bring my dalmation, Emily, to the store for them to pet.  Emily likes it when I bring kids into the store to pet her.

We are now selling classroom furniture and other items from JONTI-CRAFT and you can look forward to seeing pictures of fully set up classrooms on our website.

It’s been a rough year for teachers with budgets going from slim to none, class size skyrocketing, and pink slips flying around like confetti but it seems like teachers are hangin’ in there;albeit,  using up much of their strength and resolve reserves.  I’m telling teachers who are told (even indirectly) or feel like they are lucky to still have a job that we are lucky to have good teachers.  I think we need to be reminded of that more often.

Anyway, thanks for tuning in, I’ll leave you with an original poem.

There once was a crazy old bird.

Who thought flying was simply absurd.

I’d much rather walk,

And to listen and talk,

In the air, I cannot hear a word.

New Favorite Product!

'Find It: At The Beach'

It’s officially Fall and we’ve been excited to get some new products in the store for you to enjoy. October has brought us Find Its – these amazingly fun items that come in different themes. The goal is to find the hidden items inside the tube; the hardest being the penny! It can be played alone or with friends, and is perfect for anyone between the ages of 8 and 98. Come on by and check it out!

We carry the following varieties:

Original, At The Beach, At The Zoo, Glitz and Glamour, Sports, and Birdwatching.

Employee’s Pick of the Month!

Bananagrams- The Official Book has arrived!

Written by the only three-time National Scrabble Champion, Joe Edley, Bananagrams! offers sixteen clever puzzle types that will provide hours of  fun and challenging entertainment!

Stop by the store this week and check them out!

Small Budgets, Big Classes

It’s a hot topic in the news – budgets for schools have shrunken while class sizes have increased. Everyday in the store i hear teachers talk about how many more kids they will have, how they have been switched grades, and how they will be spending out of pocket now more than ever.

Everyone has been penny-pinching in this bad economy, and it’s very alarming that one of the most important institutions in this country, school - the bearer of our future – is being effected the worst. Can any of the teachers that read this blog please comment with personal stories of how they’ve been effected? It’s easier to understand just how much it’s been an issue when real teachers can comment on it.

For another great article on budget cuts, check out this Detentionslip.Org piece.

New Store Pictures!

It’s taken a while for us to post these – sorry! Business has been great since moving downtown. Thanks to all of our customers, new and returning!

store front

Board Game Display

Spin Wheel, Pocket Charts, and Craft Table

Let's just say we have a LOT of pencils!

Borders and Certificates

So if you haven’t been by the new store, please make sure to check it out!

Employee’s Pick Of The Month!

Goblet X4!

We just got this one in and it is already becoming a favorite!

Imagine Goblet mixed with Checkers and you get Goblet X4. It’s faced paced, easy to assemble, and for ages 7 and up.

To check Goblet X4 out, click here.

Let’s Play Catch-Up

So it has been a while since the last post.

We have been so busy with the move and getting the new location together. It has been hard work, but the rewards have been fantastic!

We are so happy to be meeting new customers every day who never knew about our store. We are also elated to see the familiar faces who have followed us here. The new store couldn’t be in a better spot!

Please stop on by when you are downtown running errands, getting lunch, or getting an ice cream cone at the Baskin Robbins that is next to us.

-Teach Your Children,

232 E Street    Davis,CA

Official Move-In News!

We’ve been packing and planning and all the hard work is going to pay off soon. Come by and see the new store on May 26th!

We also hope that you will come celebrate our Grand Re-Opening and 7 year Anniversary with us! Join us on Saturday, May 30th for free food, crafts, and giveaways at the new location. We’re very excited!

-Teach Your Children

232 E Street

 Davis, CA

Yelp Us!

Anyone who uses Yelp knows what a great resource it is for getting helpful reviews of businesses. Well, we’ve made a page and hope that everyone will leave us good reviews!

Check it out here.

Spring Recipe For The Kids

I have been searching for a cute spring themed recipe to post up here, and i’ve found one that is sweet and simple.

Spring Cupcakes will be easy to make and will let little chefs help out in the kitchen, which will be fun for both of you! This recipe was found on Amazing Mom’s website, check it out here.

Spring Cupcakes:

You’ll Need:
white or yellow cake mix
white frosting
Flavors and decorations will vary:
gum drops (“Dots” work best), jelly beans,
gummi candies; orange, cherry or strawberry shapes, food color,
orange zest, lemon zest or flavoring, cherry flavoring…
scissors
butter knife for spreading frosting
paper cupcake liners
NOTE-Zest is the outer colored portion of the citrus peel.
Freshly grated orange, lime or lemon zest provides a much better flavor
than liquid flavorings or dried zest. Simply use a very fine grater (adult job) on just the outer layer of the fruit. Do not grate down to the white rind to avoid a bitter flavor.

Make cupcakes according to the instructions on the box.
You may choose to add flavors/color or simply keep them white
and then decorate.

To Decorate:
Daffodil
Use clean scissors to cut the gum drops. Our daffodil decoration was fashioned with a yellow gum drop cut in half. Then cut one half again.
The green stems on our cupcakes were made with green DOTS candies.
We cut pieces and then stretched them into stems.
You can also cut pieces from fruit roll-ups.

Jelly Bean flower
Use small jelly beans. Simply place the jelly beans in a flower shape.
We also show a flower made with Skittles fruit candies.

Orange, Strawberry and Cherry
Color the frosting pink, light green, orange or yellow. Add fruit zest for the citrus decorations.
Frost the cupcakes then top with a cherry, strawberry, orange or lemon gummi candy. You’ll find these shaped gummi candies at your local mall Sweet Shop. Some fruit snack candies come in fun fruit shapes as well.

source: [amazingmoms.com]