Hallmark's Back To School Confidence Checklist {Review & Giveaway}

By the time you read this, most of your little ones will be off to school. Whether they are going to Kindergarten for the first time, or they are a seasoned pro and are off to a higher grade, that first day of school can be intimidating. It is exciting to meet a new teacher and new classmates, and pack up that new backpack with pencils, folders and glue, but sometimes kids need more than school supplies to face the exciting and challenging situations the upcoming year holds.

Hallmark has created a back-to-school confidence checklist to help parents encourage and build confidence in their kids - now and all year long.

• Let them hold onto your words. Kids often get embarrassed when parents say “I love you” in front of their friends. Think about sticking a card in their backpack or inside a textbook, so they can find it later and hold onto it all day. Hallmark’s Kids Collection features cards addressing topics for young kids, including nerves about school and positive reinforcement for hard work, as well as topics for tweens/teens, such as peer pressure and choosing friends wisely.
• Surprise your child with a lunchtime delight. Fruits and veggies will help a kid be physically fit, but don’t forget about a child’s emotional wellness. Surprise your child with a serving of love and pride with Hallmark’s new bite-sized Lunchbox Notes. The unexpected “I love you” or “good luck” will let your child know you’re by their side even after they get on the school bus.
• Bring story time to life. Story time is an opportunity to develop reading skills, but it’s also a time for parents and kids to bond. If work keeps you from being home after school or an evening activity causes you to miss bedtime, Hallmark can help. Hallmark Recordable Storybooks allow you to record your voice, and your little ones can read along with you even if you’re far away.

We received each of these Kids Encouragement items for review. We received a gift pack that contained three of the greeting cards from the Kids Collection, a pack of 50 Lunch Notes for Kids and a Guess How Much I Love You Recordable Storybook.

The greeting cards that we received have some great messages on them to encourage a child on a tough day. And we all know that when you are in school, those can be often. Maybe your son didn't do so well on a test? Or maybe your daughter's 3 "BFFs" have now decided she isn't cool enough for them? Well as much as we all know that those 4 will be BFFs again tomorrow, and the next test will be better, these issues can really bring a kid down. You can put a smile on your child's face with one of these cards.

The Lunch Notes are super cute! Included in the gift book are "50 ways to add a little love to lunchtime". Some are funny, some are sentimental and some are just silly, but each one is sure to bring a smile to your child's face when they pull it out of their lunch box. I remember how my mom used to write little messages on my napkins when she packed my lunch. It made me smile knowing that my mom was thinking about me always.

The Recordable Storybook is my favorite part of this package! Since my kids can't read yet, they are a little young for the greeting cards and the Lunch Notes, but they love these recordable storybooks. They come in well known titles such as Guess How Much I Love You, My Little Princess and Goodnight Moon.

You simply record yourself reading each page, and then when you can't read to your child, they can still flip through the pages and hear your voice, just as if you were sitting there reading to them. These books certainly do not take the place of that bonding time that parents and children get from reading together, but it is the next best thing. These books are awesome for military families where one parent is deployed!

We like the Recordable Storybooks for quiet time while we are trying to get dinner ready, laundry done, or some other chore that doesn't require "help" from little hands. The kids enjoy "reading" their books with Mommy and Daddy, even when we can't be sitting right next to them.

It even encourages them to spend some quality time together, which I love to see!

I have to tell you how grateful I am to Hallmark for making these Recordable Storybooks. As most of you know, my dad passed away this past April. Well last year my mom bought one of the holiday Recordable Storybooks and my parents recorded themselves reading The Night Before Christmas for the kids. I now have my dad's voice preserved in this book for both me and for my kids. We will always keep Papa's memory alive by the sound of his voice. I am so thankful that I have this book!

Hallmark is always there for every holiday or special occasion. When you can't find the words, Hallmark can. If you are looking for a gift idea for that hard-to-buy person, chances are, Hallmark will have it. Hallmark is also there for our kids during this back-to-school time! Visit your local Hallmark store to pick up these great products that will help encourage and build confidence in your kids.

~*~One of my readers is going to win a Hallmark Back-To-School Gift Pack!~*~

Gift pack contains a Recordable Storybook, Lunch Notes for Kids, and assorted Greeting Cards.

Disclosure: This is my honest opinion. I received the Hallmark products mentioned above at no cost for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. A big Thank You to the sponsor and/or representing PR company for providing the giveaway prize!