BreadCrumbz Let's Girls LEARN Without Fear (review and giveaway)

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received these products, free of charge,from BreadCrumbz, for review and giveaway purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them.

We talked about a different approaching to parenting on our last post,

and now I've got a new kids line that addresses childhood issues head on!

“I visited my children at school for lunch one day and was really surprised to see girls using relational aggression when they communicated with one other,” said creator Shannon Addison. “It was a light bulb moment. I realized that we – as parents, educators, and mentors – aren’t doing enough to show young girls that it’s okay to have differences. It’s okay to be who you are – and to like different things or activities than your classmate does.

As a kid, Shannon marveled at the idea that by dropping breadcrumbs, you could keep yourself from getting lost, as you explored uncharted territory. The problem we face in our society now is this instant gratification, total perfection, completely distorted reality that the majority of girls find completely impossible to navigate. The result is that most of them become lost, with no markers to ultimately find their way home.

Shannon created BreadCrumbz as a means for girls to identify with what I feel are more accurate representations of their youth. The characters are not always the stars of the school play, nor are they the most valuable players on the team, or the math whiz kids who set the bar for the rest of the class to achieve. Instead they are flawed, imperfect, sometimes deficient types who are doing their best in a less than perfect world. My goal is to allow girls an opportunity to go on a journey with them, providing the means to problem solve through difficult and sometimes sticky situations, allowing them to learn self-acceptance as a critical first step in building the foundation for their self-esteem."

BreadCrumbz fans can follow each of the Crumbz characters through a series of Trail Tales posted to the company’s website, like the one above for Whitney (she's the one Miss Grace most felt akin to). Each Trail Tail story focuses on one Crumbz character and her world, incorporating valuable messages like “Confidence is the best accessory” or “Sometimes friends are the best medicine”. The stories acknowledge girls' fears and thoughts for different situations, while teaching hwo to best handle different situations. New Trail Tales are posted to the BreadCrumbz site regularly, providing Crumbzfans with plenty of engaging and thoughtful content.

Girls can continue the adventures with pages that can be downloaded, or by joining in adventures in the Activity Book.

As you can see, the book offers fun activities like puzzles, outdoor fun, and creative projects. The activity book has hours of fun for girls! Plus the activities help to reinforce the lessons learned off the website. Miss Grace declared it a lot of fun, and great for reading and doing in the car. We have some of our best 'life defining' talks in the car (why is that always seem to happen for moms and daughters???), so having her do an activity book that educates and asks questions leads to lots of discussions. And discussions always mean more sharing, sometimes of off topic things, which really can be a good thing!

Isn't this a SWEET Trail Mix bag that Shannon sent along? I think she knew Miss Grace would choose Whitney, who is all about nature! Miss Grace was totally enamored of her 'treasure' bag, running to look up to see what type of rock was included (in her rock book), and trying to see if it was a real wooden tree ring and if she could tell the age of it! We're going to laminate the quote and attach it to her dance competition bag- it is PERFECT for remembering everything is possible, as long as you TRY! She also wants to add the Trail Mix one, so I think we'll have a little key ring of inspiration! Plus Nerds are one of her favorite candies, so she just KNEW Shannon had studied her! LOL.

Shannon also has adorable Pop Inz charm bracelet sets (and BreadCrumbz t-shirts) for girls as well, to help them remember the lessons learned along the way. As you can see the bracelet has space for 4 of the charms, which is great, as you get 4 charms per set, and each set corresponds to the BradCrumbz girls and their interests.

Rachel has her sports gear, Whitney her nature symbols, Penelope her books and Samantha her fun beauty accessories. Made of rubber they are sturdy and built to last! The charms easily pull apart and then go back together, making it easy for younger girls to use them by themselves as well.

The BreadCrumbz website (MyCrumbyWorld) also includes a Parentz Corner, designed as a place for parents to share their own experiences, and learn about raising children, and the online store where you can purchase the products I've shared with you (and more on the way!).

This is a fun line, perfect for girls ages 3 and up, and I can easily see friends and siblings sharing the charms, and doing the website activities together! We highly recommend everything BreadCrumbz!