So if Mom and Dad have a Kindle and a NOOK why can’t the kids? The V.Reader is this generation’s Speak N Spell but a whole lot cooler. For ages 3 to 7, the world of reading is introduced through activities on the interactive e-book such as watching a story and reading along or playing a game to learn more about grammar, punctuation, and comprehension. There is even a dictionary of vocab words for each story. The kids will get a kick out of choosing their avatar on the color screen then reading along to Dora, Mickey Mouse, Shrek or Woody. Parents can get in the action by monitoring the reading activity and creating certificates from the V.Reader when certain milestones are hit. Family reading time just got even more fun with the V.Reader.

$49.99

What’s the best way to teach your children how to eat healthy? Show them by preparing the family meals together and The Silver Spoon for Children cookbook is a great guide for beginners in the kitchen. Recipes are taken from the bestselling 50-plus-year-old Italian cookbook The Silver Spoon and adapted for the younger ones. Pick from 40 recipes and learn to cook with step-by-step illustrations and wording geared towards kids 8 years and older. The cookbook is broken up into the sections Lunches and Snacks, Pasta and Pizza, Main Courses, and Desserts and Baking and each one uses healthy ingredients to encourage a well-balanced diet. A really cute part of the book is that it offers a history of the dish and fun facts on the Italian culture and foods. There are also some basic cooking techniques shown in The Silver Spoon for Children which is perfect for setting up a good foundation for learning how to cook and is a good review for some of us adults who still haven’t figured it out. This makes for a fun gift to surprise your kids with on a weekend so you can whip up Sunday dinner together.

$13.57

Do you have an early riser who you wish would sleep just a little bit longer so you can too? The Teach Me Time Alarm Clock from American Innovative helps tell your tot that it’s time to stay in bed and it will let them know when it’s okay to get up. When the clock is yellow it means snuggle up a little bit longer and when it’s green your kid knows it’s time to start the day. There is also a nightlight timer for those who are scared of the dark. Another cool thing about the Teach Me Time Alarm Clock is that it grows with your child and comes with a game that helps children learn to tell time and it even has five difficulty levels for each stage of the learning process. For when they’re even older, they’ll be able to use the snooze button and be just like mommy and daddy when hitting it every morning. The clock comes with blue, pink, and yellow bezels so you pick the color. Invest some time in your kids and watch them learn with the Teach Me Time Alarm Clock.

$37.95

The kids are back in school and it’s time to pack those lunches again. Let them eat in style with the Crocodile Creek Kids Classic Lunchbox. Extra lining and padding keeps those sandwiches from being squashed and clean ups are easy with a quick swipe of a cloth. The lunchbox is also free of PVC and phthalates and is lead-safe. The Crocodile Creek Lunchbox is know for its sturdiness and will last more than one school year. We’ve featured the Solar System lunchbox but there are tons of designs to choose from like Wild Animals, Under the Sea, Butterfly, Sunflower, Vehicles, Dinosaur, Flower Garden, Ladybug, and Fire Truck. You can also buy the matching Crocodile Creek backpack and stainless steel drinking bottle in your little one’s preferred design so they can go back to school in style.

$14.42

We enrolled our little one in Kindermusik when he was just a few months old and it has been so much fun to watch him recognize the songs we sing and hear him laugh when we do the dance moves together. He adores music like a lot of babies and his favorite part of music class and playtime at home is with the instruments. The Hohner 4 Piece Baby Band is perfect for infants who are learning to shake, rattle, and roll. The set comes with a rainbow shaker, a baby maraca, a rattle, and a cage bell. All four allow baby to get a good grip and they’re safe for mouthing which we know they’re guaranteed to do. These perfectly sized instruments with a clear tome come in a vinyl carrying case so you and baby can jam on the road. If you have an older kiddo, check out the Hohner 5 Piece Toddler Band which comes with various noisemakers, xylephone, and a drum. Get your little one’s music career started early with the Baby Band and they may be thanking you at the Grammys someday.

$14.31

Cooking Light is one of my favorite magazines and it taught me how to create healthy meals with easy to make recipes. Almost everything I cook for my family and dinner parties comes from Cooking Light and now I’m super excited about their new book “First Foods” being released in August. A registered dietician has developed recipes like Lentils with Sweet Potatoes, Avocado Yogurt Dip, and Cheese Broccoli and Potatoes which have all been tested in the Cooking Light Test Kitchen and approved by a panel of babies and toddlers. “First Foods” also teaches the reader on how to help your children move along the stages of eating solids and tips on how to create positive eating habits. You can pre-order this cookbook and healthy eating manual for babies and toddlers right now and the spiral bound book will be shipped on the release date of August 17th.

$13.57

Online stores stocked with discounted designer duds are all the rage right now and zulily is one of these but it’s way better than the rest. Besides being an online store for moms, babies, and kids, just what we love, it also goes above and beyond in offering a variety of gear, clothing, and toys to shop from and the mix of eco-friendly, name-brand, and cool new-finds makes it a fun web shopping experience. Simple and Posh was super excited when zulily asked us try them out and share with our followers our thoughts on zulily. We’ve got lots of good stuff for you guys including a giveaway!
Like we said, zulily is an online store with daily sales of high-quality brands and products you’ve been eyeing and with discounts of up to 70% off, you can buy one in each color for you or the kiddo. For our little one, zulily sent us the most adorable outfit from the eco-friendly Parade Organics and it is not only cute and comfy, it’s made of 100% certified organically grown cotton and has nickel-free snaps. Baby is looking good and mommy is feeling good about what he’s wearing! Other cool brands on zulily which are on there right now include Soy Genius Pukies and Buggies which use soy and organic cotton fabric and it’s stain and moisture resistant with UV protection and the Buggies have bug repellent (perfect for summer). Also check out the Kiss Me Goodnight pajamas for mommas and other favorite brands like HABA, Kate Quinn, and Combi. Right now my favorite line on zulily is the fun Fairy Tea Party stuff from Fairy Line Naturals and the company donates proceeds to children’s hospitals. Head on over to zulily and right now through July 31st, use the coupon code of FLIPFLOPS10 and get $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. Another perk of zulily, tell your friends to join and when they do you’ll get $10 to spend at zulily and the more people who get into the zulily community, the more opportunity for designers and companies to offer up their goods at huge discounts!
Finally, zulily wants everyone to get in on the action and is giving away a Sweetpea Baby Blanket and Sweetpea Baby Bib. The Woobie blanket is soft and cuddly with a modern twist and zulily is offering up a chocolate one with a pink backing (see middle one in the picture) and an adorable blue bib with multi-colored circles. All you have to do is one or more of the following by 11:59 PM PST on July 27th to win these two items from zulily and Sweetpea Baby:
Sign up for zulily and let us know on this post you’ve joined.

2. Like zulily on Facebook and let us know on this post.

3. Like Simple and Posh on Facebook and let us know you’re liking us on this post.

4. Follow @simpleandposh on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Please post here that you’ve done this.

5. Follow @zulily on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway. Please post here that you’ve done this.

6. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect.

We’re addicted to zulily and know you will be too once you join!

“Butterfly in the sky, I can fly twice as high. Take a look. It’s in a book. Reading Rainbow.” Ahhh, love the theme song to one of the most wonderful television shows. Reading Rainbow on PBS brought books to life and made children all over want to run to the library and gobble up the stories told on each episode. Besides the cool narrations and side stories, the host Levar Burton was the guy you wished was your school teacher. Even though Reading Rainbow is no longer on the air, you can still enjoy Levar and friends on the Reading Rainbow DVD sets and share your happy childhood tv memories with your kiddos. The Reading Rainbow Favorites DVD set includes 4 discs with eight episodes and 120 minutes of bonus material. “I can go anywhere. Friends to know and ways to grow. Reading Rainbow.”

$13.87

Celebrate Memorial Day with your little one by reading them The Fathers Are Coming Home by Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon. It’s a time to honor and remember the bravery and sacrifice of our country’s soldiers and a great opportunity to explain to your children the importance of this holiday. The story not only has a sailor father returning home to his little boy after being at sea, it also tells a tale of different animal fathers coming home to their little ones. The Fathers Are Coming Home has a happy ending and a positive message. Thank you to all of the men and women who serve our country and Happy Memorial Day.

$11.55

The Environmental Working Group released the 2010 list of best sunscreens and only 39 of 500 sunscreens were recommended. We were excited to see the sunscreen we use on ourselves and our baby was one of the chosen. California Baby SPF 30 Sunscreen is the only thing we’ve ever used on our little one and it’s absolutely fantastic. The pediatrician advised us to only use sunscreens with titanium dioxide which reflects the UV rays and California Baby contains this key ingredient. It’s also water resistant and doesn’t have any harmful chemicals. The sunscreen goes on easy and rubs in pretty well despite its thickness and reapplication isn’t needed until 80 minutes after the first time it’s put on, even when you’ve been in water. We love how it’s non-staining since we slather it on the baby then put him back into his stroller and ruining the fabric would not be fun! The sunscreen also contains the anti-oxidant Japanese Green Tea and it has a pleasant scent which is basically light and almost non-existent. We use the lotion but there is also a California Baby SPF 30 Sunscreen Stick which is easy to apply when in a hurry. We prefer the lotion since all three of use it and we can apply it on all of us at the same time. The sunscreen is a bit pricey but we’ve all been using one tube for almost three months and there is still a lot left to take us well into the summer. We love California Baby products and their sunscreen and this isn’t just for the wee ones but big people too.

$17.99