PayPal is a global leader in online payment solutions, and their success story is one that resonates with many small businesses since they have been at the forefront of supporting many e-commerce businesses. They wanted inspiration from our small business, what has worked, what we expect and how our story can make an impact on their employees - to keep on experiences, understand their strategies, and gain knowledge that could help us grow our own business.
I got to bring my daughter Bailey - my right hand in all things Baby Jack & Co. - and allow her to experience the magnitude of being involved with a global brand like PayPal. It was a truly exciting experience to share with her, showing how hard work and determination can pay off with perks.
During our visit, we had the privilege of hearing from PayPal executives who shared their expertise and insights. We were welcomed on stage to show a PayPal produced video and share our entrepreneur journey of owning Baby Jack & Company and Field 99, a soccer training facility in Franklin, Wisconsin - near Milwaukee.
Sensory toys are specially designed toys that aim to stimulate the senses and promote sensory exploration. They are particularly beneficial for children with sensory processing issues or those who simply enjoy tactile experiences. These toys come in various shapes, sizes, and textures, providing a wide range of sensory input. Baby Jack & Company came up with The Learning Lovey Collection that has fun specialty fabrics that teach kids at an early age about animals, letters, states, shapes and the TEAMS they will grow to love.
By incorporating licensed sports teams fabrics into sensory toys, manufacturers have created a winning combination that appeals to both kids and sports enthusiasts. Here's why you should consider these toys:
With sensory toys featuring licensed sports teams fabrics, your child can proudly display their support for their favorite team. Whether it's a football, basketball, or baseball team, these toys allow young fans to cheer on their team in style.
Imaginative play is an essential part of a child's development. By incorporating sports team fabrics into sensory toys, children can create their own game scenarios, reenact exciting moments from their team's history, or even imagine themselves as part of the team.
Sensory toys with licensed sports teams fabrics provide a unique tactile experience. The different textures and patterns of the fabrics offer sensory input that can help children develop their sense of touch and fine motor skills.
Introducing children to their favorite sports teams at an early age can foster a sense of loyalty and belonging. Sensory toys with licensed sports teams fabrics create a connection between children and their teams, encouraging long-term support and enthusiasm.
Sensory toys with licensed sports teams fabrics offer a fantastic way for kids to engage in sensory play while showing their team spirit. These toys provide a unique tactile experience, promote imaginative play, and foster team loyalty. So, whether your child is a die-hard fan or just starting to explore the world of sports, these toys by Baby Jack & Co. are a winning choice!
]]>]]>@babyjackco_learninglovey September 11th #911attack is marked in our memories forever. Years may pass but we still feel the same feelings and now we share them with our children. I feel blessed to have created a design to honor those fallen and sell at the 911 Memorial Museum Gift Shop. #september11 #fdny10 #groundzero #twintowers #freedtomtower ♬ Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) - Alan Jackson
Kindness, always.
With every child, new surroundings sometimes get the best of them. Whether they save it for parents or show true colors in the classroom, they are going to need extra kindness and patience. We love the idea of offering this kindness crinkle tag square during classroom "calming sessions" that a pre-school teacher gave us. It's a great way to encourage learning (count the circles, connect the dots) and stimulate their senses (rub the bumpy backing, fidget the ribbons, crinkle the paper) and give this little one a moment of individual solo play. Let's face it, we all need time to ourselves!
Show and Tell with Baby Jack:
A great way for classmates and teachers to get to know you is through show and tell. Teachers use this opportunity to let kids give a glimpse into their lives and we encourage bringing your lovey! Our State pride crinkle squares are a fun conversation piece and learning tool to discuss different places you have visited over the summer and share fun things kids may not yet know!
Color with Baby Jack:
Baby Jack designs fabrics to make children's sensory toys from The Learning Lovey Collection by Baby Jack and adds educational aspects to the prints. Our designs are made by my kids drawings and they use shapes to build pictures. It's been so fun seeing the creations that my own two kids come up with when using their crayons and now your little one can challenge their imagination too! Make a game out of the Learning Lovey and get creating! Have fun coloring, learning and growing! Check out our Coloring Pages + Instagram Reel about our coloring game!
Easing Anxieties and Transitioning with Baby Jack
Change is scary to little ones. They are very routine and react well to what is familiar to them. Separation anxiety happens often when there is a new environment so having a comfort toy to tag along with their day is essential. Some day care centers and schools allow a special friend, lovey or toy to bring with to keep them calm and at ease for drop off and nap time. Baby Jack Learning Lovey is a great way to provide a parent's scent and positive interaction for your child. We recommend the 14x18 Lovey Tag Blanket, as it is quiet and small enough to tote around and travel with. Clip it to their backpack and ensure your little one knows it's there. The ribbons are a wonderful way to ease anxieties and is a calming mechanism, teaching self soothing and will aide in the transition process.
Get Learning with Baby Jack!
Many of our fabrics can become teaching tools for at home learning or teachers to incorporate into lessons. What started as a toy, turned into fabrics that teach. Many of our tag toys can provide a variety of facts to your little ones and stimulate their growing minds! Impress your classmates with all the fun knowledge you will bring to the new school year just by studying your Learning Lovey!
We found these on Pinterest, make sure to follow us HERE for even more ideas and to see the original pin!
Use star shaped cookie cutters in fruit for themed snack trays. Add blueberries, strawberries, and vanilla yogurt covered pretzels to design a flag on your tray to take it to the next level.
Use red and blue jello, fill the cup half way. Once solid and ready to serve, add whipped cream and the opposite colored (red/blue) fruit on top.
The kids could make their own dessert! Dip the edges of their ice cream sandwiches in red, white, and blue sprinkles. Instant themed treat!
Pour a blue juice and a red juice in star shaped ice trays (regular ice trays still work!) and freeze them. When ready to serve, add to sprite to make your drinks kid friendly and festive.
This breakfast can be interactive too. Dice up strawberries and bananas and some blue berries. Show the kids how to lay out their fruit to fill their waffles to make a flag.
This is such a smart ideas if you have little ones wanting to play with sparklers. Poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup to protect their hands from the sparks.
Looking for crafts? Let the kids paint popsicle sticks red and blue, add some white star stickers or white glitter. Glue the sticks in the shape of a star, add to a stick. Take it to the next level by adding ribbons from the edge of the star. You could even add glow in the dark paint so at night the kids can see their wands light up!
One more fun idea! Cut a paper towel tube in 2-3 pieces and then paint it blue. Add those white star stickers or white glitter and then glue red and white streamers to the inside edge of the tubes. The kids can run around inside or outside blowing these to see the streamers blow all over the place!
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While making these treats or crafts with your children, you can teach them fun facts about the 4th of July and why we celebrate! Our American Flag Lovey is perfect for baby’s first Independence Day celebration, to entertain while waiting for the fireworks and bring comfort if needed through the night! Happy 4th of July!
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Here are a few ways that you and your family can help protect our Oceans:
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Learn more about
oceans and marine life!
Visit the beach
or an Aquarium!
Don’t interfere
with the wildlife.
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,
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.
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Use a reusable water bottle.
Link to our Ocean Lovey!
Take your child on an undersea adventure with our Mermaid Lovey.
Celebrate all the beauty under the water and in your child’s imagination!
Head over to our Fun Stuff Section to print out this coloring sheet of our Ocean design!
Baby Jack Learning Lovey fabrics are available in fun accessories like
hair scrunchies and headbands! These make great party favors and gift fillers!
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Q: If you could have dinner with three inspirational women, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
Rebekah: Dolly Parton, Ruth Handler and Susan B. Anthony. The takeaway of learning how to better myself and give more to the community from these three women would impact a path to more success.
Dolly, despite her fame, has always stayed true to herself AND her roots. She works hard and loves to give back!
Ruth Handler invented the Barbie Doll. She is a wonderful example of a powerful business woman!
Susan B. Anthony played a huge role in the women’s suffrage movement! She’s one of the many women that paved the way for our rights as women.
Q. What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?
Kelley: Give yourself Grace and always have Faith. My mentor has been a significant factor in many aspects of my growth, as a person and business owner. We both have strong faith and know there is a distinct purpose for all of us in this life.
Britnee: Stay true to yourself. The world needs what you’ve got! If we all did the same thing at the same time, life would be so boring! Be yourself, follow your dreams, use your strengths to help others!!
Q. Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?
Kelley: Personally, I have encountered women in various industries who were not supportive during my times of success. It turned me off to working with many other entrepreneurs and collaboration opportunities. Eventually I changed my mindset and acknowledged the ones who have been long time cheerleaders, customers and collaborators and realized how each of us is made different and in our lives for a reason and season. Embracing that idea opens up to welcome others into sharing your passion.
Q. Is there anyone that inspires you in your career?
Rebekah: My mom is my biggest career inspiration. She was a single mom, with no college degree or job experience, but knew she wanted better for us. She took a job, learned new skills and never gave up. She now has an amazing career and shows women of all ages that with some hard work and perseverance, you can get where you want to be.
Q. How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean to you?
Kelley: It is extremely important to have a tribe that is there for you, who put in the work, share in your success and wear their heart on their sleeve for your passion. Being an entrepreneur can often feel lonely, especially in a virtual world. Now, often I get random messages from friends and colleagues recognizing my love for work, giving back and marketing! It fuels me.
Kelly: It's important for women to support each other. To me that means encourage, listen, and value another's thoughts and opinions. Not see each other as competition but to wish success on each other.
Q. Why do you think it is important to celebrate International Women’s Day?
Kelley: Showing up for our fellow workers, followers, customers and our kids who are watching our every move makes this more important than ever. Years back, many women pioneers fought hard for women to have rights and receive respect, we owe it to their grit and hustle to carry on.
Britnee: To add to Kelley, I think it’s important for our children! As a girl mom, I want my girls to know there are no limits to what they can do and be! That they can change the world around them!
Currently I have a wonderful team of women who build one another up, work hard and truly bring it daily to grow our brand. As their leader, I continue to offer great challenges to them to grow their own passion. xo Kelley
We all have our parts to contribute to Baby Jack & Co! We all support each other! We come together and make the perfect team and we couldn’t do it without all of the incredible Mama #BabyJackFans!!
No matter where you live, there are endless places to explore outdoors. Fall is the perfect time to get out and experience the beautiful colors and the crisp air. The National Association for the Education of Young Children shares "Children are natural explorers. Set some basic boundaries, and let the child discover. The learning will come. Children use all of their senses to explore. They look and listen to observe what is happening around th
em, touch what they can reach, smell the fresh scents of nature, and occasionally taste when given permission. They run, jump, dig, and climb as they discover new places".
Not only can you burn off some energy, but there are many activities that can be played anywhere. Grab a bag and look for fun nature items, Sticks leaves and nuts make the perfect craft material. Use those items to sort by size, shape or color. Count them, talk about where they came from. Create a list of things you may see and turn it into a fun nature scavenger hunt. Or a simple game of Eye Spy.
Talk with your child, Ask questions about the weather, the trees, the scenery. Why are the leaves changing colors? What season are we in? Observe the wildlife and talk about what they eat. Take a seat and close your eyes. Listen to the sounds and talk about what you hear. Do you feel wind even though you cant see it? There are endless open ended questions to engage your child while exploring the world around them.
Going on outdoor adventures gives children the freedom and space to shout, jump, run around, hop and skip. Being outside is an exciting sensory experience for babies and toddlers.
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The benefits are vast and I love that so much can be packed into one little blanket that can last throughout early childhood, and for some even longer!
Andi Putt is a mommy and pediatric Speech Language Pathologist who specializes in language development and autism spectrum disorders. Andi is passionate about teaching parents how to support speech and language development at home, and does this on her blog at www.mrsspeechiep.com. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram for quick tips to improve your child’s communication skills.
]]>So much thought and planning needs to be done before you make that decision. Where do you want to go? What experiences do you want to have? Are there age appropriate activities for everyone in your company? Once you have settled on a location, the dreaded packing! How is the weather? How many outfits do you need? What about toiletries and personal necessities? Entertainment for the kids weather you are taking a plane or a car but what do you really need for a trip away from home?
As a mom of three, I've quickly learned that traveling doesn't have to be stressful - it can be fun, even relaxing! I used to spend the two weeks before a trip stressing, making sure everything was perfect but realized that kids are resilient and can usually find their own fun, with a little guidance. I’ve learned that the kids would rather engage with us as parents, be educated about their surroundings or watch the world out their window.
Baby Jack created these adorable U.S. State and City Squares to be able to serve as a look & find toy as you travel. They also have some fun coloring sheets, i-spy pages to print from previous blogs. On their actual fabrics via their products, kids can try to find trees, flowers, signs, animals, etc. and be taught without knowing it or being overwhelmed.
We also pack plenty of snacks (goldfish always save the day!) and a travel "busy bag" filled with their favorites: play-doh, coloring pages, toys and more, as well as bring along a tablet during quiet time. Now don’t get me wrong these activities are great for down time at the destination but during travel it’s a giant hassle so we try to avoid it as much as possible.
Another thing that we found useful was bringing along is our own mini camera to document the trip from their point of view. They bring their loveys to take photography and also capture moments throughout their adventure. We will cherish those photos from their perspective forever. You can never capture too many images - it is an easy thing to create some fun digital scrapbooks or even coloring sheets from pictures the kids took!
Our Loveys are also a must have for travel. Through the years we have acquired several Loveys. They have turned into one of our biggest comfort items, and the best part is they are small and easy to clip to a car seat or stroller. Our favorite Loveys tag along on every journey big or small. On our most recent trip, our mermaid lovey traveled to Wikki Wachee Florida to see the world famous Little Mermaid show. Our ocean lovey took a dip in the ocean and got covered in sand! There is nothing more amazing watching your child make the connection of seeing real crabs and finding them on their lovey.
In travel, less is more, if there is something you forgot you can usually find it at a nearby store. Traveling is meant to be fun, not stressful. Hopefully this information eases any worries you may have and to encourage you to grab a lovey for your next adventure!
Sources: Travel + Leisure
]]>Choosing the perfect Halloween costume can be difficult. Yeah, the dinosaur costume may be the cutest, but think of your child dragging a giant tail all evening or the tantrums that will occur when the blow up contraption breaks and their costume (and evening) is deflated. Ensure the costume fits properly to prevent trips and falls. The perfect costume should be weather friendly. It's best to add layers then to not have enough. Your goal is to have your child as comfortable as possible for their night of fun.
Trick-or-treating is a favorite for children everywhere! Who doesn't want to stay out late running door to door to get free candy!? It is an opportunity to use your imagination without ANY sort of explanation. Halloween is a chance to become your hero for the day, a moment to hide behind a disguise and be social and to transform from your every day life. Kids get a reprieve and dip into fantasy, which is someone that is 100% fun and normal.
Before you head out talk about Halloween safety. The number one rule of trick-or-treating only visit houses that have their outdoor lights on. Remind them to stay together and to use cross walks or cross the street at corners. Wear bright colors and carry glow sticks or flashlights. Attach your child's name address and phone number to their costume. When the night is over take a minute to check your child's candy to ensure nothing looks opened or resealed.
Always remember that Baby Jack has your back when completing your costume. Our loveys are a fun accessory to add to any cowgirl, astronaut, policeman or fireman! Use code TRICKORTREAT to grab 10% off your lovey today until 10/31.
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