Possibly the Coolest Lego City® Backpack/Lunch Bag!

   

'Tis the season for back to school shopping! To some, this is the most wonderful time of the year. To others, it is the beginning of a rat race to acquire quality, durable products for their children's return to school.

I was recently shopping in a well known Canadian book retailer with my son. He called me over to show me a Lego City backpack & lunch bag that he'd seen and thought was cool. When I picked it up, I immediately noticed how good the quality was and how durable it seemed compared to those sold in big box department stores. 

Now that my son is getting older, his bags are starting to not only take a beating throughout the school year, but being strained by carrying heavier items to and from school.  When I realized how good the quality was, I immediately set out to acquire some samples for review. Thankfully, Carry Gear Solutions/LegoBags.com, the manufacturer of these items, were happy to oblige. 

The Lego City® Elite Police Heritage Classic Backpack is the perfect bag for Lego fanatics! It's got the main section, as well as, a front volume zippered pocket. There are organizer compartments in both sections of the backpack, as well as, as a side mesh pocket on the outside that's perfect for their water bottle. There is a name tag on the inside where you can write your child's name, and it is PVC, lead and phthalate free. It has great padded shoulder straps  that come with a chest strap to help balance the load. It also has a D-ring on the front so that they can either attach their hat, lunch bag or other items onto the bag. I was also thrilled to see that there were reflective points on the back to increase visibility. Our bus times are early, and sometimes in the winter, it is still dark outside at that time. This will be especially useful for those in similar situations.  This particular bag is 16"H x 11"W.  The Lego City® Elite Police Heritage Classic Backpack is available at LegoBags.com, as well as, Amazon and retails for $35USD. There is a more basic version of this bag available at Indigo Books here in Canada which is a bit smaller in size, does not have the front volume pocket and is designed for younger kids. This smaller one in particular retails in Canada for $35CAN.

The Lego City® Elite Police Vertical Lunch Bag is a well insulated bag. I was pleased to see how dense the insulation padding seemed compared to others I've checked out. This should help to keep food colder, longer, and possibly help to prevent one more smashed sandwich that got mushed while inside their backpack. On the inside, there is a nice little mesh pocket that you can store cutlery or other smaller items like an ice pack, and is held secure by velcro so it won't slip out. The inside lining is easily wiped clean and the outside not only has the appealing Lego City® Elite Police image, but also reflective Lego stud decals on the sides. It comes with a well padded handle, a buckle clasp that you can open to attach to the backpack, and measures 9"H x 7.5"W. The Lego City® Elite Police Vertical Lunch Bag is available at LegoBags.com, Amazon, as well as, Indigo Books here in Canada. It retails in the US for $15USD, and if you were to purchase this lunch bag here in Canada at Indigo Books, you're looking at $19.95CAN. 

LegoBags.com also has a number of other Lego backpacks and lunch bags for sale, geared towards both boys and girls. When purchasing from their website, shipping typically costs $5 to continental U.S. destinations if the total cost is under $50. If the total exceeds $50, then shipping is free within the U.S. For shipping to Canada, costs are assigned by weight. To give you an idea, the average shipping cost for one backpack and one lunch bag to the Toronto area would be about $15USD via USPS.

For more information and to see their full selection of Lego backpacks and lunch bags, visit LegoBags.com.

***** These views are mine, and mine alone. As with anything, you are responsible for assessing whether this item and/or activity is safe and suitable for your specific needs. InfoMommy does not make any warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, and assumes no responsibility and/or liability for any actions taken as a result of this blog post. *****

The Lego Ideas Book Will Keep You & Your Kids Building!

    

Who doesn't love Lego? Whether you are young or old, there's nothing like expressing your creativity by building something with these well-known little bricks and pieces. 

The Lego Ideas Book features a myriad of things to make. Whether you want to build a monster truck, a castle bridge, animals or spaceships, you are guaranteed to find something that will get your creative juices flowing in this 200 page hardcover book. They even have useful build ideas to make organizers for things like pens and pencils, and to make your own picture frame out of your Lego pieces. 

You will find special sections in the book like Meet The Builder, which includes interview questions and answers from the Master Builders themselves. There are also sections that go into essential & alternative pieces to use and brick tips to get your own builds started. 

Many of the builds are relatively detailed. To copy the build ideas piece for piece, you would require an extensive array of Lego pieces, and experience that is not likely in a young child. But with an adult alongside, or for older kids, these ideas are easily adaptable to the pieces that one would already have in their collection.  As with The Lego Play Book, it would be nice to see some female oriented builds to balance out the creations already in the book, to coincide with the Lego Friends Lego sets and such. All in all this is a great educational book that my son has enjoyed looking at. He has spent a lot of time going through all the pages one by one and taking it all in. It would be of great interest to many. It's amazing what these builders come up with!  

The Lego Ideas Book is one of the many titles that DK Books Canada has featured this month in their March Break Boutique.  This title retails for $27.99CAN, but you might be able to find it for a better price at your local book store as it is a couple of years old.  

Happy building! 

***** These views are mine, and mine alone. As with anything, you are responsible for assessing whether this item and/or activity is safe and suitable for your specific needs. InfoMommy does not make any warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, and assumes no responsibility and/or liability for any actions taken as a result of this blog post.*****

35 Free Activities + 10 Bonus "Almost" Free Ideas of Things to Do With Your Kids This Summer!

   

After the initial elation regarding not having to make any more school lunches for a few months passed, I was quickly met with the realization that I hadn't thought too much about what exactly we were going to do all summer long to keep the kidlets happy & occupied!

So I started to compile a list for myself and thought I'd do the same for my you, my loyal InfoMommy followers, as I know that you're likely in the same boat too! (Ahhhh, wish I was on a boat right now! LOL)

So here's InfoMommy's list of FREE things to do to amuse yourselves this summer, along with a couple of bonus almost-free activities too!

FREE:
1)  Take a trip to the local library to rent books, movies, video game for free! (Some communities are even offering free transit to those en route to their local library, which makes it a double bonus if transit is something different for you and your kids!)
2)  Park hop to check out all the different playgrounds in your area!
3)  Hop around to all the Splash Parks in your community and don't be afraid to get in yourself! ;)
4)  Organize playdates with friends and other moms!
5)  Join online mommy groups on Facebook etc to be in the know if things arise for free in your neighbourhood and to meet up with other like-minded families!

6)  Set up a sprinkler in your yard!
7)  Head to a local beach!
8)  Have a picnic!
9)  Get in touch with parents of your child's school buddies to set up a playdate!
10) For older kids, keep a journal every day of their summer experiences and activities that they've done throughout the summer, including pictures, leaves, etc!
11) Switch up your water table by putting sand in it, or vice versa! (Or try getting a cheap one off Kijiji!)
12) Inquire to see if the arts community in your area are putting on any free child-friendly concerts throughout the summer!
13) Attend or call your local Early Year's Centre both for activities to do there and also to find out what they know going on in your community!
14) Make sock puppets with leftover material or an old sock, buttons, etc!
15) Make a puppet theatre out of an old box for your sock puppets!
16) Ask to see if any organization in putting on outdoor movies throughout the summer months!
17) Have a Lego building competition to see what everyone comes up with! You can either let them come with whatever they want or give them a theme!
18) Go to a Lego store if you have one in your area, as they often have free builds, or a free play area within the store for your kids to use!

19) Get your kids to wash your car for/with you! (Double bonus! LOL)
20) Have a drawing competition outside with sidewalk chalk! (Or inside with paper if it's a rainy day!)
21) "Paint" the sidewalk with water using old paintbrushes and a bucket of water!
22) Make your own giant bubbles and bubble wands!
23) Call your local Fire Dept, Police Station or Safety Village to see if they have any kid related events throughout the summer and/or if you can organize a tour of the facility! (ie: Cops & Fishing, etc)
24) Use sidewalk chalk to draw different hopscotch designs!
25) Play board games and/or swap some with other friends to change up what games you have available to play! (Or hit up garage sales for them!)
26) Bake something! (Some websites/apps let you enter key ingredients that you have on hand and gives you recipe suggestions.)
27) Check out the internet for kid-friendly science experiments using household ingredients that you already have.
28) Plan some random acts of kindness for those in need! Or just because!
29) Check out your local Home Depot or other building supply store to see when their free children's build clinics are!
30) Check out your local craft store like Michael's to see when their free kids' craft workshops are!

31) Create an alphabet or number treasure hunt where the kids have to find something for each letter/number! (Double learning bonus!)
32) Crank up the music and have a dance party! Switch up the genre of music and change your dance moves! (Double bonus for burning calories at the same time!)
33) Check out your local greenhouses to see if they have any kid play areas or activities!
34) Build a fort inside with couch cushions and blankets or sheets!
35) Make your own play-doh!

ALMOST FREE BONUS IDEAS:
1) Buy some reading/writing/counting activity workbooks at the dollar store to keep up with what they have learned throughout the school year or help prepare them for Kindergarten!
2) Play-doh! (If you have to go out and buy some! Dollar Stores often have it now!)
3) Tour some of your local conservation areas
4) Visit local farms with child friendly attractions and activities
5) Take an outing to the dollar store to get some cheap craft supplies
6) Buy a white board & dry erase markers and re-use them to draw silly faces or play pictionary (Small ones are great for road trips!)
7) Play a round of mini-putt golf!
8) Buy some wooden birdhouses or other items from the dollar store to put out in your yard.
9) Hopefully a bird will move in, giving you another bonus activity - birdwatching! (With or without binoculars!)
10) Get some take-out and make yourself an impromptu picnic!

ENJOY!!! :)

***** These views are mine, and mine alone. As with anything, you are responsible for assessing whether this item and/or activity is safe and suitable for your specific needs. InfoMommy does not make any warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, and assumes no responsibility and/or liability for any actions taken as a result of this blog post.*****