I love them. I bet your kids will love them too. Benefits o’ plenty:

• These crayon rocks are made with renewable soybeans and tinted with natural mineral powder.
• Because they’re soy, they’re smooth and distribute color evenly; more like pastels than wax crayons.
• Designed to strengthen a child’s tripod grip muscles – helps with writing skills.
• Perfect for smaller hands and easy to grip.
• Many “occupational therapists and teachers of children with special needs” are using these crayons in order to help children develop their fine motor skills.

Plus, they’re so fun. Little rocks that you can color with! What could be neater? They come in many sets including the cute Sampler Treasure Bag set, boxes, and just plain crayons.

Visit the Crayon Rocks website to see a children’s picture gallery, pros, and to purchase.

Don’t forget to check out our post; Contests, Contests, & More Contests to see what you could enter to win.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Little Treehugger Sketchbook: a great sketchbook made with 100% recycled, acid-free paper. 80lb weight and clipboard covers make it sturdy enough to carry around outside so that kids can sketch their favorite nature scenes. The paper comes in four colors (orange, yellow, green, and blue)

Soy Crayons: if you haven’t used soy crayons yet you’re in for a treat. I haven’t used this brand but the ones Cedar and I have used are smooth as silk and very vivid in color; much nicer than petroleum-based crayons. Soy Crayons are made with soybean oil and certified by the Art & Creative Materials Institute to be nontoxic.

You can find the Soy Crayons and the Little Treehugger Sketchbook at this area of Progressive Kids.

Groovy Coloring Book: I want to get these coloring books asap. I love them. I have some mandala coloring books and they really help you chill. In case you didn’t know mandala art is not only fun but it’s a holistic healing tool. Coloring has been used in therapy for patients with cancer, dementia, anxiety, and more. These books are extra slick because they’re made on recycled paper and have reclaimed binding.

The one issue I have is that the website they’re on makes it sort of troublesome to purchase the books — you have to email and then make payment arrangements but the company; Trillium Artisans creates eco-sensible and fair-trade products (in my hometown Portland, Oregon) using high quality reclaimed and recycled materials. They state that they promote, “A triple bottom line of people, planet and profit for all.” So, they’re a great place to support despite the odd ordering process.

Another great choice of coloring colors are natural bee’s wax crayons. I love bee’s wax crayons because you can blend them in amazing ways. This set from Art House is nice, made from bee honeycombs, and break resistant.

Next up today is the amazing Donna Atwood Designs. Wait until you see…

Here’s the one I want…

These coloring books are made on 100% recycled paper, educational, and just beautiful. Atwood has two other great coloring books and more items like postcards at her site. There’s also a sample page from one of the coloring books so her site is well worth a visit.

If you just can’t wait to get coloring or are low on funds try…

Rustle the Leaf, a site with plenty of free earth happy coloring pages to download. Just remember to use your own recycled paper to make them (both sides) and recycled ink cartridges — then you’re in business.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family