Winners of National Geographic Super Readers Giveaway!

Sarah and Bzelenka are the winners (see comments on the original post here).  Please send me your contact information (including email address) so that the company can make arrangements to send your National Geographic Super Readers package!  Congrats!

Product Review: Xlear SparX Candy - Sweetened with Xylitol

Once again, because I'm a Mom Ambassador with Moms Meet, I received a product for review and wanted to share my experience with anyone who might be interested.

Xlear SparX candy samples were provided as well as some Spry Children's Tooth Gels.  Xlear (link to their Facebook page) SparX is manufactured by Xlear (please check out the website link because they have many other products including nasal sprays).  SparX is a candy that is sweetened with xylitol. Xylitol is a plant-based, dentist recommended sweetener. It does, in my opinion, tend to make the product taste really sweet and almost "cold".   The flavors I sampled were Fruit and Citrus and I thought both tasted pretty good for something that is made with a sweetener other than sugar. The packaging was nice because it snaps closed and didn't just fall open in my purse or bag. They are small, round little pebbles in pastel colors.

According to the information provided to me by the company, Xylitol has been proven to improve dental health and strengthen tooth enamel. This is pretty important to me since I have a VERY sweet tooth, and have had some issues with cavities over the years, despite the fact that I love to brush my teeth often. I have also recently completed chemotherapy treatments which can cause damage to the enamel of your teeth, so I thought this might actually be helpful.

I would recommend this to friends who are trying to avoid sweets made with sugar as long as they like products made with xylitol as a sweetener.  Sometimes these sweeteners can be an acquired taste but I have had it xylitol, so there were no real surprises.  My teeth will probably thank me later. :)  Should you still be looking for those stocking stuffers, SparX would be great for kids and adults who enjoy sweet treats without all of the dental work that might follow.  According to the information provided to me, the SparX candy retails for $1.49 per tube, which seems pretty reasonable.

For simplicity, here are the links provided in my review:

MomsMeet

Xlear website

Xlear Facebook Page

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the MomsMeet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a MomsMeet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

National Geographic Super Readers Program - A Review and Giveaway

I am excited about my first opportunity to review and blog about a product as a result of being a Mom Ambassador through Mom's Meet.  The National Geographic Super Readers program is a great way to get kids motivated to read about nonfiction topics.  My family always subscribed to National Geographic magazine when I was a child and young adult.  When my children turned 4, we subscribed to the National Geographic Little Kids magazine and they enjoy the wonderful photographs and activities that are a part of the magazine.  This Super Readers program is just another wonderful way that National Geographic brings "the world" home to children, so I was glad to have a chance to share this with my kids.  National Geographic makes it easy to keep up with new publications via their Facebook page at National Geographic Books.

Since my children are not yet five, I appreciate the fact that the program is broken down into reading levels (Pre-Reader, Level 1, 2 and 3).  This makes it much easier, as a parent, to decide which books would be right for my children as their reading skills progress.  While we have one who is an avid reader (all on her own), my other two LOVE books but are not able to read independently.  They all love discovering new books on the shelf and I can find so many new and interesting subjects they haven't yet experienced as a part of the Super Readers collection.

We received Sharks!, a Level 2 reader in the National Geographic Super Readers Program.  The full-color pictures make the information very exciting (at least when describing sharks, as you could see the teeth of one VERY clearly on the cover).  Since this is a Level 2 reader, we did read this book together and I'm sort of glad since it was such a slightly scary topic, but really interesting.  The kids are always interested in animals, the ocean, etc, so it was easy sitting down to check it out with them.

The National Geographic Super Readers Website provides a chance for the kids (and parents) to download a poster which lists the readers by level and title and allows them to track their progress.  Downloadable bookmarks, magnets and even an iron-on transfer can be found on the website as well to celebrate their participation.  My kids are thrilled to have a chance to display any sort of accomplishments, so I expect that each one will have their own poster to track their progress reading through other books in the Super Readers Program.  The website also encourages children to continue reading and achieving a higher reading level by offering other rewards and incentives.  The games and activities will further enhance their experience.

I am able to offer THREE lucky winners a National Geographic Super Reader book, poster, bookmarks and badges.  I will select the winner via Random.org on Sunday, December 9th, 2012 at 10:00pm EST.  Please leave a comment below to enter.

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer.  As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog.  My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.