Counting Bunnies Review and Giveaway

Yesterday, we posted this week's sponsor for the Summer Prize Picnic on my other blog ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative and I want to make sure everyone knows about this great company! Counting Bunnies specialize in creating wonderful products that foster imaginative play! Imaginative play is crucial for children as it gives them an outlet for exploring their world and practicing situations that they might see their parents and other adults engage in. It helps them practice and learn skills that they can then take and use in real world situations.

Play builds social and emotional skills through turn taking, sharing responsibility, being a leader, and problem solving all of which leads to the development of empathy for others. Language skills are enhanced through play as children recreate stories and practice using words and phases he or she has heard in their environment and from you, one reason we all need to be careful about what we say around little ears!

Play also provides children with opportunities to think up complex stories and devise solutions all the while using cognitive skills that will be needed for the rest of their life. Being able to use a block for many different purposes like a phone, bridge, or car all help ready your child for other high level thinking skills such as making the connection between numbers and quantities and that the letters of the alphabet make up words you can say and read.

We are so excited to share the wonderful products Counting Bunnies has developed for your child. Many will provide hours of open ended play, enhance imaginative play for your child, and help foster parent child interaction.
One of Counting Bunnies best sellers at craft shows are their fabulous doorway puppet theaters. When I got this in the mail my neighbor and I were literally speechless when I took it out of the box. If you know either one of us, you know that's quite a feat.
It is a gorgeous puppet theater and so completely perfect for my daughter. The color choices and fabric are spot on. If I'd custom created one, this is what I'd have wanted. Sue was already quite aware that we have a little princess in training over here so I'm sure that influenced the design.
The puppet theater is made primarily of eco friendly felt, made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. There is extra large rick rack detailing at the top, bottom, and on the curtain holders. Pink fringe is along the top of the theater window. The curtains themselves are made out of pink glittery fabric for the backdrop and princess themed fabric for the stage curtains. All of the colors, textures, and patterns work well together for a very pleasing design ascetic. Each theater is approximately 30" wide and 58" long and is completely lined. It's very sturdy and well made. Sue has even added a convenient storage pocket in the back for your puppets. A wooden dowel is at the base of the stage area for support and this keeps the stage nice and flat, no gaps or sags in fabric. Hook and loop fasteners easily open or close the stage curtains. It all hangs on an included adjustable tension rod, and will fit any sized doorway, 26-48 inches. No tools are required to put it up or down and installation takes only a few seconds. When you're done playing you can take it down and roll up the whole thing for storage. We kept the box it was shipped in and it tucks away very nicely in the closet. Since getting the doorway puppet theater, ER and Daddy have discovered a new favorite past time. They just love putting on puppet shows with and for each other. We really love our puppet theater and have already gotten hours of play out of it. We highly reccommend one to any family looking for more fun, interactive, unplugged activities to enjoy together.

It would also be a great addition to an early childhood classroom, the students would have a lot of fun playing with it and again the storage is a real plus for teachers! I was thinking that using a theater like this would be a great and nonthreatening way to teach about feelings with students who have emotional impairments. Another great product at Counting Bunnies are her Busy Bags. Sue's affordable Busy Bags come complete with a full set of crayons and coloring book already tucked inside. That's such a nice touch, and one many similar products do not come with. What a perfect gift to send to a little friend, and when it's opened it's ready to use immediately. No having to wait and go to the store before getting to color.

When I wanted to place my order there weren't any Busy Bags made out of girly fabrics. I sent Sue a message and she had a few choices for me to look at the same day. ER picked the bright and colorful frog bag and kept asking about it everyday until it arrived, which was very quick and only a few days.

Our Busy Bag has quickly become a staple in our car activity tote. It's come in handy at restaurants, when we visit friends whose kids aren't near ER's in age and do not have things on hand for her to do, or when traveling and we put her tray on her car seat. It's provided hours of quiet entertainment and it's portable size means that ER can carry it around herself. I think every family needs one of these for each kid, and they are priced right so you can afford them.

I can't tell you how helpful it's been, and it keeps everything neat and together too. It's even big enough for a few extra playthings like a car or small doll. Crayon Caddies that roll up and hold a set of crayons are also available.

Sue at Counting Bunnies also makes delightful dress up costumes, like her pirate set, super hero capes and princess sets. She also makes tool aprons that any little helper would have fun wearing and that are also available in Daddy and son sets of two.

Make meal time and the table setting chore fun with this How to Set the Table Placemat. Your young child will enjoy being independent and able to help get ready for a meal with this fun teaching tool. Simply match and lay the coordinating tableware on top of where it's depicted on the mat.

Another fun meal time product, that was added in time for the upcoming school year, are her fun reusable sandwich bags. Now you can be green and help protect the environment by using less plastic and leaving less waste! Begin teaching your children the importance of leaving less of a footprint on our beautiful planet by exploring reusable containers like these on a daily basis.

You can see more of Sue's reusable sandwich bag designs at her other store Two Friends Stitching, my personal favorite is the light blue tree reusable sandwich bag design but there are also several fun designs like the lemon design that older students and adults would find very stylish and chic for their lunches.

Need some imagination inspiration? Visit Counting Bunnies at Etsy and explore their selection of merchandise designed to enhance imaginative play!

Win It!
Sue at Counting Bunnies is generously giving one of ABC & 123's reader a Busy Bag of their choice! You'll have to go over to ABC & 123 to find out all the details and to enter. Be sure to go over and check out the review post with additional product pictures! Open now through July 13th @ midnight EST to US and Canadian residents.

Disclaimer: We received our puppet theater review product from Counting Bunnies, free of charge in return for writing a review of their products and hosting a giveaway on our blog. We want to stress that our opinions are genuine and no effort was made to influence them by the company. The Busy Bag reviewed and featured in this post was purchased from Counting Bunnies.