Hot Holiday Toy: Cahootie Contest and Review

I was volunteering in Keep's classroom a few weeks ago, as a “listener” during their guided reading groups. The job of parent “listener” is to simply be present and pay attention as each child reads. Listen for articulation, fluidity, comprehension indicators, etc. I try be a listener in her classroom as often as possible. Beyond the obvious benefits we all know that being a contributor to our kid's educations, spending time in their classrooms allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of the kids your own spend a lot of time with.

One thing I've noticed a lot about 5^th graders is that they talk about boys. A lot. Who has a crush, who wants to kiss, who watched a tv show with kissing, etc. At first I was outraged, but then I spoke briefly with my mom about it, and I remembered. 5^th grade was the age I was when I got my first kiss!

Talk about waaaaaaaay too young! My baby is no-way no-how ready for that stuff!

Another thing I noticed when I was in her classroom, was that the popular games we played as kids were still in fashion. Miss Mary Mack was still a popular hand jive game (but you can bet those kids were stunned I could do it as good as they could!), MASH was a giggle-filled way to pass some time, and Cootie-Catchers could still predict your future.

But what a future these kids were focused on! Flaps revealed everything from the tame- you'll be rich, to the hair-raising-kiss the first boy you see! My mom alarm was beeping like mad. So when the makers of Cahootie offered the chance to check out their popular Cahootie, and to give one away, I jumped on the chance!

Cahooties are traditional Cootie-Catchers with strong empowerment focused messages. Keep received (what else) but the Sporty Girl Cahootie to try out. Cahootie comes with plenty of reusable stickers so you can change things up and keep it fresh. Keep spend quite a while picking out what stickers she wanted to use when she took it to school the next day. 

I wondered if the kids she went to class with would enjoy the tamer version of their handmade future-tellers, but I needn't have worried. The kids loved the Cahootie. The challenges, the funny fortunes, it was an all around hit. I even got an email from her teacher to let me know other parents had wondered where I'd gotten it and how to find them!Fortunately, Cahootie cootie catchers are available all over! You can find them at Justice, Hallmark, and Amazon.com. That makes it easy to grab one while you're out holiday shopping.

Cahootie really gets the idea that kids are going to play the way they want to, so making a product to allow them to play safely and age appropriately is the best way to make a toy that gets their attention. More than that even, Cahootie has devised their own in-house social network called Club Cahootie that kids can join. It requires the hand delivery of a printed out invitation that includes a code parents can enter online. That way kids can keep in touch the way we adults use facebook, only without the fake-friending of cyber-predators.

Cahootie has generously offered to send 1 of my readers a Cahootie of their choice! Keephas a list of ones she and her classmates want, so I doubt you'll have any trouble figuring our which one to pick for the tween in your life!

To enter, become a GFC follower and post to let me know you've joined. Please leave a way for me to contact you. If your email is in a public profile, that's fine. 

 For some extra entries, do one or more of the following, leaving me a comment below for each. 

Follow me on twitter. (1 entry)

Tweet about this giveaway, leave me a link to the tweet (1 entry each, can be done 3 times a day, 2 hours span between tweets, please)

Follow Cahootie on twitter (1 entry)

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Comment on another post on my blog (not a contest) and tell me where (1 entry each post commented on)

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Blog about this contest and leave me a link to the post (3 entries)

Enter another of my contests and leave me a comment stating which one (1 entry)

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This contest will close at 11:59pm CST, on Friday 12/3. Winner will be selected using Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond. Contest open to US mailing addresses only.  Prize fulfillment is the responsibility of the sponsor. 

I received no compensation for this post. Cahootie did send a toy our way for us to play with. All opinions shared are my own (and Keep's!) and have not been edited or shaped by anyone else. A big thanks go to Cahootie for joining in!