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SUMMER GIVEAWAY! Win This Travel Tote for Kids

Traveling with Children this Summer?

COMMENTS FOR THIS GIVEAWAY ARE NOW CLOSED.

Thank you to all who shared a travel tip! I was amazed at all the wonderful suggestions our readers shared for traveling with children.

As a result of the large number of entries received both here on Moon Child and on Instagram, we chose TWO winners!

Congratulations to Meredith Baldwin (no relation) who won one of the Travel Baskets for sharing the following tip:

Travel tip: go to the bathroom before you leave 😉
I stapled a bunch of blank pieces of paper cut down to a smaller size for little children and told them to “write stories” by drawing pictures or using stickers and to tell me what was going on in their story. (They couldn’t write yet)
You can play this game: every person takes a turn saying a word or two going around to create a story. My girls LOVED a version of this when we made up quick fairytales-each person getting a turn.

Amanda Gregg @wholenessmom was the Instagram winner of the second Travel Basket.

All Moon Child readers are invited to SAVE 10% off all items our Travel Games and Toys Collection through July 31, 2017 with coupon code: TRAVEL10. Valid only on in-stock items, while supplies last.

Enter Our Summer Giveaway to Win this Basket of Travel Games, Art Supplies, & Crafts!

Last week on Moon Child I shared my “Top Tips for Stress-Free Travel with Kids.”

This week, Bella Luna Toys is delighted to host a giveaway for a basket full of exciting games, art supplies, and crafts that will make traveling with children a lot more enjoyable.

This exciting travel tote includes one of each of the following:

⭐️ String Game from Sarah’s Silks
⭐️ Children’s Card Games Set
⭐️ Travel Bingo Game
⭐️ Bag of Crayon Rocks
⭐️ Box of Stockmar Modeling Beeswax
⭐️ eeBoo Jumbo Double-Sided Colored Pencils
⭐️ Quick-to-Knit Scarf Kit
⭐️ Rainbow Covered Woven Lunch Basket

TO ENTER

Earn one entry for each of the following actions:

SHARE A TRAVEL TIP: Receive one entry by sharing your own travel tip or leaving a comment in the Comments section below this blog post.

FOLLOW + LIKE TO WIN: Follow Bella Luna Toys on Instagram and like our Travel Goodies Giveaway photo by double-clicking on it.

TAG FRIENDS: Receive one additional entry for each friend that you tag in the comments section of our Instagram Travel Goodies Giveaway photo.

Entries must be received by midnight PDT on Saturday, July 22th, 2017. One winner will be selected at random and announced on Sunday, July 23th, 2017. By entering, you confirm that you are 18+ years of age, release Instagram of all responsibility, and agree to Instagram’s terms of use.

Happy Travels and Good Luck!

Enter our giveaway by sharing your own travel tip or leaving a comment below!

July 9, 2017 by Sarah Baldwin

Family, Gratitude, Waldorf Education

Reverence and Gratitude: The Power of Verses for Children

Dear Friends,

Has it really been more than three months since I last posted here at Moon Child? Yikes!

Where have I been?

We had a very busy holiday season at Bella Luna Toys in November and December. My staff and I were putting all our time and energy in fulfilling holiday orders. We are grateful to so many of you for your support and being part of Bella Luna’s growth. I hope your holidays were filled with joy and love!

January brought our yearly task of end-of-year inventory, then I took a much-needed vacation to southern California to visit family and friends, and to see my son William who is a freshman at USC.

In February, I traveled to New York City for the NY Toy Fair, where I was excited to discover a bunch of wonderful new natural toys to introduce in 2014. Some have already made an appearance at Bella Luna Toys, so be sure to check out our What’s New? page if you haven’t recently.

The new year also brought the hiring of a new full-time staff member. Amy Sabaka, whom I’ve known ever since my son William and Amy’s daughter Rachel started first grade together at the Ashwood Waldorf School, is now our customer service manager at Bella Luna Toys. Amy was a kindergarten assistant at Ashwood for a number of years and has had a long relationship with Waldorf education, both as a parent and a teacher.

The next time you call Bella Luna Toys, it is likely that Amy will answer the phone. Be sure to say hi!

But now, with the help of Amy and our fantastic operations manager, Rob Wilson, my time is being freed up to get back to the work I love most—blogging, producing my “Sunday With Sarah” video series, and discovering beautiful new toys and products for families to introduce at Bella Luna Toys.

So now that spring is almost here, I am back—refreshed and renewed, and looking forward to reconnecting with you!

Here’s a new “Sunday With Sarah” video for you.

This week’s video is on on the power of verses in transitioning through the day, and for cultivating a sense of reverence and gratitude in young children. I hope you enjoy it!

With love,

Here are the verses shared in the video:

CANDLE LIGHTING

Fire spirit, fire sprite
Share with us your golden light
Come for us our candle light!

MEALTIME BLESSING (Can be spoken or sung)

Earth, who gave to us this food
Sun, who made it ripe and good
Dearest earth and dearest sun,
We’ll not forget what you have done.

Blessings on our mealtime and on each other!

REST TIME/BEDTIME VERSE

Now the sun has gone to bed
The stars are shining overhead
In their nests the birds all sleep
Into their homes the snails will creep
Children now no more will roam
It’s rest time (bedtime) now and we’re safe in our home.

Does your family incorporate verses at home? At what times of day? Please share your favorite verses with us here!

March 9, 2014 by Sarah Baldwin

bella luna toys

A New Year at Bella Luna Toys

HAPPY 2012!

When I became the new owner of Bella Luna Toys in 2009, my vision was not just to operate a retail website, but also to share my experience and expertise as a teacher, mother, and author on topics such as child development, play, and parenting.

To that end, I created Moon Child in order to communicate with our customers, and to connect with parents of young children seeking a different, more natural way of raising their children.

I envisioned the toy store as a small home-based business, and a way to bring in some income to help support the work I am passionate about – writing and sharing my love of Waldorf education.

Everything was going nicely, all according to plan. For about a year.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Thanks to the support of so many of you, Bella Luna Toys grew. And Grew. And GREW!

By early 2011, it was clear that we had outgrown the confines of the small barn next to my home here in Maine from which I was operating, and, even with my family’s help, I found myself trying to do at least three full-time jobs.

It was exciting seeing the business grow, but writing began to take a backseat to the day-to-day operation of Bella Luna Toys. By the spring I knew that it was time to make some big decisions.

Last April, Bella Luna Toys moved out of our cozy little barn at home and into a real warehouse in the nearby coastal town of Rockland, Maine (recently voted one of America’s coolest small towns), where we can walk to Main St. for lunch, and feel the ocean breeze.

Here, we have a spacious shipping area, I have my own office, and we and lots of room to grow. My husband Max, a writer, is very happy to have his home office back to himself where he can again compose his thoughts in peace, and not find himself covered with packing peanuts at the end of the day!

I also realized I needed more help. During the course of the past year, I hired my three “Shipping Fairies” – Liz, Jessie, and Sarah – all of whom did an AMAZING job keeping up with an extraordinary number of Christmas orders last month.

Now Sarah Reilly has become my full-time, Right-Hand Angel (some might call her a “manager”), in order to free up my time to the things that I love most: writing for the blog, discovering unique new natural toys for children, promoting the importance of play, and sharing my love of Waldorf education. (We hope that two Sarah’s won’t be too confusing for our customers.)

So my resolution for the New Year is to post more frequently, and to engage more fully with all of you.

In addition, we have some pretty big plans for Bella Luna Toys in 2012, which marks the 10th birthday of the company! We will have more giveaways, and some very special announcements during our 10th anniversary year. If you’re not subscribed already, be sure sign up for our newsletter so that you’re among the first to hear!

Thanks to those of you who have been a part of Bella Luna Toys’ growth this past year. We are filled with gratitude for your support and many kind words. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Wishing you and your families many blessings in 2012!

Warmly,

What changes did 2011 bring you and your families? What are your hopes and dreams for the coming year?

January 23, 2012 by Sarah Baldwin