Emi
Hey all!
I work at PenPal Notes: Educational Lunch Notes (http://penpalnotes.com/), and I was hoping to get your feedback about our product. Created by parents looking to inspire reading, PenPal Notes follow the young panda Tej as he travels on his magic carpet across time and the globe. Write a personal note on the back, and accompany Tej as he embarks on his adventure of learning! Each series contains 20-40 illustrated lunch notes and a set of fun stamp stickers.
After 4+ years of development, we have finally started to sell PenPal Notes, and we were wondering how parents responded to it. Do you think that lunchtime/lunch notes should be a time for relaxation and not education? Would you be willing to set aside 15 minutes every day to go over these notes with your kids?
Any feedback would be so helpful, thanks!
-Emi
Answer
I think they are really cute. I visited the website and looked at the taste buds box of cards.
The website is great. I love how I could click on the taste buds circle and have the box come up. Seeing what was in the box really helped me to see what you are selling. Without the box of cards opening up, I thought of it as being a mat on the tray at McDonalds. but clearly it is much more than that.
The drawing of the panda is cute, and the colors are great. Personally, I wouldn't make too much of the magic carpet. You have enough going on without that. Just mentioning it is enough.
I am an adult college student. Last semester at college we had to read books for my Children's Literature class. One book I read was called "The Tequila Worm". Despite the name, it was a great book. The book was for an older age group than you are trying to reach, I think. Anyway, it was about a girl in Mexico. She had a great family, and they always celebrated with food. As I read it, I thought of the many ways you could celebrate with a classroom of students as they read the book over a period of time. There were pinatas, special foods, etc. There was also some celebration around Easter time about preparing eggs in a certain way. Would you want to connect your product to Children's Books as another way of extending their use and appeal? Another book to look at would be Lois Ehlert's alphabet vegetable book.
I'm thinking this is a great product, but it could be expanded beyond the mom putting the note in the lunch bag. As a teacher, I'd like to send these notes home with my students, so their parents can read them and talk about what we did in school that day. Have you talked to Scholastic Publishing? This seems like a Scholastic product.
Also, this is a good way to promote interest in healthy eating. I wanted to go and try new cheeses just by reading the note about French cheese. As a Mom, this would give me some ideas for supper menus at home that are healthy. I see the notes as inspiration to the family home cook. I could tell my boys "Your lunch note is a clue to supper tonight".
Here is one thing that would keep me from buying the product. I have two kids, and I have to send a lunch with each of them. In order to buy your notes, I have to spend $20 on lunch notes in order for them both to have the same thing. Could you put two or three copies of the same note in the pack? Or for teachers, can you give them a classroom supply using 4 or 5 key notes to send home to parents? You could call it "The Classroom Pack". Make it be 30 copies of 4 notes, for a total of 120 notes. That would last a teacher about a month, if she did one a week. What a wonderful boost to a unit on food!
You asked if lunchtime should be a time of relaxation and not education. These notes are cute and the educational part of them is "light" enough that it shouldn't tax anyone's down time. It gives parents and children an opportunity to connect and have something to talk about. It is a conversation starter.
One more idea- how about targeting families who homeschool their kids? I would think this would really appeal to them.
Good Luck. My husband and I have tried a few times to start a business, with no success. I hope this works for you.
I think they are really cute. I visited the website and looked at the taste buds box of cards.
The website is great. I love how I could click on the taste buds circle and have the box come up. Seeing what was in the box really helped me to see what you are selling. Without the box of cards opening up, I thought of it as being a mat on the tray at McDonalds. but clearly it is much more than that.
The drawing of the panda is cute, and the colors are great. Personally, I wouldn't make too much of the magic carpet. You have enough going on without that. Just mentioning it is enough.
I am an adult college student. Last semester at college we had to read books for my Children's Literature class. One book I read was called "The Tequila Worm". Despite the name, it was a great book. The book was for an older age group than you are trying to reach, I think. Anyway, it was about a girl in Mexico. She had a great family, and they always celebrated with food. As I read it, I thought of the many ways you could celebrate with a classroom of students as they read the book over a period of time. There were pinatas, special foods, etc. There was also some celebration around Easter time about preparing eggs in a certain way. Would you want to connect your product to Children's Books as another way of extending their use and appeal? Another book to look at would be Lois Ehlert's alphabet vegetable book.
I'm thinking this is a great product, but it could be expanded beyond the mom putting the note in the lunch bag. As a teacher, I'd like to send these notes home with my students, so their parents can read them and talk about what we did in school that day. Have you talked to Scholastic Publishing? This seems like a Scholastic product.
Also, this is a good way to promote interest in healthy eating. I wanted to go and try new cheeses just by reading the note about French cheese. As a Mom, this would give me some ideas for supper menus at home that are healthy. I see the notes as inspiration to the family home cook. I could tell my boys "Your lunch note is a clue to supper tonight".
Here is one thing that would keep me from buying the product. I have two kids, and I have to send a lunch with each of them. In order to buy your notes, I have to spend $20 on lunch notes in order for them both to have the same thing. Could you put two or three copies of the same note in the pack? Or for teachers, can you give them a classroom supply using 4 or 5 key notes to send home to parents? You could call it "The Classroom Pack". Make it be 30 copies of 4 notes, for a total of 120 notes. That would last a teacher about a month, if she did one a week. What a wonderful boost to a unit on food!
You asked if lunchtime should be a time of relaxation and not education. These notes are cute and the educational part of them is "light" enough that it shouldn't tax anyone's down time. It gives parents and children an opportunity to connect and have something to talk about. It is a conversation starter.
One more idea- how about targeting families who homeschool their kids? I would think this would really appeal to them.
Good Luck. My husband and I have tried a few times to start a business, with no success. I hope this works for you.
I have a 2 year old and a 1 year old what would the appropriate amount of toys be a day if alternated?
penny
they have ALOT of toys i mean alternating a certain amount a day so they dont get bored
Answer
Try choosing the day's toys by either category, or theme.
You could have one toy per kid per category : one art toy each, one musical instrument each, one dump truck each...
Or you could have "art day" and have ALL art supplies that day, etc. then have "travel day" and play with train sets, toy cars, etc... you could even make it educational and ask "Which toys go with our theme today?"
Try choosing the day's toys by either category, or theme.
You could have one toy per kid per category : one art toy each, one musical instrument each, one dump truck each...
Or you could have "art day" and have ALL art supplies that day, etc. then have "travel day" and play with train sets, toy cars, etc... you could even make it educational and ask "Which toys go with our theme today?"
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